Allison Greco
Allison "Alli" Greco is a senior biology major with a minor in communications who aspires to be a medical doctor. She is a Presidential University Scholar and a member of the university's selective Honors Program. In addition to her extracurricular activities (such as the Health Professions Organization and the Honors Council), she is also very active in 4-H in her hometown of Schulylkill Haven, and in the St. Pauline's Center in Kulpmont. She is also an avid horseback rider.
Alli's path to her research project was one she blazed for herself. As a junior, she took the Cellular Biology course; in the laboratory portion of the course, she learned research techniques such as cell culture, immunocytochemistry, and fluorescence microscopy, and she used these techniques to design and execute a mini-research project which she conducted in the second half of the semester. Since her interests lie mainly in cardiac metabolism, she chose to work with embryonic chick cardiac myocytes. When it came time to start designing her Honors thesis, she opted to focus on her main interest, and found a faculty mentor who could best collaborate with her; she chose Dr. Gomez. She then crafted her summer research proposal and was awarded the fellowship.
Her current research involves harvesting chick embryonic heart cells, growing them in culture and exposing them to hypoxic and hyperoxic stress to see whether these stressors influence the growth, differentiation, and function of these cells. She uses immunocytochemistry and live cell calcium imaging to measure the stress-induced changes in these cells. What is interesting about this collaboration is that Dr. Gomez does not do research on cardiac physiology. So in many ways, this project will be a collaborative learning process for both student and faculty.
"Once you start with something that interests you, you can use research to build your knowledge and answer questions on your own", says Alli. "This is what science is all about."
As for advice she can give current students, Alli says "The Bio major is indeed a challenging one, but if you take classes that you truly enjoy, it won't feel difficult or tedious. Don't let anyone else tell you what class to take,or what to do, of if a class will help you with the MCAT. Follow your interests!"
And as a Communications Minor, Alli has this to say: "Don't be afraid to take classes out of your major, or classes that most bio majors consider to be 'useless', or ones that you think won't help you get in to medical school. Take something fun! You'll never know how this class will apply to other areas of your life, and if you never take them, you will never find out."
Alli is clearly a person who knows how to make the most out of her undergraduate liberal arts education, and of her time here at the University of Scranton.
To read about Giuseppe Bongiorno, the other Presidential Fellowship Awardee, click here.
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