Betsy Ryerson

Betsy Ryerson found that conducting cancer research is exactly what her brain was made to do.

After spending time in a biochemistry lab at Winthrop and then at a summer honors program at Harvard Medical School, she has found exactly the field she wants to pursue.

“As far as research goes, I find the complex and minute details of biochemistry to be simply beautiful and humbling,” said the junior biochemistry major from Rock Hill who is in Winthrop’s honors program. “I find such joy in learning these complexities, and doing research allows me to learn them first-hand. I am also a problem-solver at heart, so knowing that my work may solve a current issue and help other people is particularly motivating.”

She would love to have her own research lab and mentor Ph.D. students because she knows how much her own mentors have positively impacted her life. “They have supported me, encouraged me, and pushed me to test (and thereby expand) my limits. 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,” Ryerson said.

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 during the summer of 2024 working in the lab of Andrew Kruse, under the mentorship of Victor Calvillo-Miranda, a current graduate student.

After her summer stint at Harvard, 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 discipline of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology for her poster presentation.

In preparation for teaching, 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.

Ryerson doesn’t just spend time in a science laboratory. She loves playing the French horn with the Carolinas Wind Orchestra and is a member of the Christian campus ministry, Reformed University Fellowship (RUF). She sings on its worship team and helps organize volunteer events for RUF and the Winthrop Chemical Society. 

“Outside the lab, I value making time for what brings me joy, since those communities and creative outlets are what make me fully ‘Betsy.’” In everything, though, whether I am doing research at Harvard or laughing with friends, I aim to live to the glory of God alone,” she said.