#001: Sarah Lucas (29 yrs) on Becoming a Science Superstar, Following Your Gut, and Saving Lives

May 22, 2017

Sarah Lucas (@saerobe) graduated from Penn State University in 2010 with a Bachelors Degree in Microbiology and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Microbiology at the University of Minnesota. 

After graduating undergrad, Sarah conducted cutting-edge science research at the J. Craig Venter Institute. As of today, at 29 years old, Sarah has authored 5 peer-reviewed publications on microbiology. In addition, Sarah has earned a fellowship grant from the National Institutes of Health, effectively paying for her to attend college and study science. Sarah has presented her work at leading institutions, such as the Mayo Clinic and TSRC. Sarah’s extraordinary work as a young scientist was recognized when she received the Peter Salamon Award.

In this episode, we discuss Sarah’s story and:

• How to find your tribe and build a community of friends
• How to stop stressing over mediocre grades and why the importance of GPAs is overstated
• How to distinguish between following your passion versus dabbling in an interest
• How to make big colleges feel small
• How to determine whether graduate school is wise
• How to build a college experience that leads to a purposeful career
• How to balance academics and social life

Follow Sarah’s work with the Hunter Lab or on Google Scholar.