YSM Issue 93.2

ALON MILLET (BR ’20)
BY KATHERINE DAI
IMAGE COURTESY OF ALON MILLET
No one can capture themselves in three
words—let alone someone who juggles
writing a master’s thesis, giving campus and
science tours, and peer tutoring for the introductory
biology sequence for the sixth semester. But when
asked about it, Alon Millet (BR ’20) rose to the
challenge: greedy for knowledge.
“What’s amazing about biology is that you can start at
the atomic level with biophysics and scale up to systems
biology, which is my field. Every step along the process,
you can see subtle connections as the scale changes,”
Millet said. Drawn to the unsolved mysteries in biology,
he satisfies his curiosity in the lab—probably even more
than in the classroom—a habit that started during his
freshman year of high school. Looking for a “nice side
thing to do,” he joined his high school’s cell biology lab
on a whim. After designing his first set of experiments,
however, Millet knew that research would not only
become a full-time commitment but also a lifelong one.
He dedicated every spare second to tackling a daunting
challenge: addressing the global food insecurity crisis.
His solution of a plant steroid—specifically, a seed
coating that increased the agricultural yield per plant—
earned him meetings with Barack Obama and Bill Nye,
a patent, and the opportunity to work with the U.S.
Agency for International Development.
After four years focused on research over
conventional high school experiences, Millet gained
the confidence and initiative to join a lab within a week
of his first year at Yale. He hit the ground running,
ready to go all-in on research through the BS/MS track
for Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology.
Halfway through his sophomore year, he co-authored
his first publication in Science Immunology.
But his end goal of research extends beyond
publications. He finds fulfillment from saying yes to
two questions: if he learned something new, and if
he satisfied his curiosity. The possibility of reaping
new knowledge, and perhaps the thought of a few
lines in the next edition of a biology textbook, keeps
him motivated. “If I’m on a question, maybe I can be
the person who cracks it. If I stopped, I would never
know the answer,” Millet said.
UNDERGRAD
PROFILE
The next big step for Millet is his master’s defense.
His thesis focuses on his research at the forefront of
cancer immunology, in Professor Sidi Chen’s lab. He
is working to understand how the metabolic state of
immune cells influences their response to tumors.
This work holds the potential to open undiscovered
therapeutic avenues, as insights about immune cell
metabolism can be translated into new approaches in
cancer immunotherapy.
In April, Millet will present his thesis to a
committee of illustrious scientists: Nobel laureate
James Rothman, Mark Mooseker, Tom Pollard,
and Sidi Chen. “It’s not every day you have a Nobel
laureate on your thesis committee. But beyond the
fact that they’re incredible scientists, they have been
unbelievably supportive whether I struggled with the
actual science or more personal issues,” Millet said. He
says this is a rare find: scientists who are doing worldclass
work and want to train the next generation of
scientists who could be doing that world-class work.
And he does not take this mentorship for granted.
Guided by the desire to follow in their footsteps and
invest in the development of others, Millet has the longterm
goal of becoming a professor. Next year, he will
attend the Tri-Institute PhD Program in Computational
Biology and Medicine. Meanwhile, he has taken up peer
tutoring for the introductory biology sequence as an
intermediate along the path of academic mentorship. “I
have given some great tours and have done some good
science in the lab. But out of all the things I’ve done on
campus, I think the one I’m proudest of is being a peer
tutor and how I have peer tutored,” Millet said. He finds
excitement in bonding with students over encountering
new information and reliving his experience of learning
it for the first time. At his many late-night review
sessions, his passion is palpable as he discusses biological
principles, experimental design, and his legendary mock
exam questions in front of over a hundred students.
For Millet, the connections he has formed with
students are more than channels to share knowledge.
He hopes that they have become avenues to transmit
his love for biology and greed for knowledge—his way
of paying the favor forward. ■
30 Yale Scientific Magazine September 2020 www.yalescientific.org