Alumni Updates

We post updates from alumni and friends as we receive them. Use our handy online form to send us your news!

Jennifer Stickley Newlin '01 (BS - Biology) I have to admit after graduating from W&M I was clueless about what I wanted do with my Biology major. I dreaded the question, "What are your plans after graduation?". It took some time to figure out my path. Several months after graduating I started working in Norfolk at the Center for Pediatric Research as a Research Assistant. I enjoyed this position; however, I wanted to have a clinical role in medicine. My first clinical experiences were working as a volunteer EMT with Virginia Beach EMS and then as a Medical Assistant at Georgetown University working with Adult Oncology patients. During this time I decided to pursue a career as a Physician Assistant and graduated from the Duke University PA Program in 2007. Since graduation I have been practicing in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and enjoy working directly with patients and their families. My husband Chris and I celebrated the birth of our first son, Davis Christopher September 30th, 2008. (9/09)

Chuck Booth '77 (MA - Biology) This fall I'm starting my 26th year as a professor of biology at Eastern Connecticut State University. (9/09)

Jason Schoener '07 (BS - Biology, Kinesiology) I am still in Dental School at VCU MCV campus and will graduate in 2011. (9/09)

Eve Earley '74 (BS - Biology) I worked at a Women's Health Center in San Francisco after college. I took graduate classes at Middlebury College in Vermont, as I was interested in Alternative Biology. I worked in research at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh with Dr. Janet McDonnough. She studied gene enzyme system with GTP cyclohydrolase in Drosophila melanogaster. I received my Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Northwestern College of Chiropractic in Minneapolis in 1986. I have a solo practice in Indianapolis. I did my advanced work in CranioSacral Therapy with the Upledger Institute in 2000 and was certified in 2001. I have studied viniyoga with Gary Kraftsow since 1989 and am a certified yoga teacher. (9/09)

Lorrie Cone Pocher '76 (BS - Biology) Currently working as a temp filling in for a friend in Onsite Water Protection in NC state government. I have recently worked for the Public Health Pest Management as an Entomology tech and assistant in the Bedding License program. My master's degree is in Entomology. (9/09)

James Morris '90 (BS - Biology) Currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Genetics and Biochemistry at Clemson University. Folks in my lab work on nutrient sensing in the African trypanosome. (9/09)

Woo Kim '93 (BS - Biology) Currently an Emergency Physician at Sibley Memorial Hospital in DC. Engaged to Catherine Chu to be wed 2010. (9/09)

Carolyn Eaton-Nowinski '92 (BS - Biology) I will be giving a lecture at the Houston Primary Care Summit in October on "The Wonderful World of Generics" (9/09)

Judith Pratt Rossiter '81 (BS - Biology) Still happily married to Kevin Rossiter ('79). Now "empty nesters" with one son at Univ of MD, College Park and one at NYU. Work-wise, department head of Ob/Gyn at a community hospital north of Baltimore, St. Joseph Medical Center. Also very busy clinically as a maternal fetal medicine specialist and medical geneticist. (9/09)

Matthew Bernart '82 (BS - Biology) For the past year, as Senior Chemist, I have been project manager for high performance thin layer chromatography as a fingerprinting method for botanical/herbal identification at Nature's Way Products. My William & Mary experience was excellent prep for this. (9/09)

Stephanie Chambers '05 (BS - Biology) Currently practicing as a General Dentist at the Virginia Commonwealth University's Advanced Education General Dentistry Residency Program (9/09)

Christopher Ours '09 (BS - Biology and Philosophy) Currently attending New York Medical College. (9/09)

Gerson Florez '00 (BS - Biology) Current Orthopaedic Surgery Resident at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia. Married in June 2009. (9/09)

Ginger Dick Seybold '72 (BS - Biology) Earned a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the U of Minnesota in 1972. When my husband Bob Seybold (1972 Psychology grad from W&M) finished his PhD in Counseling Psychology at the U of MN in 1979 we looked nationally for academic positions. The U of MN offered both of us a job, so we're still here! I was promoted to full Professor in 1990 and am currently a professor in the Department of Neuroscience and Director of Graduate Studies for the Graduate Program in Neuroscience (check us out at www.neuroscience.umn.edu, we actually teach a course in the north woods). My research program focuses on manipulation of our body's endogenous cannabionid compounds to alleviate pain. A personal proud parent moment was co-authoring a paper with one of my sons last year; he is currently a graduate student in neuroscience at UCSF. (9/09)

