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Wendy Ingram became hooked on independent research early thanks to work at the UA.

By La Monica Everett-Haynes, University Communications
December 12, 2007

The majority of College of Science undergraduates get some research experience alongside a University of Arizona faculty member before they leave.

Wendy Ingram became part of the 65 percent of independent research-experienced undergraduates early in her academic career.

Ingram “got hooked on research” after meeting Thomas Baldwin, a biochemistry and molecular biophysics professor, during a Family Weekend barbecue her first semester at the UA. Baldwin helped her get interviews with several professors and eventually she ended up in Matthew H.J. Cordes’ laboratory in the same department.

“I absolutely fell in love with the scientific process of discovery and the methods they use exploring the unknown,” said Ingram, who began working in the lab during her second freshman semester.

“It was fascinating to me. I had no idea what research really was until I got in a lab and started doing it," she said.

Ingram has earned a double degree in biochemistry and psychology and will graduate Dec. 15 during the UA's 137th commencement at McKale Memorial Center. She will be continuing her work as a master’s degree student at the UA next year.

 

Ingram received the 2007 Outstanding Senior award, presented by the UA's College of Science and biochemistry and molecular biophysics department.

One of the things Ingram said she was most proud of was her work as a mentor in the biochemistry and molecular biophysics department.

She also held positions in Women of Biological Sciences, a student organization that encourages women and minorities to consider programs and work in scientific fields.

The group would host discussions with professors and professionals "to show everybody that we can do this,” Ingram said. "They have successful marriages, children and leadership roles. It’s not impossible."

Even on her own time, Ingram would meet with other students to help them figure out what to do when they hit a rut, or if they simply needed more encouragement.

"I tried to help send them in the right direction and encourage htem not give up,” she said, adding that those conversations would also get her fired up and excited. "It was the best thing for me.”

During her undergraduate years, Ingram worked on three projects, all dealing with protein evolution, which is essentially studying “when proteins go bad” and lead to such illnesses as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.

This work led her to Scotland during her junior year to study psychology at the University of St. Andrews, which has a preeminent research psychology program.

Her desire to become a researcher is quite different from her first career path. She has done professional modeling since eighth grade and has since appeared in commercials, hair shows and on the runway.

“I randomly decided, then told my parents I wanted to be a model,” she said. “It’s been a lot of fun and is definitely a confidence booster.

She developed an interest in science later in life.

During high school, while working for a neurology clinic as an administrative assistant, Ingram decided that “I wanted to get my hands in there. There were a lot of paint treatments and it seemed that all we could do was to treat the symptoms rather than the illness.”

Now ingram intends to pursue a doctorate degree in biochemistry and eventually become a professor.

“Manic depression, schizophrenia – there is really a lack of basic knowledge about those kinds of illnesses,” Ingram said, adding that while treatments exist, it is not exactly clear how some affect patients.

“We’ve used lithium more than 50 years and it’s not exactly known what it’s doing, and patients aren’t pleased either,” she said. Many patients stop taking their medications because of the side effects, she added.

“I was originally interested in treating neuropsychiatric illness, but when I realized the medications they use are usually a ‘guess and check,’ I didn’t think that was good enough.”