Koehler Juggles Softball Present, Med School Future
Jessica Koehler patrols left field for the Albion College softball team, but there have been days this season when she thinks she is juggling bowling pins instead of snaring line drives.
An all-Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association second-team performer in 2011 and a two-time member of the league's academic honor roll, Koehler is taking a class to prepare for the Medical College Admissions Test in addition to her regular coursework in biology, chemistry, English, and physics, and completing a presentation on detecting e-coli bacteria in environmental samples for the college's April 19 Elkin R. Issac Student Research Symposium.
Matt Lozier in the lab at the Owensboro Cancer Research Program.
A cornerback on the Albion College football team, Matt Lozier, '12, is used to tackling opponents. This summer, the Clarklake native found himself tackling cancer – one of the most menacing opponents some people ever face – as an intern at the Owensboro Cancer Research Program (OCRP).
The OCRP, under the direction of Dr. Keith Davis, '79, is devoted to unlocking the potential of plant-based pharmaceuticals and antiviral proteins. Lozier was modifying lunasin, a protein isolated from soybeans that has been suggested to possess anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties, with materials that would allow lunasin to bind specifically to integrins on cancer cells. The hope is to find a treatment that would directly target cancer cells while allowing good cells to live.
Albion College is an undergraduate, liberal arts institution committed to academic excellence. We are learning-centered and recognize that valuable learning takes place in and outside the classroom, on and off campus. We prepare students to translate critical thought into action.
Jessica Koehler patrols left field for the Albion College softball team, but there have been days this season when she thinks she is juggling bowling pins instead of snaring line drives.
