Christie is a first-year medical student at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. She was born in New Zealand and grew up in China. She first came to the United States for college and received her undergraduate B.S in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the Johns Hopkins University. In college, Christie was the vice-chair of the Chinese Student and Scholar Association and a dedicated tutor of organic chemistry. She also shadowed physicians and volunteered at rural villages in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, during which she toured around the city for the amazing local cuisine. Throughout college, Christie spent the majority of her time doing research. She was especially interested in biophysics research and spent her gap year working on computational simulation of protein dynamics. She is currently on the leadership team of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement at UVA with a focus on refugee health. She is also working on research projects about the clinical management of immigrant and refugee children. Talk to Christie if you have questions about research, visa issues for gap years, and finding extracurricular activities in medical school!