Senior genetics major, minoring in psychology Natalie Shay gained a passion for and knew she wanted to pursue an education in genetics since her first AP biology class in high school. When she visited Clemson while looking at colleges, she knew our genetics program would be where she landed.
“I just loved how complex genetics are. It’s what makes us unique but also alike at the same time. It’s also the explanation for many diseases, so it’s a good field to go in since gene therapies are on the rise.”
Natalie has been involved in labs, the Genetics and Biochemistry (G&B) Club and has had a summer internship at the Greenwood Genetics Center (GGC).
“I was the secretary of the G&B club last year, and I’m the vice president this year. Our club promotes fellowship among students and offers networking opportunities.”
The G&B Club provides members with unparalleled experiences in the field of genetics and biochemistry through faculty guest speakers, field trips and networking with other students pursuing research. As vice president of the G&B Club, Natalie assists with coordinating the club’s annual D.C. trip, where students visit the National Institutes of Health, the US Department of Agriculture and occasionally Astrazeneca, a research-based biopharmaceutical company, to give students windows into their future careers.
In addition to the G&B club, Natalie has been involved in two different labs on campus through her academic career. During her freshman and sophomore year, Natalie was part of the Birtwistle Lab, run by Dr. Marc Birtwistle in the Department of Chemical Engineering, where she experimented on cancer cell diagnostics and therapies. The Birtwistle Lab combines computational and experimental methods to understand how cancer cells make decisions, aiming to use this understanding to better predict drug and drug combination responses.
“During my junior year, I wanted to explore my interests in neurobiology, so I joined the George Lab, run by Dr. Juilia George in in the Department of Biological Sciences. We study how early life environmental changes affect gene expression in zebra finch embryos.”
In the summer of 2024 Natalie was accepted for a summer internship at the Greenwood Genetics Center, a non-profit organization that has provided clinical genetic services, diagnostic laboratory testing, educational programs and resources, and medical genetics research to patients for over 50 years.
At the GGC, Natalie got to shadow many lab techniques such as DNA extraction from human blood, RT-PCR, Western Blotting, Oxford Nanopore DNA sequencing (her favorite) and GGC’s special methylation array test called EpiSign. She also got to see their aquaculture center that houses the zebrafish they use in their research experiments.
“The project that I was a part of is called the Genomic Discovery Project (GDP). In the GDP, clinicians refer patients with suspected genetic disorders to the GGC to investigate further. There are 3 tracks in the GDP: Discovery, Resolution, and Treatment.”
Her experience working in different labs across the state has prepared Natalie to pursue her goal of obtaining an M.S. degree in either neuroscience, genetics or a related field after graduating.
“My overall career goal is to combine my passion for genetics and psychology to create personalized treatments for those with psychiatric disorders using tools like pharmacogenomics.”
