Ashland University biology alumnus to start medical school this Fall

One of our recent alumni, Bryce Patterson (Biology '23), will be starting the medical school program at the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine this Fall. We recently asked Bryce some questions about what he has been up to in the past year and his advice for preparing for medical school:

What have you been up to since graduating from Ashland University? 

Since graduating from Ashland I have completed my Masters degree in medical science through Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine which afforded me the opportunity to get accepted into their Doctor of Osteopathy (D.O.) program. 

How do you feel that the science programs at Ashland University prepared you for your graduate program? 

I can say with certainty that the science programs at Ashland, specifically the Biology and Chemistry departments, not only prepared me for my Masters program but allowed me to excel in it. The rigor of the science programs at Ashland truly prepared me for the demanding nature of a Masters program. The quality of education though that I received from all of my professors is what truly stands out to me because I wasn’t just learning material and then regurgitating it for tests, rather I was mastering concepts and learning how to teach it to my peers which allowed for a much deeper understanding of the concepts which then went well and beyond what I needed to succeed in my classes. 

What advice do you have for students thinking about a career in medicine and with interest in medical school? 

Advice that I would give for students interested in medicine is to go and get some experience of some sort. Whether that be shadowing someone who does what you are interested in or possibly becoming a healthcare provider in some capacity whether that be an EMT, MA, scribing in the ER, or volunteering at a nursing home. With respect to medical school specifically don’t think that you have to be the cookie cutter perfect applicant that everyone thinks you have to be. Nontraditional students are more and more common and speaking as one myself it will not hamper your chances at getting into medical school. Taking a year to complete my Masters before going to medical school is one of the best decisions I could have made for myself because it allowed me to learn things about myself regarding study habits and such that would have been hard to figure out during medical school. I encourage anyone applying who may feel weary to check out masters programs that medical schools offer or look into the one at LECOM that I completed because I only have good things to say about it.

Alumni and student awards, new science equipment, student presentations

 We have a number of exciting news stories from this Spring semester we wanted to share:

• Mary Brown (Forensic Bio '13) was recognized as the Ashland University young alumna of the year! We posted a story about Mary back in 2021 describing her time earning a Master of Public Health degree from Johns Hopkins University and her work as the Director of the Office of Emergency Management at Johns Hopkins University. Congratulations to Mary!
• 
  
• Check out this fantastic story on our many student presenters at this year's URCA symposium. One of the keynote speakers for the day was alumna Zoey Lockwood (Biochemistry '21), now working on her PhD in chemistry at Case Western Reserve University.
• AU Sciences have entered into a partnership with Shimadzu to provide over $500,000 worth of new equipment to the chemistry instrumental lab on the 4th floor of Kettering. That equipment is now in place and ready for faculty and student use this Fall.
  
• A number of our students were recognized for end-of-year awards by our two science departments at our annual pot luck celebration (see photo below).

 

AU Alumnus Steve Walczak ('19) working as a forensic scientist in Tennessee

Steve Walczak graduated from AU in 2019 with a Biology major and concentration in Forensic Biology interested in pursuing a career as a DNA analyst. After working eight months in a clinical lab in Pennsylvania, Steve took a position as a Special Agent Forensic Scientist with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, where he has worked for the past three and a half years in serology and DNA analysis, as well as a crime science investigator with the Violent Crime Response team. Steve has also been key in helping more recent AU forensic biology graduates with their job searches, helping recruit at least one other AU graduate to Tennessee. You can find Steve on LinkedIn. We asked Steve a few questions about his career path and and experience since graduating from AU:

What has your career path been since graduating from AU?

I graduated from AU in May of 2019 and spent the summer and fall applying for any forensic science job that I could. It did not matter the state in which I was applying. I had a few interviews along the way, but nothing truly panned out. So, a few days before the COVID shutdown, I was hired as a Specimen Prep Technician at a clinical lab, Associated Clinical Laboratories, a sister company of Quest Diagnostics. I spent from March 2020 to September 2020 working there. In July of 2020, I interviewed for a position within the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and was hired and started in October of 2020. I have been a Special Agent Forensic Scientist in the Forensic Biology Unit ever since.

