Lindenwood Magazine - Fall 2018: Connecting to Alumni and Friends

Lindenwood University-Belleville / ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT GEHRS STARTS CAREER IN RESEARCH AT SITEMAN CANCER CENTER by JENNIFER FERGUSON Lindenwood University-Belleville alumna Leah Gehrs (’15) has seen co-workers come and go in her last two years as a research lab technician at Washington University in St. Louis. “Sometimes we bring on new employees who academically are very strong and have the same credentials as I do, but when they get in the laboratory environment, they aren’t comfortable in the position because they weren’t exposed to the instrumentation and laboratory environment as an undergraduate student,” said Gehrs. “I know I thrive in this role because for every science class I had at Lindenwood, I also had a lab to perform.” Gehrs graduated with a Bachelor of Science in biology in 2015. Graduating from Althoff Catholic High School in Belleville in 2006, Gehrs completed her first two years of college at Ole Miss. However, after her mother was in a serious car accident, she decided she needed to be closer to home to help support and care for her. “I know if I wouldn’t have finished my bachelor’s degree, I wouldn’t have landed this job,” she said. “I feel very fortunate that I was able to complete my four-year degree near home and close to my family so I could assist as needed.” Gehrs said that during her time at Lindenwood, she felt very fortunate to work closely with professors due to the small class sizes and access to laboratory settings. “I really fell in love with genetics and studying cancer when I took a special topics course with Dr. [Rick] Finger,” she said. “But my microbiology class was my favorite, probably because it was the most hands-on, and that’s when I really knew I wanted a job within a lab setting.” Gehrs said that within about six months of graduating, she received two competitive job offers in St. Louis, where her primary work would be in a laboratory setting. Now as a research lab technician, she works for the Siteman Cancer Center’s Dr. John DiPersio, who is conducting clinical research trials related to bone marrow transplantation and cancer. Her primary responsibility is to separate blood from its plasma and to evaluate it to see if medication distributed to the patients in the clinical trial is working or not. “Lindenwood Belleville was great for me,” said Gehrs. “I loved the supportive relationships I formed with the professors. They were more than people you just saw a couple times a week and could email with concerns. They actually knew who I was as a person and guided me and inspired me to pursue a career that I love, and I’m very grateful for that.” Leah Gehrs “ LINDENWOOD / FALL 2018 14 “Without the information and tools I was exposed to as a student, I wouldn’t have been able to be as successful as I am.” Leah Gehrs