Alumni Updates

Marvin Segel ’60 (M.S. Biology) “After teaching at a small college I took further graduate work at U. Cincinnati in gross anatomy. Left the academic world and spent my time selling custom high technology informational systems to hospitals in 50 states. At Lehigh I worked with Saul Barber in neurotransmission and just up the hall from an elaborate ear lab which visited I periodically, Dr. Burger would probably be there then now. I have never lost interest in neurotransmission perhaps because of the development of the digital world. All was analog at Lehigh. I also remember Dr. Trembly. I am 83 now and just reviewed an MRI of an ear for a friend who was worried about a tumor on the auditory nerve. Results seem to be negative. Read over what Dr, Burger is doing and wish I were just applying to Lehigh.”

Hayden Pritchard ’63 (Ph.D., Biology) retired in 1995 and lives in PenArgyl, PA. “I am enjoying my retirement from the biology department. I recently turned 85 years old, and I remain in reasonably good health. I remain in touch with Steve Krawiec and Dave Cundall. I believe that I am the oldest living member of the biology department faculty. I began as a graduate student at Lehigh in 1958 (after graduating from Princeton University in 1955 and then serving for two years in the US Army at the Walter Reed Army Inst. for Research). I was inducted into the Lehigh faculty biology department in 1964 and served the university until retirement in 1995. My wife, Kathleen, and I remain active in local activities.”

Edward Feinberg ’66 (B.A. Biology) is Professor and Emeritus Chair of Ophthalmology at Boston University School of Medicine. “I continue to be active in clinical care and medical education. Four years ago I was awarded at graduation the annual Clinical Educator of the Year Award, and last year I received at graduation the Leonard Tow Gold Humanism Award.”

John Gilly ’90 (Ph.D., Mol. Bio) was designated a National Distinguished Expert as part of the Thousand Foreign Talents Program by the Peoples Republic of China (May 2017). This is an award for a three year term made to experts selected to take a lead in urgent areas of science, technology and industrial development.

Amanda Fraser ’99 (B.S. Biology) went on to get her Masters in Physician Assistant Studies from the Univ. of Nebraska Medical Center and through the military’s Inter-service Physician Assistant program. “I graduated in 2007 and have been working as a physician assistant. I have deployed twice with the Army. I spent about a year in Iraq and one year in Egypt. I am currently working in the specialty of allergy, asthma and immunology.”

Sharon Wright ’03 (B.S. Mol. Bio.) is working as a general surgeon in Reno Nevada. “I love to read your updates and hope all is well on the hill!”

Brittany Yerkes ’08 (B.S. Biology) has been working as a Physician Assistant specializing in Infectious Diseases in Maryland. “I provide direct services to patients infected with HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C. I also provide public health education in regards to the spread, prevention, and treatment of infectious diseases. My experiences in Dr. Sands' Virology course set me on this path early on and helped to cultivate my interest in viruses, most specifically HIV. I have found healthcare to be a fitting application of this knowledge to the real world, and I have dedicated my career to treating patients living with these conditions.”

Theresa Collins ’12 (B.S. BNS) received her M.S. in Physician Assistant Studies at Hofstra University in 2014 and has been working as a PA in Malignant Hematology since graduation. “Most recently, I have been employed at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York as a Physician Assistant in inpatient adult bone marrow transplant since February 2017.”

Anne Smolko ’13 (B.S. Mol. Bio.) is currently a graduate student at Case Western University and hopes to complete her Ph.D. degree this year. “My graduate research has been with Dr. Helen Salz working on determining how sex identity in the Drosophila female germline is maintained through H3K9me3.”

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