Meet 2026 Award Recipient
Carina Seah
Carina Seah entered the MD PhD program at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in 2019 from the University of Southern California, where she concurrently earned her Bachelor’s degree in Human Biology and Master’s degree in Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine in the lab of Justin Ichida, PhD. At Mount Sinai, Carina completed her PhD in the department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences under the mentorship of Laura Huckins, PhD and Kristen Brennand, PhD. She investigated how individual genetic differences impact encoding of psychological trauma in the human brain, using stem cell-derived neurons, post-mortem brain tissues, and genomic techniques such as large-scale stacked multi-omics and CRISPR screening. She has co-authored over 25 publications in journals such as Nature Neuroscience, Nature Genetics, and JCI. She was awarded the Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA F30 grant by the NIH, and an Early Career Investigator award by the International Society of Psychiatric Genetics. Her PhD thesis earned her the Terry Ann Krulwich Doctoral Dissertation Prize. She has given over 20 podium presentations, including at conferences such as the International Stroke Conference, World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics, and Congress of Neurological Surgeons. Carina is grateful for her mentors, collaborators, lab mates, and support system. Most of all, she is grateful for the patients and families whose generosity and hope forge the possibility of advancing the field towards actionable care for others. Upon completion of her MD PhD, Carina will begin Neurosurgery residency and an Instructorship in Neuroscience at Mount Sinai Hospital. Her work will continue to explore the molecular mechanisms underlying brain disorders to better diagnose and intervene to bridge the gap between genomic discovery and transformative neurosurgical care for all.