Where Are They Now: Allison Schroder

For years Westinghouse hosted its famous science competition. In 1999 Westinghouse Corp. announced its disconnection with the competition and Intel picked it up. A year later, in 2000 the Siemens Corporation combined names to call it the “Siemens Westinghouse Competition.” Now, research students can participate in either of these national prestigious contests for scholarships. 

Garden City High School Class of 2002 graduate Allison Schroder opted for the Siemens-Westinghouse competition with her entry, "Comparative Gene Map of Canine Chromosome Seven." In essence, it means that several genes on chromosome seven are suspected to be linked to inherited disorders in dogs.  Schroder’s project was to determine the position of three marker genes, with the goal of helping breeders eliminate these genetic diseases from their breeding lines. She was a semi-finalist because of her diligent research.

In high school Schroder worked with Dr. Barbara Bergman. Schroder said Bergman “was very enthusiastic about her work and that made her an engaging teacher. She introduced me to the unique rewards and challenges of research, which wasn't discussed in our basic science classes.”

Schroder spent her summer at Michigan State doing research while in high school. She felt that the students she met at Michigan's summer program “were amazing. The program is for students with a variety of interests - science, math and engineering - but they were all curious and bright, and wanted to learn about the world and then share that knowledge. "It was a wonderful community and looking back, the entire experience was like a small taste of thesis research. We supported each other when we had to stay late, or skip a meal, or had run into a wall on our research,” Schroder said. 

Dr. Patrick Venta at Michigan State's College of Veterinary Medicine was Schroder’s advisor. He was very encouraging and emphasized that you have to question your own assumptions on things and base your conclusions only on fact, to be objective.

Since Schroder had a strong research background by the time she finished high school, a number of colleges were interested in her. She picked Amherst College, which had a small but strong science program that encouraged students to do research.

Working in labs during her Amherst stay also helped. One summer she was involved in a project at University of California-Davis where scientists were trying to find the genes responsible for canine brachycephaly, the term for broad-faced, pug-nosed dogs.

After graduation from Amherst, Schroder went to Cornell’s College of Veterinary Medicine. 

“I went into vet school seriously considering a research career, but after I spent my fourth year doing hands-on work at Cornell's Hospital for Animals, I was a total convert. I love building a relationship with my patients and clients at the Great Neck Animal Hospital. I'm not sure I could give up the immediate satisfaction I get from improving an animal's quality of life, even for the rewards of research,” she stated.

Schroder continued, “I’m also applying for a commission into the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps, which is responsible for medical care of military working dogs and public health issues, such as zoonotic disease prevention and food safety.  Public health is so interesting because veterinarians have such a significant role to play in disease prevention and control. Diseases seen in humans often affect other species as well, and essential information can be gained when physicians and veterinarians work together to evaluate the full scope of a disease.”