Dickinson College
Biology Major Jobs and Graduate School Acceptances 2022
In the biology lab.
Isabel Cardi
Hometown: Swarthmore, Pennsylvania
Major: biology
Major: biology
Employer: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Job Title: clinical research assistant
Job Responsibilities
I'm a research assistant within the Division of Infectious Disease at CHOP. My primary role involves the recruitment of participants to join various ongoing research studies related to infectious disease and the immune system.
How has Dickinson prepared you for life after graduation?
Dickinson has prepared me well for life after graduation, especially when it comes to professional interactions. I attribute this to Dickinson's intimate class sizes and getting one-on-one time with my professors.
What are some of the defining moments of your Dickinson experience?
Participating in Dickinson athletics. I will forever cherish my times competing as a Red Devil and the friendships I made through sport.
Internship Experience
Consulting intern for the Food Trust, a nonprofit organization in Philadelphia.
Kristina Jankovic
Hometown: New York, New York
Major: biology
Employer: Columbia University Irving Medical Center/Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center
Job title: research associate
Job Responsibilities
My role as a research associate in Dr. Edmond M. Chan’s lab is to further study microsatellite unstable cancers (MSI), like certain colon or stomach cancers, in a search for a novel synthetic lethal target. This would include using genomic, functional genomic and biochemical tools in a translational setting to interrogate vulnerabilities in cancer and uncover novel biological insights. My project would involve looking at the gene WRN, given it is known that MSI cancers depend on that gene for survival. By manipulating this gene, we can attempt to find new ways to inhibit this pathway.
How has Dickinson prepared you for life after graduation?
Conducting research at Dickinson has been one of the most engaging projects I have ever been a part of. I worked in Associate Professor Micheal Roberts’ lab for two years studying acute myeloid leukemia, and I believe that is what prepared me most for after graduation. It is rare that undergraduate students receive their own projects within a lab, but that is what makes Dickinson unique. I was given my own project where I was responsible for all of my own data, I designed and conducted my own experiments, wrote a thesis as a part of my honors requirements and presented our data at the annual AACR conference. Along with that, I received mentorship that was vital to my growth within the lab, my career and as a person overall.
Internship Experience
In the summer of 2021, I completed the SURP program at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. It was a summer research program that taught students how to understand published papers, conduct essential microbiology experiments, analyze collected data, write scientific reports and present findings through presentations and posters, by studying the work done by Brunet, et.al., in the paper "14-3-3 Transits to the Nucleus and Participates in Dynamic Nucleocytoplasmic Transport." Students in the program were also taught how to be professional in a work setting though various professionalism workshops. By the end of the program, we created our own experiments, analyzed data and created a poster to present, entitled "14-3-3 Participates in Nuclear Export When Residue 49 Is Positively Charged," which won first place.
Erin Kennaly
Hometown: Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Majors: biology, Russian
Employer: Orthopedic Institute of Pennsylvania
Job title: physical therapy technician
Job Responsibilities
Assist physical therapists in treating patients and keeping the clinic clean and organized.
How has Dickinson prepared you for life after graduation?
Dickinson has given me a broader view of the world and taught me how to expand my knowledge in order to help the world and its people in my own way.
What are you most anticipating about your career or post-graduate pursuits?
Getting my doctorate in physical therapy and being able to help my community.
What are some of the defining moments of your Dickinson experience?
Studying abroad in Russia the summer after my first year, being part of the equestrian team and showing, doing research with Visiting Instructor Gene Wingert, being part of pre-health and a TA for introductory biology.
Internship Experience
Dickinson College Department of Biology research assistant for Visiting Instructor in Biology Gene Wingert researching the freshwater turtles, the common snapping turtle and the eastern musk turtle's nesting habits to gather baseline data for global warming at Wildwood park in Harrisburg.
Lucy Parker-Burns
Hometown: Easthampton, Massachusetts
Majors: biology, political science
Employer: Edmond Chan
Job title: research associate II
Job Responsibilities
As a research associate II, I will be aiding in conducting research that leverages genomic, functional genomic and biochemical tools to interrogate gastrointestinal (GI) cancer vulnerabilities and uncover novel biological insights. This will include utilizing novel genomic techniques in analyzing patient cells, GI cancer cell lines and murine models to further understand the dependency of GI cancers on specific genetic mutations.
How has Dickinson prepared you for life after graduation?
I believe that the skills I have learned from all of my classes has significantly helped me to become much more confident in my skills as a researcher, speaker and overall inquirer. Attending a liberal arts school has also made me emphasize cross-discipline experiences and to further seek those out as I leave college. I also highly value my experiences from being a Liberty Cap tour guide and Admissions Fellow student interviewer, as they have seriously helped my speaking abilities and conduct in interviews.
What are you most anticipating about your career or post-graduate pursuits?
I currently am considering pursuing a MD/Ph.D likely after my job at Columbia University finishes. I am incredibly excited to continue conducting cancer research, a pursuit I started here at Dickinson with Associate Professor of Biology Michael Roberts, and to further investigate precise genomic avenues as cancer treatments.
What are some of the defining moments of your Dickinson experience?
Certainly conducting genomic cancer research has been a defining moment for me here at Dickinson. I am about to go down to New Orleans to attend the annual AACR (American Association for Cancer Research) meeting with my research group to present our research as part of the Undergraduate Symposium. Though this hasn't happened yet, I am certain it will be a defining moment as the start of my career in medicine and research.
