About — Korrine Lee

Korrine Lee in a white dress holding a flute on a porch

How I got here.

// The story

I’m a senior at Johns Creek High School in Georgia, Class of 2027. Most of what I do now traces back to one place: a Maasai community in Tanzania where I’ve spent three summers since 2024.

Listening to women there describe what kept them from cervical cancer screening led me to PURIMEDI’s Digital Medicine Institute, where I helped develop CytoLens, AI for Pap smear analysis designed so a nurse can screen without a specialist on site. With fellow musicians I founded Play It Forward, whose benefit recitals bought instruments for GMSS Secondary School in Tanzania, where I went back to teach students to play them. See the Tanzania Project

I also draw, paint and play the flute. My art has grown into a series on multiculturalism, shaped partly by those same trips, and I play 1st Chair flute in the Emory Youth Chamber Orchestra.

Closer to home, I’m President of the Johns Creek High School Student Council, sit on Congressman McCormick’s Congressional Advisory Youth Council, run the Johns Creek chapter of IHonorUSA, which sends care packages to deployed service members, and founded Beyond Borders to teach empathy to elementary students.

— Korrine Lee

// Main project

The Tanzania Project.

Three summers with the same Maasai community, CytoLens research toward cervical cancer screening a nurse can run, and benefit recitals that bought instruments for GMSS Secondary School.

01Listen — what women described about screening, 2024–2026
02Build — CytoLens, preprint on medRxiv, WISE 2026 Bronze
03Give back — more than $7,500 for instruments at GMSS Secondary School

See the project

Korrine among Maasai children leaning on a stack of cement blocks

Experience.

// Résumé

Research & academics

03

Research barriers to early cervical cancer screening for women in resource-limited Tanzanian communities, grounded in three summers of service with a Maasai community.
Developed an AI-based Pap smear analysis model and software for early cervical cancer detection and risk stratification.
Shaped the system around barriers women described firsthand (travel, lost income, reluctance toward exams by male doctors), aiming for screening that nurses can perform without an on-site specialist.
Developed the manuscript “CytoLens: a modular deep learning system for quantitative cervical cytology,” posted as a preprint on medRxiv.
Advocated for providing the technology free of charge to communities in Tanzania, prioritizing sustainable local screening capacity over one-time aid.
Won the Bronze Award at the World Invention School Expo (WISE) 2026 (Invention Ideas & Realization); patent application in preparation.

Researched and wrote a paper on political oppression in Tanzania, analyzing government control, limits on political participation, and implications for human rights and civic life.
Examined contemporary social and political challenges through seminars, collaborative research and interdisciplinary coursework on leadership and social impact.

Completed college-level coursework in Gender Psychology, analyzing identity, socialization and bias through research-based frameworks.
Applied readings to case studies and reflective writing; the course’s lens on gender and stigma later informed my research on barriers to women’s health screening.

Global health & service

02

Founded a student organization with fellow musicians that holds benefit recitals, raising over $7,500 for musical instruments at GMSS Secondary School in Tanzania.
Returned to GMSS to teach students to play the donated instruments, so the gift would keep working after the visit.
Organized drives collecting used textbooks and clothing for GMSS students.

Returned for three consecutive summers to the same Maasai community in Tanzania with partner churches, contributing supplies and education-focused support.
Listened to women describe what kept them from cervical cancer screening; these conversations shaped the direction of my screening research.
Supported youth programs at PACE Academy in Malawi through summer camp service, donations and church-based outreach.

Leadership

05

President (June 2026 – present): lead the executive board, coordinate Homecoming, pep rallies, spirit events and service projects with administrators, clubs and student leaders, and represent student perspectives to school leadership.
Vice President (May 2025 – May 2026): led planning for the Homecoming dance and pep rally; launched Valentine’s Candy Grams, a holiday bell campaign and a St. Patrick’s shamrock treasure hunt, plus charity drives with other clubs and schools.
Member (since August 2023): organized a field experience with the Fulton County food department to gather student feedback on school meals; planned the Sadie Hawkins Dance, co-managed the council’s Instagram and served as acting Secretary when needed.

Founded the committee and organized classmates into planning roles; lead vendor outreach for venues, decorators and DJs.
Coordinate approvals and documentation with the Fulton County Board and school administration.

Founded a student-led program teaching empathy to elementary students through storytelling, age-appropriate lessons and dialogue-based activities.
Design lessons that build perspective-taking, kindness and conflict-resolution skills.
Lead volunteers and curriculum planning; build partnerships with schools and community organizations.

Founded the city chapter of a national civic service initiative (member since August 2022); organize projects such as care packages for deployed service members.
Run chapter meetings twice per semester and manage volunteers to keep projects running from year to year.

Led recruitment and retention for a 400–500 member chapter, shaping outreach strategy and event promotion.
Organized monthly service drives with rotating partner organizations, mobilizing schoolwide participation.

Civic engagement

03

Attended municipal hearings and prepared reports summarizing testimony, key arguments and outcomes for the Mayor’s Office.
Reviewed and responded to resident concerns submitted through Nextdoor, supporting constituent communication.

Provide a student perspective on youth issues including education, community well-being and civic engagement.
Debate current events with peers, practicing policy reasoning and evidence-based argument.

Represent student voice in a city leadership cohort addressing local needs; help design community-based initiatives.

Music, arts & culture

08

Selected for a competitive wind ensemble of advanced high school musicians from across the Atlanta area.

Earned 1st Chair in a selective chamber orchestra performing at Emory University; lead the flute section.

Selected as 1st Chair in an audition-based symphony orchestra performing at Kennesaw State University.

Placed in the highest ensemble three times at an audition-based, three-day intensive band program.

Flutist with the ensemble since August 2022.

Manage digital communications for the band program (member since August 2023), creating content calendars and event promotions to boost turnout and recruitment.

Develop original work across mediums through studio instruction and critique, building a portfolio.

Participate in cultural programming and events celebrating Korean heritage, identity and language.

// Music

Music that travels.

I play flute: 1st Chair in the Emory Youth Chamber Orchestra and 2nd Flute in the Atlanta Youth Wind Symphony. Since December 2025, Play It Forward’s benefit recitals have turned performances into instruments for students at GMSS Secondary School in Tanzania.

Ensembles