A WINNING FORMULA

Kate Hamel ’26 ChE combines cutting-edge research with a commitment to real-world impact

By Queen Muse

Kate Hamel ’26 ChE believes engineering isn’t just about what’s possible; it’s about who it serves.

As a Presidential Scholar and an Honors Program student majoring in Chemical Engineering, Hamel has divided her time at Villanova between cutting-edge laboratory research and deep community engagement. Alongside her rigorous coursework, Hamel contributed to research advancing gene therapy while also making time to mentor local high school students.

“Even going into a hard science field, I knew I wanted to use what I was learning to build community and advocate for others,” Hamel says.

Hamel’s passion for applying her engineering knowledge to efforts that deliver real-world impact is evident in her work on and off campus. It also led to her receiving the 2026 Robert D. Lynch Award, the College’s highest honor for an undergraduate student.

In the lab of Laura Bracaglia, PhD, assistant professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Hamel spent more than a year contributing to research on localized gene therapy for organ transplant patients, a therapy with the potential to transform post-transplant care. While traditional treatments rely on suppressing the body’s entire immune system to prevent rejection, leaving patients vulnerable to infection and other complications, the approach Hamel worked on targets inflammation at the transplant site using nanoparticles to deliver therapy more precisely.

“It’s a way to decrease the body’s immune response without completely shutting it down,” she says. “That has the potential to revolutionize how we treat transplant patients.”

For Hamel, the project was more than a technical challenge; it was an introduction to the impact that engineering research can have.

“There’s a wide range of technologies we know can help people,” she says. “We just haven’t figured out how to apply them to enough diseases yet. That’s something I’d love to be part of solving.”

Outside the lab, Hamel has taken on leadership roles across different facets of her discipline. As president of Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honor society, she collaborates with students across fields—from Mechanical to Electrical Engineering—bringing diverse viewpoints to shared challenges.

That same cross-disciplinary mindset carries into her work with the Villanova Engineering, Science and Technology Enrichment and Development (VESTED) program, designed to introduce local high school students to engineering. Over four years with the program, Hamel has helped design and teach hands-on projects—from hydrogels for wound healing to drug-delivery systems—aimed at making engineering both accessible and exciting.

“It’s incredibly rewarding,” she says. “It’s so fun to see these kids who are sacrificing their Saturdays because they care about the topic so much, and they are really excited to learn.”

The experience has also reshaped her own relationship with learning.

“Sometimes when you’re in the day-to-day of going to class and doing research, it can start to feel heavy,” she says. “But seeing the students so excited to interact with these projects kind of reinvigorates you.”

After graduation, Hamel plans to pursue a PhD in Chemical Engineering with a focus on biological applications; long-term, she hopes to land in pharmaceutical research. She is particularly interested in developing new therapies and, eventually, in advocating for broader access to them.

“I want to work on innovative treatments that help people feel better,” she says. “And down the line, I’d love to combine that with advocacy to make sure those treatments are accessible.”