Molly Buckley, a master’s student in the UAB Department of Biomedical Engineering, is one of four UAB students who were recently awarded a 2019-2020 fellowship from the American Association of University Women (AAUW).
Biomedical engineering student Molly Buckley (far right) is one of four UAB students awarded an AAUW fellowship. She is pictured here with Ashley Turner and Denise Stanford. The fourth recipient (not pictured) is Alana Nichols. AAUW fellows are selected for their academic achievement, scholarly promise, and demonstrated commitment to women and girls. Fellowship and grant recipients perform research in a wide range of disciplines and work to improve their schools and communities. Their intellect, dedication, imagination and effort promise to forge new paths in scholarship, improve the quality of life for all, and tackle the educational and social barriers facing women worldwide.
Buckley plans to work in the drug development industry for cancer therapeutics. For her Selected Professions Fellowship, she will study the effects of mechanical forces on breast and ovarian cancers, and how to turn the findings into drug targets for improved cancer therapies.
“I am honored to represent AAUW as a Selected Professions fellow because this organization has a huge impact on women in fields where we are typically underrepresented,” Buckley said. “I hope to also be able to help future generations of women narrow the gender gaps in these fields.
“I found this fellowship opportunity through UAB’s Biomedical Engineering department, and was encouraged to apply by my mentor and peers at UAB. With my master’s program, I am able to collaborate with UAB’s distinguished O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center. My involvement with the exciting research that is happening there to improve cancer therapies, specifically those that significantly affect women such as breast and ovarian, played an important role in my receiving this fellowship.”
One of the world’s largest sources of funding for graduate women, AAUW is providing $4.3 million in funding for fellowships and grants to 270 outstanding women and nonprofit organizations in the 2019-20 academic year.