Audra Sostarecz, an analytical
chemistry professor, came to Monmouth College in the fall of
2006 for her first full-time teaching position.
Sostarecz received her B.S.
in chemistry in 1998 from Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Penn.
She then went straight to graduate school and received her Ph.D.
in chemistry from Penn State University. After completing her
doctorate degree, Sostarecz spent two years in
a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania.
Following her fellowship, she attended conferences with the
intention of obtaining a teaching job, specifically at a small
liberal arts college. That is how Sostarecz found Monmouth.
When asked what is was about
Monmouth College that made her like to work here, Sostarecz
said, “It’s the student-faculty interaction and cooperative
learning environment that makes Monmouth a positive place to
work.”
Since coming to Monmouth,
Sostarecz has worked on multiple projects with students. Many of
these projects investigate molecular interactions with cellular
membranes. In one example, Sostarecz and students have looked at
how vanadium complexes are insulin mimics. They are essentially
trying to understand how the vanadium complexes interact with
cell membranes in aiding glucose uptake, which could become a
new method of treatment for diabetic patients. Another of
Sostarecz's projects involves looking at how different
antibacterial peptides break down bacteria cells that are in the
sputum of cystic fibrosis patients.
These are just a couple projects,
but Sostarecz, along with biology and chemistry students, work
on other projects that involve the investigation of molecular
interactions in relation to disease progression, drug delivery,
insulin mimics and antibacterial peptides. The chemistry
department faculty are extremely interested in projects that
involve both biology and chemistry.
Sostarecz said that she is a firm
believer in a Liberal Arts education. “No matter what, you have
to be able to communicate well -- reading and writing -- even in
the science world,” she said.
One way the science department
enforces great communication is through Science Seminar
presentations in students' third and fourth years, not to
mention lab reports that students often have.
In Sostarecz’s opinion, the
Monmouth curriculum that works non-major classes into every year
works well for the students, making them better off in the long
run. She concluded, “You don’t want to be in a bubble. It's
important to be a well-rounded individual.”
