Meelad Dawlaty '03

Meelad My Concordia journey began in January 2000, right at the dawn of the new millennium.  I pursued double majors in Biology Honors and Chemistry Honors. Upon graduation in December 2003, I worked in a cancer research lab at University of Nebraska Medical Center for about six months, and in June 2004 I joined the cancer biology PhD program at the Mayo Graduate School in Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN.

Over the past four years I have been studying genes that regulate proper distribution of chromosomes to the daughter cells during cell division. I use genetically modified mice to study if and how alterations in number of chromosomes in a cell contribute to cancer development. I am completing my PhD in the end of this year and will start postdoctoral work at the Whitehead Research Institute in Cambridge MA, where I will embark on a new avenue of research studying the biology of stem cells.

My summer undergraduate research internships in Concordia biology department and through the Concordia co-op program not only drove me to pursue a career in biomedical research, but also gave me hands-on laboratory experience. This, together with my undergraduate biology and chemistry coursework and mentoring that I received from professors at Concordia, were instrumental to my success in graduate school.

As an international student, I found the Concordia campus and the Cobber community, from students to staff and faculty, very welcoming and friendly. During my four years in Concordia, I lived in Livedalen hall and served on residential life staff both as a resident assistant (RA) and director’s assistant (DA). I made many friends in Concordia, not only from several small towns in the Midwest but also from over a dozen different countries. I still keep in touch with my professors and friends from Concordia and visit them whenever I am in town. Good memories from our time in Concordia are always part of the conversations.

 

 

 

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