Mackenzie Postel’s years of USC excellence earn recognition. Her voice is part of it.

Nothing keeps Mackenzie Postel down. Not even when she’s lying in a hospital bed recovering from surgery to fix her wayward kneecap.

“A while back, I had received an invitation to audition for the show The Voice,” she says. “While sitting in my hospital bed post-knee surgery, I received an email saying: ‘Don’t forget your virtual audition for The Voice is tomorrow!’ The next day, an amazing Keck Hospital PT and OT were helping me to stand up, climb stairs, get back to basics. I mentioned the email I had received from The Voice to them in passing and, the next thing I knew, they were helping me to get dressed, and I ended up auditioning for the show remotely from my hospital room, in my fashionable leg brace and ‘high fall risk’ socks!”

The close of Postel’s third year as an MD/PhD candidate at the Keck School of Medicine has been a whirlwind: In late April she received the Rockwell Dennis Hunt Award (an honor given annually to one USC grad student who is an alumnus and who “is most representative of the University’s traditions and objectives”). Not long after, Postel (pronounced “post-EL”) underwent a tibial tubercle osteotomy, cadaver MPFL grafting, and trochleoplasty — all performed by Dr. George Hatch at Keck Orthopaedic Surgery — to realign her kneecap after a series of dislocations.

Even as an inpatient at Keck Hospital, Mackenzie insisted upon “fighting on!” and pursuing her love of music, which has been as important a part of her life as a Trojan as her academic work. In fact, she sees music and the instruction at the Keck School of Medicine as inextricably linked, as “medicine is both an art and a science.”

While we wait for the word on that audition, we talked with her about what she’s achieved so far at USC, and what comes next:

Keck School: You received a Bachelor of Science degree in biology at USC, then a Master of Science in Molecular Genetics & Biochemistry. Now you’re pursuing both an MD and a PhD in Cancer Biology & Genomics. What area do you want to specialize in?

Mackenzie Postel: I’ve always loved research. High school (Marlborough School in L.A.) was where my research interest was sparked — shout out to Dr. Elizabeth Ashforth for stoking my interest in research as early as 9^th grade, and for serving as a wonderful role model for me as a woman in STEM. I worked in a lab at UCLA where we engineered heart tissue with stem cells. I’ve always been a fan of multidisciplinary approaches to problems. So, in college and for my master’s degree (both at USC), I had the amazing opportunity to combine biological and archaeological research through the analysis of ancient Egyptian mummy tissue. It was amazing to learn about ancient human health. And now, in USC’s MD/PhD program, my research focus is translational genomics and precision medicine for cancer patients. Cancer isn’t a one-size-fits-all type of problem — every tumor is different, even between two individuals with the same cancer type — and I’m excited by all of the novel, tailored immunotherapies becoming available to patients. I’m particularly grateful to have the opportunity to be involved in addressing cancer disparities and studying cancer in the diverse population of Los Angeles.

KS: How long have you been a student at USC?

Mackenzie: Oh, gosh, let’s see. I have been at USC since 2011. I’ve just finished the first year of my PhD, so I have many years ahead of me. Looking ahead to my residency, I would like to stay in LA. My dream is to be like Dr. [Donna] Elliott — a quadruple Trojan herself! — and to wear as many hats as possible. I’d love to be a physician, a researcher, a professor, and a dean. I think it would be really cool to give back and be involved in teaching the next generation of medical professionals.

KS: How important is singing and music to you?

Mackenzie: I think music has been a part of my life since I was born! My grandma, Lois Darr, is a concert pianist; she still performs today, at 87 years old. Growing up I was surrounded by music. All of the women in my family are artists — screenwriters, painters, musicians. And all of the men are the scientists and the physicians [her father, Dr. Joachim Postel, is a cardiothoracic surgeon at UCLA]. My family always says I’m the first to combine both the arts and the sciences. And I’ve always thought of music, itself, as form of medicine.

During my first years of medical school at Keck, I had the really amazing opportunity to serve as the president of the acapella club and of Keck Music Society [KMS]. I’m eternally grateful to Dr. Pamela Schaff [associate professor and Director of the Keck School’s HEAL Program], who is the faculty leader for both groups, as well as a fantastic pediatrician, author, and double-doctor. KMS puts on concerts featuring med students for Keck patients, which was the most rewarding aspect of that position for me. One of my favorite memories was: I was singing in the LAC+USC pediatric ward, going from room to room because not all of the patients were ambulatory. I was singing a song from “Frozen” for this little girl. The song is a duet, but I was just singing the part of Anna. And this little girl starts singing the part of the other character, Elsa, with me. I had goosebumps! At the end of the song, the girl’s mother came up to me and said that her daughter hadn’t even spoken for weeks, let alone sang. We were all crying happy tears. It was amazing to me that music could have that kind of transformative effect.

KS: The award you won at this year’s USC awards convocation is named for Rockwell Dennis Hunt (1868-1966), who was a longtime professor and dean of the graduate school. The ceremony was on Zoom. What was it like?

Mackenzie: I think it was probably USC’s first awards ceremony where everyone attended in their PJs, which I think we should do from now on, because it was very comfortable! The award served as a reminder, for me, of how grateful I am to my parents. I wouldn’t be where I am today, pursuing the wonderful opportunities I have a chance to pursue, without their support and guidance. I still remember my mom, Debbie, teaching me how to make flashcards, back in kindergarten! I definitely owe it all to my parents, and it was nice to be able to sit in the living room in our PJs together and watch the award ceremony. My cat was also quite pleased to be able to attend.

Winning the award also felt like a culmination of how grateful I am to USC. My time here has been like a dream – or a Disney movie! Only at USC could I have studied voice with Rod Gilfry, a world class opera singer [who’s an associate professor of vocal arts at the Thornton School of Music]. Only at USC would I be able to study an ancient Egyptian mummy. Only at USC would I be able to explore the intersection of music and medicine. And only at USC would I be able to get my dual degree and be surrounded by world-class physicians and researchers. I just feel so incredibly grateful. Permanently pinching myself!

— by Landon Hall