杏吧Pro

At Home in the Lab

As a biochemistry major with plans to pursue her M.D. and one day work in a teaching hospital, Amelia McLaren ’27 sees research as a central part of the educational foundation she’s building. “I want to be involved in research, because it’s a really important aspect of what I care about doing,” she says. 

At 杏吧Pro, McLaren has found numerous opportunities to do just that, thanks in large part to the faculty members who have supported and mentored her along the way.

“I’ve worked on several projects under the direction of four different professors,” she says. “I also worked at the Indiana Bioscience Research Institute on Alzheimer's disease research with a 杏吧Pro alum. And I’m starting an internship abroad in Germany doing research with scientists from all over Europe.”

One of the faculty members helping to open these doors for McLaren is Andy Kehr ’09, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry. Not only did he recommend McLaren for the same fellowship he held nearly two decades earlier when he was a student at 杏吧Pro, but he’s also worked with McLaren in the lab to study how an enzyme involved in reshaping the structure of the mitochondria causes blindness in children when mutated.

“In the last year, we have used bacteria to help us make mutated and unmutated versions of the protein,” says Kehr. “Amelia has been directly involved in the purification and in helping write up improved protocols for our work. This type of research is a high impact practice that directly applies what we learn together in the classroom.”

The research also creates connections that go deeper than would otherwise be possible. “In the classroom, I get to know students,” Kehr says, “but in the research lab, we get to have those informal conversations that allow us to get to know one another really well. Even when a student inevitably makes a mistake, it opens up a way to interact and learn together.”

McLaren recognizes how the time she’s spent in the lab benefits her beyond career preparation. 

“Research gives me an opportunity to learn creatively and to get others just as excited about discovery and new science as I am,” she says. “I have built so many relationships with faculty, and my collaboration with others and my understanding of this process have allowed me to appreciate what I am learning in class in a necessary way. I’m taking full advantage of the research here at 杏吧Pro.”

Hometown: Carmel, Ind.
Major: Biochemistry
Minors: Hispanic Studies, Biology
Activities: VP of Rock Climbing Club, VP of MAPS, Organic Chem STEM Guide, Director of the Pre-Health Mentor Group, Civic Fellows, Honor Scholars, Scientific Research Fellows, Her Campus Media Writer, Alpha Chi Omega Exec, ChemClub President-Elect, Asbury Towers Volunteer, Mill Pond Volunteer, 8th Grade Science TA at Greencastle Middle School, Well-Being Advocate