WASHINGTON, Pa., Feb. 27, 2008 — Washington & Jefferson College junior Brittany Anderton is one of just four students nationwide to be selected a Paul W. Zuccaire Intern of the Institut Pasteur in Paris, an internationally renowned foundation dedicated to the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases.
A native and resident of
Meadville, Pa., the junior cell and molecular biology major plans to leave for France in June. She will return in early August upon completion of the 10-week internship program.
“I am very interested in research as a career goal and this will be such a wonderful opportunity for me. I was so excited to learn I had been accepted,” Anderton said. “I am very interested in the program because it gives me a chance to learn in an incredibly respected and world-renowned institution while at the same time, studying abroad for the first time.”
In the acceptance letter from Caitlin Hawke, executive director of the Pasteur Foundation in New York City, Anderton learned that she was one of approximately 320 candidates for just four positions.
“Your application was deemed among the best,” Hawke wrote to Anderton, who, upon finishing reading the letter, quickly told the good news to Candy DeBerry, associate professor of biology, who wrote a letter of recommendation for Anderton’s application.
“Brittany Anderton is an exceptional young woman who is very highly regarded by many faculty at W&J,” DeBerry said. “She is one of our most promising junior cell and molecular biology majors, and is exactly the type of student who would benefit greatly from a summer research internship at Institut Pasteur.”
Anderton believes her research internship in molecular oncology at the University of Pittsburgh last summer not only helped her secure this internship at the Institut Pasteur, but also increased her interest in research as career. She conducted research in the laboratory of Dr. Stefan Duensing, Department of Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry at Pitt, working full-time for ten weeks in cancer lab researching the oncogenicity of HPV-16.
Anderton is an alpha scholar and a member of the Alpha Lambda Delta freshman honor society. She earned a Presidential Scholarship, is on the Dean’s List, garnered President’s Athletic Conference Academic Honor Roll recognition in 2006 and 2007, and won the W&J Women’s Leadership Award in 2007 and the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Distinguished Service Award this year.
She is a member of G.I.V.E. (Get Involved in Volunteer Experience), where she has served as treasurer and vice president and participated in Habitat for Humanity’s Collegiate Challenge during Spring Break in 2006 and 2007. She is on the women’s track and field team, which won the President’s Athletic Conference championship in 2006 and 2007, and placed in the top four of four events at conference championships.
“Brittany’s high intelligence, constant poise, obvious maturity, exceptional organizational skills, serious and thorough approach to laboratory work, and her determination to excel in the sciences, in addition to her familiarity with many cell biology techniques and her very good general laboratory skills, will enable Brittany to make a genuine contribution to a research project,” DeBerry added.
Anderton studied four years of French in high school and completed two introductory classes in the language as a freshman and sophomore.
“I am really excited about this opportunity,” she said. “I cannot wait to get started.”
About Washington & Jefferson College
Washington & Jefferson College, located in Washington, Pa., is a national liberal arts college founded in 1781. Committed to providing each of its students with the highest-quality undergraduate education available, W&J offers a traditional liberal arts curriculum emphasizing interdisciplinary study and independent study work.
For more information about W&J, visit www.washjeff.edu, or call 888-W-AND-JAY.
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