Abigail Benkert

As an undergraduate student at Franklin and Marshall College, I worked in a research lab that collaborated with the Clinic for Special Children (CSC). In this lab, I conducted cellular functional studies to help uncover fundamental principles of newly discovered genetic disorders. [http://hmg.oxfordjournals.org/content/23/23/6395.long, http://www.cell.com/ajhg/abstract/S0002-9297(14)00509-6]. After graduating from F&M in 2013 with a Neuroscience degree, I worked at the Clinic for Special Children as the Mary Ellen Avery Research Fellow. Through this research fellowship, I conducted a clinical study assessing treatment strategies for the management of congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH). This work inspired me to look beyond established treatments so that each family has access to the best possible care and long-term outcome. I remained at the Clinic as the clinical laboratory technician following the conclusion of my research fellowship. In this position, I was able to continue working on CAH. This upcoming fall, I will leave the CSC to attend medical school at Tufts University School of Medicine.

June 2015