{"id":2075,"date":"2025-11-07T15:03:28","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T20:03:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/news\/?p=2075"},"modified":"2025-11-03T11:01:04","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T16:01:04","slug":"celebrating-national-stem-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/news\/2025\/11\/07\/celebrating-national-stem-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating National STEM Day Tomorrow"},"content":{"rendered":"

In honor of National STEM Day tomorrow, we\u2019re celebrating MCC alumna Kristin Scheible, MD, whose dedication to science, medicine, and education exemplifies the power of a strong foundation in STEM.<\/em><\/p>\n

For Kristin Scheible\u200b, MD, Monroe Community College (MCC) was the first step toward a fulfilling career in medicine and research.<\/p>\n

Today, she serves as an Associate Professor of Pediatrics (primary) and Microbiology & Immunology (secondary) at the University of Rochester, Associate Chief of the Division of Neonatology at the Golisano Children\u2019s Hospital at Strong, and Co-Director of the Research Pillar at the University of Rochester (UR) Institute of Human Health and the Environment.<\/p>\n

Scheible initially attended MCC from 1989 to 1991. \u201cI studied liberal arts, which offered an outstanding sampling of academic areas that I had never before engaged in,\u201d she said\u200b. \u201cI was also able to take advantage of the cross-registration program that existed at the time with the University of Rochester to advance my German language studies.\u201d Through this program, Scheible was able to take advanced German at the UR, which was covered by MCC tuition.<\/p>\n

After earning her bachelor\u2019s degree with a double major in anthropology and women\u2019s studies from the University at Buffalo (UB) through the 2+2 program, Scheible started a family. She later returned to MCC to complete her pre-med\u200b coursework from 1996 to 1998.<\/p>\n

Looking back on her time at MCC, Scheible\u200b recalls several inspirational figures, including David Day. She added, \u201cIt was because of his class that I went on to major in anthropology.\u201d<\/p>\n

Later, during her pre-med work, Scheible\u200b benefited\u200b from the outstanding instruction of Mike Goho\u200b, Tammy DiNolfo\u200b, Tim Tatakis\u200b, and others. \u201cI felt more prepared for my Medical College Admission Test than my student counterparts from local private universities,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Scheible began medical school at the University of Rochester in 1999 when her daughter was three years old. She took a year off to care for her son, who was born in 2001, before graduating in 2004.<\/p>\n

She completed her Pediatric Residency at URMC from 2004 to 2007, followed by a Neonatology Fellowship from 2007 to 2010. During her residency and fellowship, Scheible worked on a flu-related study in Dr. David Topham’s\u00a0research lab, which inspired her to continue in academic medicine and pursue a career as a physician-scientist.<\/p>\n

Scheible credits her daughter for her interest in neonatology. \u201cAfter I graduated from UB, I worked as a corporate account representative at Borders Books and Music,\u201d she said. \u201cI fully intended to rise in that company as a book buyer or something akin to a corporate position.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Scheible\u200b\u2019s daughter was born and admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, it marked her first exposure to hospital medicine or neonatology. \u201cIt was inspiring to see the team working so hard and so skillfully to care for my child and the other patients around her,\u201d she said. \u201cWe were fortunate to bring her home healthy thanks to their care.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I brought her home, I realized that I wanted to be part of a profession that would bring personal meaning to the trade-off that any work outside caring for her would create,\u201d she said. \u201cLike many of us, staying at home was not an option for us financially, so this was an important, and ultimately the best, decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

Inspired by her own path and determined to give back, Scheible is working to create opportunities in medicine for the next generation. In fact, Scheible credits MCC\u2019s Global Education and International Services Coordinator, Christina Lee, for her involvement with the Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP\u200b) students.<\/p>\n

\u201cDr. David Dean\u200b, Jennifer Young, and I were introduced to Joanne Santos by Christina,\u201d she said. \u201cThis was such a great idea of hers, to partner with the MCC CSTEP\u200b students to build better bridges between our community and our researchers interested in mentoring.\u201d<\/p>\n

Launched in 2021, the program has hosted 4-10 students every year since, with four students completing internships in Scheible\u200b\u2019s lab. As part of this lab-based internship, students are fully immersed in hands-on research, each assigned a discrete project to complete in 8-10 weeks, contributing to the lab\u2019s broader scientific goals.<\/p>\n

Scheible said, \u201cI\u2019ve had students develop and complete assays for measuring cytokines in breastmilk\u200b, develop a data-capturing tool for a clinical COVID study, and the most recent student optimized an assay to measure antibody strength against the tetanus vaccine to measure the impact of PFAS (forever chemicals) on human immune development.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many of these students have continued their careers in the medical field. One student is currently enrolled in a master\u2019s program with plans to attend medical school. Another student began a Physician Assistant program before transitioning to pursue a medical degree. Additionally, two other students are now working as nurses at the University of Rochester.<\/p>\n

Three students from other labs are either currently in medical school or in the process of applying, and at least three others are pursuing graduate degrees to become researchers.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on her time at MCC, Scheible\u200b described it as \u201cfoundational and life-changing”.\u200b She admitted that she was not a dedicated student in high school and missed nearly half of her senior year, leaving her feeling lost after graduation. It was her stepfather, Gary Miller, