Studying the Brain, and the Stage

Abra Shen ’16 spent her first two years at MIT conducting Alzheimer’s research, and her first two college summers working with cancer patients. Yet a longtime interest in theater drew her to take a double major in brain and cognitive sciences plus theater arts. (Although MIT Theater Arts has offered a rich set of courses for decades, the major was first offered in FY16, and Shen is the first theater major.) Shen, who will pursue a degree in medicine upon graduation, says her approach to theater and medicine are similar: “You are there engaging in that activity because it’s meaningful to you and because you are emotionally attached to what you’re working on.”