Lucy Bowden (PhD ’25, MMBIO) was tired, but she wouldn’t let that stop her.
Hunkered down in a quiet section of the library, she poured over the seemingly endless stream of paragraphs she’d already written, steeling herself for the dozens still to go. Bowden was in the midst of the strenuous PhD qualifying exams required to advance along the path towards candidacy. Outlining her proposed research project was the first step, as it would demonstrate her readiness to move forward with independent research. Despite the long hours, her passion for microbiology gave her the strength to push past the fatigue.
I’ve been given power through the Savior to do things that were too hard for me to do by myself.
Unlike other PhD candidates who could afford to give their undivided attention to their exams, Bowden had only a few days to finish and submit her proposal. Her husband was out of town completing an internship, leaving her with her two-year-old son. With the exam deadline fast approaching, Bowden stole snippets of time in between hectic feeding schedules and busy bedtime routines. “It was one of the most intense times of my whole life,” Bowden recalls with a chuckle. And yet, Bowden had learned long ago that the road to a PhD was paved with moments like this—moments that tested her resolve, patience, and love for science. She wasn’t going to let it defeat her now.
For Bowden, this wasn’t the first time she’d had to juggle the demands of family life with her studies. She had always been fascinated by the world around her, and the desire to explore it through scientific inquiry had only grown stronger over time. But when she became a mother, it wasn’t just her love for science that drove her—it was also her desire to create a life that modeled persistence and passion for her children. Her dedication to both family and research is what keeps her moving forward, even when exhaustion sets in.
It was dark outside by the time Bowden began putting the finishing touches on her proposal. As she put the period at the end of her very last sentence, she looked out the window and laughed out loud—fireworks were exploding across the night sky, almost as if they’d been planned especially for her. For Bowden, this experience was surprising but not unexpected. God had always supported and strengthened her in moments of doubt and exhaustion, and this felt like just one more reminder of His unfaltering, encouraging presence in her academic journey.
“I’ve had a lot of help,” Bowden shares. “I’ve been given power through the Savior to do things that were too hard for me to do by myself.” Drawing upon this strength, and the support of her professors and fellow researchers, Bowden has amassed a list of academic achievements that are nothing short of extraordinary. She has published five first-author research papers and is working on two more. Remarkably, she finished writing her most recent article during her ninth month of pregnancy. She has mentored multiple undergraduate students and worked alongside professors who encouraged her to grow as a scientist. Given this impressive track record, it comes as no surprise that Bowden has already been offered a post-doc at Harvard.
Now, as Bowden nears the completion of her PhD, her research focuses on the development of antimicrobial surfaces in orthopedic hardware. “When people have orthopedic surgery they often need pins to hold their bones in place,” Bowden explains, “but, unfortunately, these pins are susceptible to infection. I’ve been trying to develop a substance that could be applied to the hardware pieces and would prevent the bacteria from colonizing them all together.” This is a problem that scientists at BYU have been working on for over a decade, and Bowden believes she has found the solution.
Interested in the way copper has been used in hospitals on high touch surfaces to dramatically reduce infection rates, Bowden began researching the metal and discovered that some of the oldest medical texts in the world mentioned using copper in wounds. She learned that copper vessels had been used to hold water for centuries due to their ability to reduce bacterial growth, and theorized that copper’s antimicrobial properties could be applied to orthopedic hardware as well. To test this idea, she coated the hardware with a thin copper film, just five nanometers thick—about twice the thickness of DNA. Taking her inspiration even further, Bowden modeled the surface after the intricate texture of dragonfly wings, which are naturally antibacterial. The result is not only an innovative solution to a long-standing problem, but an impressive example of how Bowden combines scientific knowledge with insights from nature and history.
I haven’t felt like I needed to choose. I can’t do everything, but I can do a lot of things.
Though her time at BYU is coming to an end, Bowden is just getting started. As she reflects on her experience balancing graduate work with the demands of a growing family, she can only smile. “I have to do a lot of research at odd hours. I’ve worked a lot of early mornings and late nights, and I do a lot of writing at home,” she says. “But that being said, I have loved being able to both have children and do my graduate work. I haven’t felt like I needed to choose. I can’t do everything, but I can do a lot of things.” Bowden plans on improving the efficacy of antimicrobials in implant materials as she moves on to her post-doc. She hopes to one day become a professor, sharing her passion for research and science with the next generation of students.