DC-Based Alumna Joins ScienceMatters Hall of Fame

Georgia Tech alumna Megen Wittling is the winner of the ScienceMatters Episode 8 quiz. She is our first winner from outside the Georgia Tech campus. Having graduated last May, she now works in the Food & Drug Administration (FDA), Washington, DC. Her ScienceMatters prize is in the mail!

"I listen to ScienceMatters on my commute to work while I ride the Metro," Wittling says."I have listened to four episode so far, and love it!"

Wittling hails from Johns Creek, Georgia. She graduated with a B.S. degree in Biology, with a minor in Health and Medical Sciences. After graduation, she went for an ORISE Research Fellowship at FDA, while she applies to MD and MD/PhD programs. 

As an undergrad, Wittling conducted research in the PARK Lab of the School of Psychology under the guidance of Phillip Ackerman. The lab's research spans cognitive, aging, personality, social, and applied psychology domains.

From there, Wittling moved to the lab of Shuyi Nie, an assistant professor in the School of Biological Sciences and a member of the Parker H. Petit Institute of Bioengineering and Bioscience. A Petit Undergraduate Research Scholar Award made the transfer possible. In the Nie lab, Wittling characterized the role of a protein in the development and migration of certain cells. 

At FDA, Wittling works in the Laboratory of Immunobiochemistry, where she studies the response to interferon of bronchial epithelial cells.

The Episode 8 quiz question: What brain waves are associated with deep states of sleep?The answer: Delta waves. 

Episode 9 of ScienceMatters is out this week. "The Mathematics of ... Donuts?" stars Dan Margalit, professor in the School of Mathematics.

If you would like to join the ScienceMatters Hall of Fame, enter the answer to this question: According to Episode 9, what group of people can’t tell the difference between a coffee cup and a donut?

Submit your answer by 11 a.m. Monday, October 22, at sciencematters.gatech.edu.