Majors: Biomedical Science (BS), Chemistry (BS)
Minor: Mathematics
Alyson Black ’16 has made great strides since graduating from Lynchburg with bachelor’s degrees in chemistry and biomedical science.
In 2020, she earned a PhD in biomedical sciences from the Medical University of South Carolina’s Department of Cell and Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. There, according to her LinkedIn profile, she has contributed significantly to the molecular analysis of tumors by developing and applying “a translational method for multiplexed glycoprotein analysis from patient serum” and discovered a biomarker of “liver cancer glycoproteins.”
In 2021, she became a senior application scientist for HTX Technologies, a Chapel Hill, North Carolina-based company that, as stated on its website, is “dedicated to the ongoing advancement of molecular imaging technologies, with a primary focus on Mass Spectrometry imaging.” At HTX, she also interviews researchers about imaging on the webinar series HTXnext.
As an undergrad at Lynchburg, Black was named the 2015 Richard Clarke Sommerville Scholar, the most prestigious academic honor presented by the University. She boasted a 4.0 GPA and was a member of Phi Kappa Phi, Iota Sigma Pi, and Pi Mu Epsilon honor societies.
Black was a student tutor for organic chemistry and received the best poster award at the 2014-15 Student Scholar Showcase for her work studying the effect of surface topography on nitric oxide production of macrophages.
As she puts it on her LinkedIn profile, “I am an enthusiastic scientist working at the interface of analytical chemistry and biology to create new tools for research and human health. My expertise in MALDI Mass Spectrometry Imaging, sample preparation, and translational research guide my development of novel products, applications, and science communication.”
