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College of Life Sciences

Women in Science

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Impact Magazine

Celebrating Women in Science: Earlene Durrant

By Grace McGregor
May 18, 2023
Earlene Durrant was hired as BYU’s first female athletic trainer in 1972. With little to no funding for the women’s athletic training program 50 years ago, Durrant worked from a small corner in the women’s locker room and even took leftover tape from the men’s training room trash in order to care for female athletes. These obstacles didn’t deter Durrant; she was passionate about advocating for female athletes because “women need to be just as conditioned as men to prevent injuries.”
1 Min Read
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Celebrating Women in Science: Kamal Ranadive

Hannah LeSueur
By Hannah LeSueur
July 28, 2022
In 1917, when Kamal Ranadive was born in Pune, India, it was rare for a woman to occupy a seat in the local Fergusson College, especially in the sciences. But lucky for Ranadive, her father, who taught in the biology department, encouraged her to pursue an education. She graduated from Fergusson with a bachelor’s of science in 1934 and continued her education to earn a doctorate in cytology from Bombay University.
1 Min Read
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Celebrating Women In Science: Margaret Liu

By Grace McGregor
July 26, 2022
Margaret Liu grew up with a determined mother who shaped her into a tenacious scientist. Liu’s mother faced racial prejudice as a Chinese immigrant, so she encouraged her children to work hard in school and provided them with music lessons to ensure unique opportunities. She would often tell Liu, “To whom much is given, much is expected,” reminding her that she was held to a high standard.
2 Min Read
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Impact Magazine

Celebrating Women in Science: Jane Goodall

By Allie Richael
March 01, 2022
A notebook in one hand and binoculars in the other, twenty-six-year-old Jane Goodall left England and arrived in modern-day Tanzania to observe chimpanzees in their natural habitat. Her arrival in the Gombe Stream National Park was intimidating for her as she set out to study the huge, furry chimps by living in harmony with them. Even now at eighty-seven years old, Goodall still studies chimpanzees and advocates for wildlife conservation around the world.
2 Min Read
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Cracking the Code on Multiple Sclerosis

By Sydney Springer
October 04, 2021
It was a splash of ice-cold water in the face. Amy Hernandez’s friend was only seventeen years old and just diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a disease that deteriorates the body. Hernandez (‘23) was in the second year of her molecular biology degree at BYU. The sudden, early-onset diagnosis prompted hours of research under Hernandez's mentor, microbiology and molecular biology professor Mary Davis, to answer the question: why is early MS onset in ethnic minorities reached at an earlier age than in Caucasian populations?
4 Min Read
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Sprouts from the Ashes

By Sydney Springer
October 04, 2021
Also hailing from Europe, marine biology student and Sheffield, England native Rebekah Stanton (’21) wanted to earn her PhD at BYU but couldn’t find a program that fit her needs. After receiving an unexpected email from plant and wildlife sciences professor Sam St Clair, she packed her bags and joined his research team to study just the opposite of marine biology—they were going to study the desert.
2 Min Read
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Najla Al-Sonboli, World Health Assembly's Heroine of Health

By Grace McGregor
September 01, 2021
Women in Science: Al-Sonboli was a pediatrician in Yemen who continued to care for the children while the hospital was under fire during rocket attacks.
2 Min Read
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Upcoming women in science

By Taylor Nelson
July 12, 2021
Members from the Department of Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Science are recognized for their contributions to the world of science
2 Min Read
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Wildflowers: The next eco-trend?

By Taylor Nelson
June 15, 2021
Environmental science graduate student Alyssa Brown spends most of her thesis research time in the mountains of Provo canyon, studying wildflowers.
3 Min Read
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The most effective way to exercise according to BYU grad student

By Taylor Nelson
June 15, 2021
If you’ve spent a lot of time on BYU’s campus, you’ll know the daunting hike up the Richards Building stairs. The trek never seems to get easier despite the number of times it is walked
2 Min Read
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Native Samoan graduate student studies genetic disease in her homelands

By Taylor Nelson
June 15, 2021
Family relationships are the fabric of the Polynesian culture. Grandparents help take care of the young, and in turn, children and grandchildren take care of the elderly. Having grown up in Samoa and Hawaii, graduate biology student Justina Tavana ('23) understands the value of looking out for aging community members, even as the ravaging effects of dementia steal away their close connections and identity.
1 Min Read
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Neuroscience student and chemistry TA earns prestigious scholarship

By Allie Richael
May 26, 2021
Anna Everett (‘22) grew up watching her mom struggle with an autoimmune disease. Noting how research at biotech companies enabled her mom to get the treatments she needed sparked Everett’s interest in scientific research. “I think I always saw my family struggling with their health, and it made me think a lot about medicine in general,” she says. Everett eventually chose to major in neuroscience, focusing on neurological disorders such as dementia and Alzheimer’s. She also added biophysics as a second major to explore her interest in math.
2 Min Read
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BYU graduate earns fellowship from the University of Minnesota

By Allie Richael
May 21, 2021
Clair Wootan (‘21) originally came to BYU to study biology education. As she took more classes, she realized she enjoys conducting research, which led her to pursue an undergraduate degree in biodiversity and conservation. “I’ve always really enjoyed conservation,” she says. “It gave me a lot of opportunities to take really in-depth and specific classes.”
1 Min Read
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Studying soil across the globe

By Allie Richael
May 10, 2021
Growing up in small, agricultural Terreton, Idaho, prepared Emilee Severe (‘21) to study environmental science and sustainability. She was raised around farmers and irrigation systems and worked for an irrigation company in high school. “I would drive boats up and down streams, and I was always in the canal bank,” she says. Now at BYU, she has the chance to learn the science behind what she saw in the streams.
1 Min Read
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Microbiologist takes her studies around the world

By Allie Richael
April 16, 2021
Honored Graduating Student: Emma Stucki (MMBio)
With the variety of experiences microbiology major Emma Stucki had at BYU, the one common thread has been shifts in perspective. “I always have enjoyed learning things in school that help me better understand the world around me.”
2 Min Read
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Making a difference in public health

By Taylor Nelson
April 16, 2021
Honored Graduating Student: Alyssa Baer (HLTH)
Alyssa Baer wanted to study Public Health at Brigham Young University before she even knew she was accepted. The soon-to-be Life Science grad grew up immersed in the healthcare industry.
2 Min Read
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From student to science teacher

By Allie Richael
April 16, 2021
Honored Graduating Student: Amanda Aamodt (BIO)
When BYU student Amanda Aamodt (’21) first saw the required ecology class on her schedule, she wanted to put it off as long as possible.
2 Min Read
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Majoring in a healthy lifestyle

By Allie Richael
April 16, 2021
Honored Graduating Student: Alexis Gardner (NDFS)
Growing up as the sixth of seven kids in her family, Alexis Gardner (‘21) often heard her older sisters talk about diets and health trends. Instead of joining in on the conversation, Gardner did her own research on diet and nutrition.
2 Min Read
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