ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA – Junior Betsy Ryerson found her place at Winthrop University in a biochemistry laboratory.
While she was still in high school, the Rock Hill native visited the campus to shadow faculty members because she had an interest in research. Now two years later, Ryerson has set a path for herself as a biochemistry major and won a national award.
Her academic advisor, Chemistry Professor Christian Grattan, said Ryerson stood out during her freshman year and was invited to join Professor Jason Hurlbert’s laboratory in the summer. For two months, she spent time isolating, purifying and testing crystallization conditions for human acid ceramidase 1, which is an enzyme that can be targeted for cancer treatment.
From there, the professors encouraged Ryerson to apply to the Summer Honors Undergraduate Research Program (SHURP) at Harvard Medical School. She spent 10 weeks there last summer working in the lab of Andrew Kruse, under the mentorship of Victor Calvillo-Miranda, a current graduate student.
Here is how she describes her college years and her achievements to date:
“I started college with the vague intention of doing cancer research, and I now know that I want to specifically pursue research in structural biology as an avenue for drug discovery and analysis with the hopes of relating it back to cancer research,” said Ryerson, who is in Winthrop’s Honors program. “Doing research feels like I am doing exactly what my brain was made to do, and my experience at Harvard Med has simply confirmed that, for the time being, this is exactly the field I should be pursuing.
Thankful for Faculty Support
“This whole experience, from starting lab work as a freshman, to doing research at Harvard Medical School, to presenting at a national conference and receiving an award has been absolutely incredible!” she said, adding that she is very thankful to receive faculty support and encouragement.
Grattan describes Ryerson as very positive, enthusiastic and inquisitive, and coupling that with a very strong work ethic has grown in her knowledge and established a good foundation in chemistry and biochemistry.
Working independently under Calvillo-Miranda’s supervision at Harvard, Ryerson researched the biochemical interaction of a novel single-domain antibody fragment (nanobody) with the M3 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (M3R). Since this receptor controls a diverse set of physiological functions, this research is motivated by the use of such nanobodies to target and mediate the function of M3R in order to treat a variety of medical conditions.
As part of her growth, Ryerson was encouraged to apply to present her research findings during the annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Scientists (ABRCMS) on Nov. 13-16 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She was one of more than a dozen students awarded a Presentation Award in the category of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology for her poster presentation.
Ryerson’s attendance at the conference was fully funded by the ABRCMS student travel award.
She hopes Winthrop will continue to offer travel money for students to attend national conferences. “These conferences have provided me with spectacular experiences and have been truly integral to my growth as a scientist,” she said.
Future Plans
Once Ryerson graduates in May 2026, she hopes to attend graduate school, eventually getting her Ph.D. so she can have her own research lab and mentor Ph.D. students. “I know how much my own mentors have impacted my life. They have supported me, encouraged me, and pushed me to test and thereby expand my limits,” Ryerson said. “Their mentorship has helped me develop as a researcher and as a person, and I hope that I can serve my future students in the same way.”
Already Ryerson has tutored general chemistry students since the spring semester of her freshman year through the Academic Success Center. She started tutoring organic chemistry in the spring of her sophomore year through the chemistry department, as well as mentoring new students about lab techniques and explaining the theories behind them. “Both tutoring and mentoring are ways that I can practice empowering my fellow students to help them achieve their goals,” she said.
For more information, contact Judy Longshaw, news and media services manager, at 803/323-2404 or longshawj@winthrop.edu.
