Allison Meadows

Allison graduated from the University of Virginia in 2015 with a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Human Biology. As an Echols Scholar and College Science Scholar, she had the opportunity to design her own course of study in which she integrated her interests in scientific research, health policy, and bioethics. During this time, she pursued research in the lab of Dr. David Kashatus in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Cancer Biology of the University of Virginia School of Medicine. She studied mitochondrial dynamics and dysfunction, specifically applying her work to novel diagnostic and therapeutic techniques in pancreatic cancer. This work became the foundation for her undergraduate thesis, which received the honor of Highest Distinction upon completion. 

Allison also sought to broaden her research exposure through summer internship experiences. She studied T cell signaling in the Lab of Cellular and Molecular Biology at the National Cancer Institute for several consecutive summers, then studied cardiac adrenergic signaling in the lab headed by Dr. Peter Mohler at the Ohio State University’s Heart and Lung Research Institute. Her work on the role of PP2A in cardiac phosphatase signaling ultimately led to a publication in Science Signaling. 

While an undergraduate, Allison had the opportunity to work as a student member of the Bioethics Consult Service in the University of Virginia Hospital System, specifically focusing her interest on cases in the neonatal intensive care unit. This experience inspired her to pursue a career in academic medicine, merging her passion for research with her drive to care for others. She has since completed her preclinical medical education as a MSTP student at the Medical University of South Carolina, and will return for the clinical portion of her training after completion of her PhD.

As a NIH-Cambridge Scholar, Allison will divide her time between the Lab of Mitochondria and Metabolism at the NIH and the Metabolomics Group at the University of Cambridge. Using a systems-based approach, she plans to study the role of mitochondrial acetylation-dependent retrograde signaling in regulating lipid and cholesterol biology.