June 7, 2004

Stephanie Brown, Bachelor Of Science, Chemistry
By Sherry Fisher

When Stephanie Brown came to UConn as a freshman she didn't know what she wanted to study.

"I knew I was interested in science, but I didn't like chemistry in high school," says Brown, one of the top graduates in UConn's Class of 2004.

Photo by Melissa Arbo

But after taking a chemistry course taught by Professor Harry Frank, she was hooked: "He was such a good teacher. That's why I became a chemistry major."

Brown, who graduated with honors, had a 3.97 GPA. One of two senior class representatives, she

delivered remarks during the afternoon Commencement ceremonies on May 9.

A Day of Pride student, Brown graduated from Stamford High School. She was able to nurture her interest in science while still in high school: she was in the Minority Access to Research Careers Program offered through Temple University School of Medicine for students who have an interest in science and are pursuing careers in medicine and/or scientific research. There she conducted cancer research.

At UConn she has conducted a variety of research and has co-authored articles that have appeared in scientific journals.

For the past year, she has been a research assistant in Professor James Rusling's lab, where she studied thin film electrochemistry. During the

summer of 2001, she was a research assistant at Toronto Western Research Institute, in the Division of Cellular and Molecular Biology. There she worked in a neurobiology lab studying the effects of different drugs on the expression of a certain protein found in neurons.

She spent the summer of 2003 at the National Institute on Aging on the Johns Hopkins Bayview campus, where she conducted research on Parkinson's Disease.

She was a peer facilitator in UConn Connects, an intervention program that pairs UConn students who are on probation with classmates who help them get on track academically. She was a campus tour guide and team captain at the Lodewick Visitors Center.

Says Brown, "UConn is an excellent place to get an undergraduate education." Her twin brothers graduated from UConn two years ago.

Brown, who hopes to have an academic career, will be heading to Harvard in the fall, where she plans to earn a doctorate in chemistry.