Molly Austin has been named one of the Winter 2018 Undergraduates of the Quarter and we couldn’t be happier for her.

Molly was born in Iowa City, Iowa and moved to Oregon when she was 11 years old. She went to Lake Oswego High School and inherited her love of chemistry from her parents.

Molly enjoys the fundamental nature of chemistry and its ability to explain essential functions of other science disciplines. Molly always knew she wanted to be a chemistry major at Oregon State University, choosing the location to be near family and for the beauty that Oregon possesses.

Her freshman year, Molly applied for the URSA Grant which allowed her to interview for various research positions. She chose to work in Dr. Sandra Loesgen’s lab. Molly’s research involves natural product discovery, where she works on bacterial strains from the mucus of juvenile Pacific fish. Extracted metabolites are isolated, identified, and tested against pathogens, such as MRSA, and cancer cell lines.

Post-graduation, Molly plans to go medical school or physician’s assistant school.

In her spare time, she likes to play volleyball, do ceramics, and participate in the EPIC campus ministry and leadership.

Her favorite TV show is Avatar: The Last Airbender, and favorite her food is chocolate.

Students like Molly Austin are a huge part of what makes our department so great. We wish her well in all her future endeavors.