N. A L I C E. Y A M A D A

PURSUING GENETIC RESEARCH WITH DRIVE AND UNCOMMON INITIATIVE

By applying her intellectual initiative and powers of analysis to her studies in biology and biochemistry, N. Alice Yamada '98 has not only achieved academic excellence but also has laid plans for a promising career in the field of genetic research. Over the past two years, Yamada, who is a native of Nagoya, Japan, has worked as a research assistant at a Kaiser Permanente clinic in Hawaii and at Hartford Hospital, where she has studied gene mutations and their links to the inheritance of human disease. Already, her work has been published in a national scientific newsletter. A double-major in biology and biochemistry with minors in Asian studies and the Interdisciplinary Science Program (ISP), Yamada has earned faculty honors every semester since her sophomore year. She plans to attend graduate school and either continue her research or teach at the college level. "Alice knew what she wanted and has had the drive and uncommon initiative to seek it out," says Associate Professor of Biology E. Kathleen Archer.

In the process of seeking her goal, Yamada has been honored for her academic achievements. This year she was named one of the co-recipients of the prestigious Vernon K. Krieble Loctite Scholarship, which is awarded to a student who demonstrates outstanding promise as a future research scientist. The national newspaper USA Today cited her with an honorable mention in its annual All-USA College Academic Team awards.

Knowing that her strengths reside in the realm of logic and analytical thinking, Yamada enrolled as a first-year student in ISP, a non-major honors curriculum which explores interdisciplinary connections within the sciences. Guided in part by the ISP and in part by her knowledge of her intellectual strengths, Yamada broadened her exposure to the sciences during her sophomore year. She flourished academically, but she wasn't entirely satisfied. She was looking for a spark -- a transformative learning experience. She discovered it in a "Genetics" course taught by Professor of Biology Donald B. Galbraith. "When I took that class," Yamada reflects, "I knew what it was I wanted to do. I found my goals, and I found the thing that made learning as exciting as I wanted it to be." From that moment onward, genetics captured her attention and she has pursued the field both at Trinity and beyond.

Beyond Trinity's campus, Yamada has taken her analytical skills and scientific learning and applied them to fascinating and important practical problems. After her sophomore year, she worked as a laboratory technician at Kaiser Permanente's clinic in Honolulu, where she learned the essential processes of genetic research that have allowed her to pursue the areas of research she loves. Specifically, Yamada was involved in a research project involving thrombosis, or abnormal blood clotting, and how genetic changes can lead to an increased risk of the disease. "Alice's skills are advanced for an undergraduate," Archer says. "She understands the techniques of her research at a level on par with the understanding of first- or second-year graduate students."

Sophisticated grasp of technique

As the result of her experience, Yamada became interested in genetic testing. Professor Archer helped Yamada connect with a project being headed by Dr. Gregory J. Tsongalis, director of the department of molecular pathology at Hartford Hospital, whose study is exploring the genetic basis of breast cancer. The goal of Yamada's research is to optimize the screening procedures used in detecting genetic defects that would lead to breast cancer. "Alice's most noteworthy quality is her initiative," Archer explains, "coupled with her very sophisticated grasp of the techniques of the field." The results of some of her work have been published in in the "Molecular Diagnostics Newsletter." For her senior thesis, Yamada is expanding upon those findings and combining them with research on the ethical implications of preventive genetic testing.

Yamada feels fortunate to have found her intellectual passion and has a desire to impart that intellectual drive to other students. During her junior year, she served as an academic mentor in "Experiences and Expectations," a seminar taught by Lecturer in Modern Languages and International Studies Naogan Ma. Yamada explains, "The role of the mentor is to help incoming students find what they love, and to foster in them a desire to learn. I love what I do and what I study, and I wanted to pass that on in some way." Yamada, in fact, was so pleased with her first experience as a mentor that she reapplied to the program as a senior and is currently serving as an academic mentor in Assistant Professor of Biology Lisa-Anne Foster's "Infectious Diseases and Public Health" seminar. This semester the biology department recognized Yamada's outstanding abilities and named her a Thomas Hume Bissonnette Teaching Associate. As an associate, Yamada serves as a teaching assistant in the introductory biology course and gives tutoring sessions.

To unwind from the academic rigors of study and research, Yamada pursues her interest in photography. She became involved in the College's on-line "web-zine," The Trincoll Journal where she has served not only as a photographer but also as images editor, senior editor, and editor-in-chief. For additional fun, Yamada skied on Trinity's ski team, served as coxswain on the women's crew team this year, and enjoys doing Shaolin Kung-fu and riding motorcycles.

The future holds many challenging possibilities for this busy and accomplished student. Currently, Yamada is applying to graduate research programs in molecular pathology and biochemistry and also considering enrolling in law school to study medical ethics. Regardless of what she chooses to do, Yamada is certain to leave her own distinctive imprint on the world.

-Jenica Parker Rogers '98