Our Alumni
For the love of learning
Megan Cleland graduated with a double major in biochemistry and biomedical science and then bested some 600 applicants for one of six spots in the NIH/Johns Hopkins University program.
Pursuing a doctorate in cellular, molecular, developmental biology and biophysics may consume more than half a decade of her life. Tack on a post-doctoral fellowship and Megan Cleland ’05 could be nearly 30 before she strikes out on her own. “That’s OK,” said Cleland, who is from Sioux Falls. “I love learning. That’s why I’m here.” Here is in Bethesda, Maryland, where Cleland does research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Her love of research took hold at St. Cloud State University while studying the anti-cancer activities of various metal complexes with chemistry professor Lakshmaiah Sreerama. Now she listens to Nobel Prize laureates lecture, investigates the fusion and fragmentation of cellular mitochondria and dreams of establishing a lab of her own.