Internship Experience
I did an externship with the Melanoma Research Foundation over winter break in 2019. My work primarily focused on tracking bills proposed at the state and national levels that pertained to the application of sunscreen in public schools and the enforcement of age limits for using tanning beds. This position also required attending a PhRMA conference as well as a Price of Good Health summit, both of which addressed the current healthcare crises in the U.S., hearing from pharmaceutical companies, U.S. congressmen, heads of data security from Microsoft, current physicians and many more.
Tatiana Ulloa
Hometown: Quito, Ecuador
Majors: biochemistry & molecular biology, biology
Employer: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Job title: research technician
Job Responsibilties
Continue the work of a postdoc, which is focused on 3D chromatin architecture. I will be preparing brain samples for further analysis.
How has Dickinson prepared you for life after graduation?
My classes at Dickinson helped me develop soft, as well as technical, skills that have been extremely useful in my field of study. For instance, the lab work that we were assigned significantly enhanced not only my scientific knowledge but also taught me how to properly design experiments and carry them through to completion in an organized manner. Additionally, during my time at Dickinson I was encouraged to engage in networking, and this was very useful, as it helped me find a job after I graduated.
What are you most anticipating about your career or post-graduate pursuits?
I am excited to be part of an environment where research is the main focus, since I have discovered that this is my passion. I also cannot wait to continue my educational path in science by enrolling in a Ph.D. program in the future.
What are some of the defining moments of your Dickinson experience?
One of the defining moments of my Dickinson experience was my junior year, since I decided to do it all online from Ecuador due to COVID. As an international student, I initially thought that it would be a challenging year, but I could not be more thankful for my professors, who showed all their support and made my learning experience an unforgettable one in spite of the unusual circumstances.
Internship Experience
I was a visiting undergraduate student at the University of California, San Francisco, during the summer of 2021. Throughout my stay, I helped a postdoc in the lab with her project, which mainly consisted of B2 cell characterization in the ventricular-subventricular zone of mouse brain samples.
Zoe Muller
Hometown: Schwenksville, Pennsylvania
Major: biology
Graduate School: University of Texas at Arlington
Field of study: quantitative biology
How has Dickinson prepared you for life after graduation?
Dickinson has taught me how to think deeply and use my time wisely. In classes like Population Genetics and Animal Diversity, I was taught the breadth of biology and thus I fell in love with the discipline. Through my research on campus, I was able to apply and begin to refine that type of thinking. I learned how to be honest with myself in my academics and how to enjoy each moment even if I am not meeting deadlines. Learning how to accept where you are and be okay with failure is a really important lesson I learned here that will be important to my success in the future.
What are you most anticipating about your career or post-graduate pursuits?
I am super excited to be pursuing my Ph.D. at U.T.A. I am perhaps most excited to be able to spend most of my time conducting research and less time worrying about classes. I cannot wait to refine my skills as a biologist and I am excited to be entering into a new stage of my life!
What are some of the defining moments of your Dickinson experience?
One of my favorite moments at Dickinson occurred this semester when I came to terms with my real passions in science. I am a chemistry minor and only recently discovered my passion for the subject. In my chemical biology class, we talk about a lot of the clever ways scientists alter biological processes and it just fascinated me. I realized that one of the reasons I love biology is that it is very inventive, and to continue making discoveries we must be clever ourselves. I love realizing I will never understand all of biology, but the parts I do understand are spectacularly innovative.
Internship Experience
My first year summer, I was an intern at the Lehigh Valley Zoo as a conservation education intern. In this position, I was able to explore my love of animals through husbandry and education. I fell in love with the study of reptiles and amphibians, which I now study and will continue to study in my Ph.D.
Madison McIntyre
Hometown: West Milford, New Jersey
Majors: biology, anthropology
Graduate School: University of South Dakota / University of Alabama
Field of study: biology
How has Dickinson prepared you for life after graduation?
Dickinson has prepared me in many ways. Living in a diverse community is a part of life. The students at Dickinson taught me so much about inclusivity and diversity. My anthropology degree has taught me so many unique perspectives of the world and how to think critically. And biology is my passion. I intend to continue to pursue higher academia.
What are you most anticipating about your career or post-graduate pursuits?
I am very excited to further scientific outreach and encouraging students from underprivileged areas to find empowerment in science. I look forward to placing indigenous voices back into natural science. And I definitely look forward to doing field research in South Africa with local community members and playing with chameleons!
What are some of the defining moments of your Dickinson experience?
I think there are so many. Becoming a blue hat, studying abroad in Iceland and Costa Rica, field research in Colorado and the students I have met.
Internship Experience
I completed a research-based internship with a grant from the Center for Sustainability Education. It was a summerlong internship that included field research in NW Colorado, lab research in NW Colorado and Carlisle and community outreach and education with underrepresented communities. I worked with Professor Boback, and the project has culminated into my senior thesis in anthropology and my honors thesis in biology.
Gabrielle Sevrain
Hometown: New Tripoli, Pennsylvania
Major: biology
Graduate School: Ross University
Field of study: veterinary medicine
How has Dickinson prepared you for life after graduation?
Dickinson has given me the tools to apply what I learned in the classroom to real life situations.
Internship Experience
- Merck Animal Health: Companion Animal Biological Global Marketing Co-op - Madison, N.J.
- B Braun: environmental health and safety intern - Allentown, Pa.
TAKE THE NEXT STEPS
Published March 30, 2022