How did your AU education prepare you for your career?

AU helped prepare me in several ways. With the class sizes being so small, it was easy to get that 1 on 1 with the professor. This helped me whenever I had any questions or wanted to sit down and talk. It made it easier to get a recommendation letter from them. I gained the ability to talk to and hold conversations with people in management positions. My major gave me the ability to apply for many forensic science jobs. Those types of jobs require specific classes and/or a certain amount of chemistry hours. I was able to get all of those in just my 4 years at AU. To get a job in a Forensic Biology Unit, 4 specific classes are needed and the track I was on, they were built into the program. The coursework gave me the opportunity to learn the basics behind the technical side, the science, behind what I do. Even down to some of the techniques that we learn in the lab, pipetting for example. At some larger universities, the students might not learn how to do so. So, knowing that ahead of time makes learning that aspect of my job easier.

What advice do you have for our upcoming graduates as they prepare for a career after college?

I would say, do not be afraid to apply to as many jobs as you can. Getting in the forensics field is competitive and stressful. Don’t be afraid to interview whenever you get the opportunity, the more you interview, the better chance you have to land that job. The more I did, the less nervous I became, and the quality of the interview increased. Also, don’t be afraid to reach out to a lab or to someone who knows someone who works in the lab. For me personally, I am happy to talk to you and explain how things work, what life is like, etc.... One thing I wish I had when I was going through that time in my life was that ability to reach out to someone and ask questions.

Chemistry program is saddened by the tragic loss of alumna Danielle Wood Chronister

Danielle Wood Chronister (Chemistry, 2010) was tragically killed last week when struck by a vehicle while walking to work.  At Ashland, Danielle was active in the ACS student group, as seen in the photos below. She also worked in the chemistry stockroom, and was active in the Theatre program. Following graduation, Danielle continued her scientific training at Wright State University.  Danielle taught chemistry and engineering at the MC2STEM High School in Cleveland, and was passionate about helping her students excel.

Our deepest sympathies to her students, friends and loved ones.

AU Alumna Joins Bone Marrow Transplant Lab

 Following her graduation last December, AU Alumna Lexi Butterbaugh Roberts (Biology, ’20) joined the Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology at the University of Michigan as a research lab technician.  The focus of her lab is to better understand what causes graft versus host disease (GvHD) following a bone marrow transplant. Mice are used as a model organism to study this disease, and the laboratory director is particularly interested in the role of a novel long non-coding RNA sequence in acute GvHD. While at Ashland, Lexi was a member of the AU Honors Program as well as being a Choose Ohio First Scholar.

How did your time at Ashland prepare you for the future?

The research skills that I developed in my independent research as well as in my classes at AU definitely helped prepare me for the skills I need in this position. For example, my cellular biology class taught me proper aseptic techniques when working with tissue cell culture, and this is now a skill I use every day. My lab also often extracts bone marrow and harvests spleens from mice, so I was thankful that my labs at AU previously exposed me to these types of intricate tasks. In addition to these technical laboratory skills, the emphasis from AU professors to learn how to read primary research articles was especially helpful. I was so thankful that my professors at AU helped me develop the skills needed to more easily read and comprehend primary research articles because I have been able to gain so much new knowledge in my new field of research in this way.

What did your research as an undergraduate at Ashland focus on?

For two years of my undergraduate experience, I conducted independent research with Dr. Mason Posner. Dr. Posner’s lab used zebrafish as a model organism to study eye lens development with the hopes of better understanding lens cataract formation. My research specifically focused on the lens-specific protein, αA-crystallin, and understanding how the loss of αA-crystallin in the lens impacts zebrafish lens development and cataract formation. This was the research experience that led me to complete my honors capstone thesis at AU.

