Medical school might be her future, but Rebecca Klar ’10 will never forget her past at St. Lawrence. What initially attracted the neuroscience major and chemistry minor to SLU was the small class sizes and the diverse liberal arts education, but her experience has been invaluable for her future career goals as well as her personal growth.

Rebecca is from Easton, CT. “Although I’m into the sciences, I love that I can take courses in a lot of different disciplines,” says the Joel Barlow High School graduate.

Rebecca is a teaching assistant (TA) for General Biology and Chemistry classes, and is also an EMT for SLU EMS. “It’s been a great and unlikely way to give back to the campus,” she says. She is also a member of Chi Omega sorority and the academic and leadership honorary Omicron Delta Kappa as well as the biology honorary society Beta Beta Beta.

“The best part of my SLU experience has been the ability to get involved in research before my senior year,” says Rebecca. She started independent research with Karin Heckman, visiting assistant professor of biology, in the spring of her junior year. “My research is focused mainly on immunology. I am working on a mouse model of multiple sclerosis and trying to find novel, therapeutic treatments using a naturally occurring substance called astaxanthin.” Astaxanthin, which she spelled easily and with a laugh, is found in seafood and is what makes flamingos pink. Her research project stemmed from research that Joey Webb ’08 had started; she decided to pick it up because she was also interested in relating neuroscience with immunology.

Rebecca is applying to medical schools in the Northeast and hopes to use her research and gain a Ph.D. in immunology or treat patients with auto-immune diseases.              

--Nora Wolinsky ’10