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McKay is a recent graduate from Northeastern University with a PhD in Bioengineering. She grew up in Akron, Ohio and completed her undergraduate degree in Biology and Spanish at the University of Akron. She initially planned on going to medical school but in her final year of undergraduate realized she really enjoyed biomedical engineering instead and wanted to start her PhD. She completed a bridge program and started her graduate degree in biomedical engineering in Ohio. After 3 years she moved to Northeastern with her advisor to finish her degree in Boston. Her PhD research focused on using tissue engineering in the nervous system to treat neurodegeneration using stem cells, rat cells and animal models. She mentored several graduate and undergraduate students, was funded by a fellowship, presented in several conferences, and published first author papers. She enjoys cooking, yoga, gardening, traveling, hiking, and spending time with her family and friends. She knows that the application process and grad school can be overwhelming and stressful but also exciting and very rewarding. She hopes to support the goals and dreams of a mentee and help new students going through the process.