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Perry Kennedy '06 |
Randolph-Macon College alumnus
Perry Kennedy ’06 is a post-doctoral research fellow in the Department of Cancer Biology at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. Kennedy, who majored in
chemistry and minored in
biology at R-MC, earned his M.S. and Ph.D. at University of Virginia.
“As a post-doctoral research fellow, I conduct research to better understand the contribution of certain enzymes and cell-signaling components to the initiation and progression of cancer,” explains Kennedy. “The drive of this research is to create new and better anti-cancer therapeutic agents.” R-MC’s curriculum helped Kennedy prepare for the rigors of graduate school and beyond.
Early Experience “My R-MC education challenged me to stretch my thinking, and to become more independent in conducting
scientific research,” he says. “I gained early experience in drafting project proposals, evaluating literature, analyzing and interpreting results, and presenting and defending my findings in both oral and written format. I later utilized these same skills in graduate school for my dissertation and find that they are now ever-necessary as a career scientist.” A project that he conducted during his senior year at R-MC taught Kennedy skills that are vital to his success as a researcher.
“The aim of the project, which I conducted under the guidance of
Chemistry Professor Nora Green, was to screen plant extract constituents for their ability to inhibit a critical enzyme responsible for Dengue Virus activity and replication,” he explains. “The experience allowed me at an early stage in my career to develop skills I would need later. In a broader sense, an R-MC education is highly valuable because it teaches you how to learn. This is exactly what future employers and graduate schools are looking for.”
Career Highlights Kennedy was a
Phi Beta Kappa scholar and
Honors student and graduated
magna cum laude from R-MC. His career highlights are numerous: He was a Visiting Scientist, Biological Sciences R&D, at Allergan, Inc., in Irvine, California; a National Institute of Health (NIH) Pharmacological Sciences Training Grant Recipient, and a NIH Biotechnology Training Grant Recipient. In addition to co-authoring publications in peer-reviewed journals, he presented his first-author work in the
Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics and at the 2010 WorldPharma international conference in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The R-MC Community
For Kennedy, it’s the people at R-MC who make the college a community.
“I remember being struck by how personable everyone was when I was a prospective student,” he says. “I am happy to say this continued throughout my time on campus, and it persists as R-MC’s legacy. You don't find this level of caring and quality of education anywhere else.”