Dr. Posner comments about Lexi that "When I spoke with the professor that runs Lexi’s current lab for her application reference call, he was impressed with the wide range of techniques she had learned as an undergraduate. But maybe even more, he felt that she stood out above other applicants in her writing and presentation skills and the deep understanding Lexi had of her honors capstone work. Lexi shared with him portions of her capstone thesis and recordings of her research talks, highlighting how well developed her science skills were at this stage in her career."           

What were the highlights of the AU Science Program for you?

Although I really enjoy my new position in Ann Arbor, I still miss my time in Ashland. The best part of my Ashland University experience was the relationships I was able to develop with a lot of the professors and I cherished the closeness of the AU community. Since Ashland is a smaller school, I loved that wherever I went on campus, I knew I would always see a familiar face, which is something I am really going to miss! One-on-one time with the professors was also not hard to come by. I feel that this was beneficial for me because whenever I needed a little extra help understanding something, my professors were not difficult to find, and were always eager to offer additional explanations. The smaller class sizes were especially nice when it came to the lab sections of classes because I was able to be very hands-on. This was definitely one of the highlights of the AU science program for me because it helped me gain more confidence in my skills and independence as a lab technician. I am so thankful for my time at Ashland University where I developed the various skills needed to help me land my first job, and for the professors who instilled in me the curious mind that is so important in research.

AU Grad Puts Medical Skills into Practice in Kenya

Dr. Meghann Fitzpatrick Burns (Biology ’17) is living her dream of working as a physician following her graduation from Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine.  Currently fulfilling her residency as an OB/GYN in Bowling Green, Kentucky, Dr. Burns (Meg) recently had the opportunity to serve her final medical school rotation working in the maternity ward of Tenwek Hospital near Bomet, Kenya with Samaritan's Purse.

About her experience in Kenya, Meg finds it difficult to summarize briefly but offered a number of reflections about her experience:

“The first couple of days in the hospital consisted of basically just trying to get my bearings. Several Kenyan general interns (they spoke English extremely well) and two full time American OB/GYNs worked there. Every morning we saw up to 25-30 patients on rounds. Occasionally there would be 2-3 women to a bed in labor. When they were fully dilated, they would move to a different room on beds with plastic coverings separated only by a sheet hanging from the ceiling in between. Pain medications were not an option and as soon as they delivered, they got up, went to rinse off, and go back to the shared bed. The afternoons were typically spent either doing C-sections or other surgeries. Though I did several for practice, vaginal deliveries were typically performed by nurse midwives.”

Meg adds:

“Typically, I assisted in surgeries and c-sections. During my third week I was with one of the American attendings and she traded places with me at the OR table. I can only imagine how big my eyes were when they handed me the scalpel and I started my very first c-section as the primary surgeon. I did this one other time and assisted several more before leaving.  In a single month I saw two cases of Stage IV cervical cancer with extension into the bladder - because of this I have a whole new appreciation for pap smears and preventative medicine in general.”

While she was there, Meg also had the opportunity to go out on safari.  She writes, “Africa is so much more beautiful than I imagined. Everything is so green and lush. We were there during rainy season so every afternoon it poured but the temperature was comfortable all the time. After seeing these animals in their natural state (sometimes only about 15 feet away!) I don't think a Zoo is ever going to do it for me again.”

What was the best part of your Ashland University experience?

“The best part of my time at AU would have to be my experience playing college tennis. I gained amazing friendships and learned invaluable life lessons about hard work, resiliency, and a positive attitude that carried me through medical school and will be what carry me through OB/GYN residency, too.”

 

What were the highlights of the AU Science Program for you and how did it prepare you for medical school?

“The highlight of science at AU was undoubtedly the cookware research project I did with Dr. Weidenhamer! I loved that our project directly correlated to people's health in third world nations. During my 2.5 years of working on this project, I learned so much about research methods, presenting information, and generating new ideas. The faculty members at AU, specifically the science department, were always so supportive of me and my goal to pursue medicine.”