Tiffany Wang, member of the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology Class of 2026, came to USC as a nervous first-generation student searching for belonging. This spring, she finishes her Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Aging as an award-winning researcher and a confident leader helping fellow students find their own place in the school community.
“Coming into USC, I saw gerontology as a stepping-stone toward becoming a doctor. I’m leaving with something much bigger,” says Wang, whose initial interest in aging was shaped by a close relationship with her grandmother. “Gero isn’t just a major; it’s a community, a family.”
Finding Care and Connection
Wang, also a COMPASS Fellow and QuestBridge Scholar, says her understanding of gerontology and her place within it has changed over time. Like many students, she had to work through uncertainty early on, but the deep level of support she found within the USC Leonard Davis School made a big difference.
“I came in with a lot of imposter syndrome, but it was the small, consistent moments – every check-in, every ‘I’ve been there,’ every reassurance – that slowly pulled me out of that mindset,” she says. “Those interactions didn’t just help me adjust; they reshaped how I see myself.”
A key turning point came via one of the school’s many community events.
“One experience that stands out is my first time attending the Gero First Fridays social,” Wang recalls. “As a spring admit, I didn’t know my cohort and felt completely lost… But what I found was a space where undergraduates, master’s students, and PhD students all connected as equals.”
Conversation Sparks a Research Career
Those connections led to opportunities she hadn’t originally imagined, especially in research, which had previously felt out of reach, Wang recalls.
“It was at one of those gatherings that I met a mentor who would go on to change the trajectory of my life. That single moment – choosing to start a conversation – opened doors I never even knew existed,” Wang says, recalling how she met Assistant Professor of Gerontology Ryo Sanabria. “I had no idea what a principal investigator was. In my mind, professors and scientists felt distant, almost untouchable – like roles I would never belong in. But through those conversations, I began to see that science wasn’t just about lab coats and goggles. It was about curiosity, collaboration, and persistence.”
Wang joined the Sanabria lab and began conducting research on actin, a crucial protein making up much of the cytoskeleton, the molecular “scaffold” that gives a cell structure and shape and allows it to move and divide. She has presented research on how actin responds to stressors, including actin-destabilizing chemotherapy drugs, and how the cytoskeleton may be a potential therapeutic target for cancer and other age-related diseases.
Wang is now a coauthor on published research from the Sanabria lab. She also won awards for her research poster presentations at the 2024 American Society for Microbiology’s Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Scientists (ABRCMS) and the 2025 American Aging Association Conference.
“I became the first person in my family to step into a research lab. The journey wasn’t easy. There were weeks when my experiments failed over and over again… but those moments became the most important part of my growth,” she says. “I learned how to step back, think critically, adjust my approach, and ask for help. I learned how to persist. More than learning protocols, I learned how to think like a scientist… Those challenges gave me something far more valuable than technical skills: confidence.”
From Nervous Newcomer to Student Leader
In addition to being a more confident scientist, Wang has wholeheartedly embraced numerous other leadership opportunities. As president of the Student Gerontology Association, she has led initiatives that promote healthy aging, encourage intergenerational understanding, and combat ageism. She also delivered her first-ever speech to a live audience during the school’s 2025 Scholars and Benefactors Luncheon, sharing her story and her gratitude with a group of USC Leonard Davis School supporters and fellow scholarship recipients.
After graduation, Wang wants to balance her interests in patient care and research by pursuing an MD/PhD focused on geriatrics. As she prepares for the next step, she reflects on her perspective as the daughter of immigrants and on what her time at USC has meant.
“My parents worked tirelessly, washing dishes, making deliveries, and taking on any job they could to keep food on the table. That wasn’t a choice for them, it was survival. But coming to USC was my choice, and with that choice came opportunities I never imagined I would have,” Wang says. “Being the first in my family to attend college, to work in a research lab, and to even have the privilege of making these choices – this is what USC has meant to me. It gave me the space to try, to struggle, and ultimately to grow into someone who believes she belongs.”
