Kathryn Colelli, a member of the College of the Holy Cross class of 2013, has been awarded a Beckman Scholarship, to conduct high-level research on mechanistic enzymology, with Kenneth Mills, associate professor of chemistry.
A biology major with concentrations in both biochemistry and prehealth, Colelli will study inteins, which are self splicing proteins. “My work will examine the effects different amino acids have on the ability to splice and the rate of splicing,” she said. A resident of Jericho, Vt., she has been invited to present her work at the annual National Beckman Scholar Conference in Palo Alto, Calif., this August.
On campus, Colelli is a biology lab teaching assistant, a member of the American Medical Students Association, and a member of the Purple Key Society, a campus service organization. After graduating from Holy Cross, Colelli plans to attend medical school and eventually specialize in genetics or a related field.
Colelli is the fourth and final Holy Cross student to receive a Beckman Scholarship through a grant awarded to the College by the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation in 2008. Holy Cross was one of nine institutions selected for the grant, which aims to significantly advance the education, research training and personal development of students studying chemistry, biochemistry, and the biological and medical sciences.
Established in 1997, each Beckman Scholarship is for $19,300 and is divided accordingly: $6,000 summer research stipend for each of two summers, $4,000 academic year research scholarship, $850 per summer for travel and supply funds, $1,600 for academic year travel and supply funds.
The College’s first Beckman Scholar, Emily Kinn ’11, who graduated in May, worked with Ann Sheehy, assistant professor of biology on HIV research. Kathryn Kennedy ’12 is currently working with Richard Herrick, professor of chemistry, to develop new methodologies for growing protein crystals, and Peter Renehan ’12 is currently working with Joshua Farrell, Thomas E. D’Ambra associate professor of chemistry, to find better ways to dispose of nuclear waste and aromatic pollutants. Kennedy and Renehan will travel with Colelli to National Beckman Scholar Conference.
Related Information:
Holy Cross Junior Receives Prestigious National Science Scholarship
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