Rebecca Miller Ironmonger '81 (BS - Biology) I am a veterinarian practicing in St. Mary's County, MD. My husband Mike (W & M 1971, chemistry) and I have 4 children. I work part-time: it's the best schedule! I see primarily dogs and cats, with the occasional rabbit, rat and/or guinea pig. The strong biology (and chemistry) background I got from William and Mary really prepared me well for veterinary school. (9/09)

Theresa Barberi '03 (BS - Biology) Went on to intern at National Institute of Health in Baltimore for one year, then began graduate school at Duke University, where I am currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Molecular Cancer Biology. (9/09)

Matthew Wright '97 (BS - Biology) After finishing four years on active duty in the Air Force, I moved to Bozeman, MT in 2008. I am currently working as a physician specializing in hospital medicine. (9/09)

Blake Belde '80 (BS - Biology and Environmental Science) I'm still with USDA working on Superfund issues: cleanup of formerly used Defense sites on US Forest Service lands, the USDA member of the National Response Team for Oil and Hazmat spills and also the USDA Brownfields coordinator. I also work on land transfers to ensure that the government minimizes the acquisition of contaminated properties. After graduation from the Duke Nicholas School of Environment (known as Duke Forestry & Environmental Studies when I was there!) with an MEM, I settled back in Arlington and have been here since 1982. I'm very active playing clarinet still with DC's Different Drummers and singing with the Georgetown Chorale. I've also been involved in many diversity and civil rights initiatives here at USDA most recently rewriting the Departmental Regulation for Special Emphasis programs to include GLBT employees. (9/09)

Cheryl Russell Scheid '70 (BS - Biology) Since September of 2006, have served as the Vice Chancellor for Academic, Faculty and Student Affairs at the University of Tennessee. Assumed the additional role of Interim Dean of the College of Graduate Health Sciences in February 2009. (9/09)

Courtney Leisner '07 (BS - Biology and Environmental Science) I recently graduated with my MS in Botany from Washington State University. I am now at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign beginning my PhD in plant biology. I'm doing research related to climate change, plant physiology and genetics. (9/09)

Melissa Mefford '09 (BS - Biology) This spring I completed a PhD in Genetics from The University of Chicago, where my dissertation was entitled "snRNA structure and dynamics during the catalytic phase of pre-mRNA splicing". I will be starting a post-doc at The Johns Hopkins University this fall. While I am excited to be returning to the east coast, I will miss my lunch dates with fellow W&M alumnus and molecular biologist Dr. Kara Foshay, who is currently doing her post-doc at The University of Chicago. (6/09)

Amanda Kaye '01 (MA - Biology) I have just completed my PhD in Plant Pathology. My research explored the molecular genetics and population structure of Tomato spotted wilt virus on peanut in North Carolina and Virginia. (5/09)

Anne Pollard '97 (BS - Biology) I am currently a Forensic Scientist Group Supervisor with the Virginia Department of Forensic Science. I do nuclear DNA analysis of items of evidence in criminal cases and supervise a group of other scientists and lab assistants who do the same. (2/09)

Sally Hunsucker '93 (BS - Biology and Anthropology) After graduation, I spent several years as a lab technician at USDA's Beltsville Agricultural Research Center before changing my research focus from botany to pharmacology. I received a Ph.D. in Pharmacology in 2003 from the University of North Carolina, and I am currently a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Lymphoma & Myeloma at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Many thanks to my professors at W&M (especially Dr. Mathes and Dr. Wiseman) for their encouragement along the way. It is wonderful to see The Niche in its new online format! (2/09)

Diane Owens Wallach '97 (BS - Biology) I attended New England College of Optometry, and briefly returned to Williamsburg after graduation. For 5 years, I have owned my practice, Selden Optomtery, in Norfolk, VA. My husband, Josh Wallach 1996, teaches at ODU, and we enjoy our children, Eleanor and Evan. (2/09)

Dave Davis '89 (BS - Biology) After 6 years as the Senior Wetland Ecologist for the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), I was promoted, in 2007, to Director of the Office of Wetlands & Water Protection at DEQ. I still get to play in the muck and mud a little, but not quite as often as I'd like.

