Politics Cut My Harvard Research Help Me Keep Going

Hi, my name is Ella McRitchie. I just finished my first year at Harvard, where I study biomedical engineering. This year, I became the #2 ranked freshman pole vaulter in the NCAA this indoor season, an Ivy League Champion, took the most rigorous freshman biology class Harvard offers(Life Sciences-50), worked in a soft material engineering lab, and volunteered regularly at a hospice center. I chose Harvard because it was the place where I didn’t have to compromise my academics for sports. I’ve worked hard for my research. However, my ability to continue research this summer is now caught in the crossfire of childish politics.

Since January, I’ve been on top of applying for summer research funding. I had secured support through a federal research grant and was set to spend my summer advancing a project I’ve spent all year building in the Bertoldi Group. But a week before summer began, the federal government revised the grant, cutting federal funding for the undergrads affiliated with Harvard in the program.

My share of that grant was just $6,000—a microscopic sliver of the massive funding package, meaningless to them, but everything to me. That money was the key to continuing my research, covering the coursework I needed for computational analysis, and allowing me to focus fully on my work. Because of the last minute timing, there was no visible way to secure replacement funding—most research applications had closed weeks or months before.

Now, I’m home in Washington trying to find a way forward.

My research focuses on using origami-inspired mechanisms to build bistable, shape-changing structures that can replace electronics with simple material intelligence and enable smarter, more sustainable devices. With mentorship from Katia Bertoldi and Leon Kamp, I’ve developed new bistable folding hinge that can hold mechanical memory and shift shape, with just a global pressure input to collect information, opening up new possibilities in robotics, wearables, and biomedical design.

To continue my work this summer, I’m learning Abaqus Finite Element Analysis—a core tool in biomedical engineering used to simulate how my soft materials behave. Mastering this will support every future project I take on, including the one closest to my heart: becoming a pediatric trauma surgeon developing surgical tools that better serve children in emergency care. That’s the long-term goal behind all of this.

I’m also launching the pilot of a nonprofit I’ve founded in Washington State to combat the opioid epidemic by providing free Narcan distribution boxes in the communities that need it most. 10% of the funds raised here will go directly to buying supplies and setting up the first round of installations. This project has the power to potentially reduce ER overflow and provide life-saving supplies in real time.

I’m asking for your help not because I didn’t plan or prepare, but because a politically motivated decision shut the door on students like me, right as we were starting to make an impact. I love what I do. I’ve worked hard to get here. And I want to keep building toward the future I know is possible.

This GoFundMe isn’t just about one summer. It’s about fighting to stay in the room when someone’s trying to slam the door shut on young scientists. It’s about proving that investing in education, in innovation, and in students like me matters.

Your support will go toward:

Thank you for believing in young scientists, in the power of education, and in the future we’re trying to build.

With gratitude,

Ella McRitchie