Margaret Andrews

Doctoral student, Division of Biological Sciences

Margaret Andrews initially chose to focus on malaria because of her long-established interest in the history of plants in treating disease. Then she was drawn to the policy implications of malaria. She says, "People have been treated for malaria for hundreds of years, but the problem is just getting worse." Meg's route to a career in science began early. In middle school and continuing into high school, she worked on a series of science fair projects aimed at developing a system of growing plants in space. Winning a full academic scholarship from the Park Foundation to attend North Carolina State University, Meg earned degrees in biochemistry and history. "I have always thought we could learn from the past to solve our current problems," she comments. Now a second-year doctoral student, Meg is using the tools of chemical biology for her research. She is currently working with the Broad Institute on developing a heme crystallization inhibition assay for high throughput screening. As a requirement of her Department of Homeland Security fellowship, she will spend the summer studying brucellosis in the bison population of Yellowstone National Park. Meg plans to continue to work on neglected infectious diseases in the future, for a federal agency or within an academic institution.