Les Powell '71 (BS - Biology) After W&M graduation, I graduated from MCV, completing my family practice residency in 1978. Have since then been a family practitioner in Franklin, Va. with several partners. I have two sons who both graduated from UVA, one is a practicing architect in Philadelphia and the other is completing his 3rd year of med school at UVA. I continue to value my years and education at W&M. (2/09)

Eric Chen '00 (BS - Biology) Eric earned his MD from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2007 and is now halfway through his Family Medicine residency in Hendersonville, NC. He and his wife, Lauren ('02), are expecting their first child in June. (2/09)

Matthew Wolak '07 (BS - Biology and Environmental Science) I am currently in my second year of a PhD program in Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology at the University of California-Riverside. I will be focusing my dissertation on the evolutionary genetics of sexual dimorphism in populations of water striders that vary in their stream ecology. I also received an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship to pursue this work. (2/09)

Anna Forsman '02 (BS - Biology) In summer 2007 I completed a M.S. at Illinois State University studying extra-pair paternity and indirect genetic benefits in socially monogamous house wrens. My M.S. work was published in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology (21, 2008) and Molecular Ecology (17, 2008; cover image). In fall 2008 I started working on my Ph.D. in the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at Cornell University. For my dissertation I am investigating immune-based maternal effects in tree swallows in relation to microbial diversity across their breeding range. (2/09)

Karen Lewis Resendes '99 (BS - Biology) Since graduating from W&M I obtained a PhD in Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry from Brown University and have been working the past few years as a Post-doctoral fellow in the IRACDA (Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Award) Program in San Diego. This program involves both teaching, Non- Majors Biology at San Diego State University and research, I am studying nuclear transport in the lab of Dr. Douglass Forbes at UC San Diego. Beginning in the Fall of 2009, I will be working as an Assistant Professor at Westminster College in New Wilmington, PA. My husband, daughter and I will miss California but look forward to being back on the east coast! (2/09)

Sharyn Lincoln '04 (BS, BA - Biology, Religion) I received an M.S. in Genetic Counseling from Brandeis University in Waltham, MA and am currently working as a Certified Genetic Counselor at Children's Hospital Boston. I see children and families in our Genetics Program and Fragile X Program for evaluations and counseling for testing, test results, diagnoses, and recurrence risks. (2/09)

Nicole Johnson '97 (BS - Biology) After graduating in May of 1997, with my Biology degree in hand, I spent the rest of 1997 at NIH working in a C. elegans lab. I then headed off to New Zealand for all of 1998 for a Rotary Scholarship to study Bioethics at the University of Otago in Dunedin. Once I was back in the US I attended a joint NIH/Johns Hopkins graduate program for Genetic Counseling. I'm now finishing up my 7th year as a Genetic Counselor for the Center for Inherited Heart Disease in the Division of Cardiology at Johns Hopkins. Student contacts welcome. (2/09)

Sandra Seidel '81 (BS - Biology) Currently (since 2005) Assistant Dean and Associate Professor of Biology at UVa. (2/09)

Jim Welch '90 (BS - Biology) Hi- Thanks for the news in the Niche! It's great to hear about the department. (2/09)

Rebecca Staton-Reinstein '62 (BS - Biology) My study in the Biology department in the early 60s laid a foundation for a life-long interest in science, the understanding of the scientific method as a way to think, and love of the natural world. I did graduate work in biochemical genetics and taught biology and other science in high school and college for many years. Then I took a new tack and explored new field. But it was the grounding in science that enabled me to get a Ph.D. in organizational development and then apply my analytic thinking skills first to computer programming and then management. Management? Yes, because a good manager tests out her theories and modifies them based on the evidence. I now run a strategic planning consulting business and just finished my second book. The research for that book drew heavily on my Wm & Mary experience, the rich history of Williamsburg, and the analytic discipline I developed as a student. The book is Conventional Wisdom: How Today's Leaders Plan, Perform, and Progress Like the Founding Fathers. I acknowledge my studies at Wm & Mary as part of my preparation to write the book. I'm grateful for the wonderful professors and their wisdom. I learned to think in new ways from them. (02/09)

Cynthia Johnson '07 (BS - Biology and Marketing) Now in the 2nd year of a doctor of veterinary medicine program at Virginia Tech. Hired as the marketing director of the National Veterinary Business Management Association in July of 2008. Received the Dr. Bob Brown Award for Entrepreneurship in Fall 2008. Working as student representative for Merial, an animal health pharmaceutical company. Recently published as a second author on the paper "Variation in nocturnality and circadian activity rhythms between photoresponsive F344 and nonphotoresponsive Sprague Dawley rats" with Cheryl D Seroka (also a W&M Alumn) and W&M Professor Dr. Paul D Heideman (02/09)

Greg Vogel '80 (MA - Biology) Celebrating my 20th year as a freelance science & medical writer. Recently won two "Telly" awards for TV spots promoting research on ALS. (02/09)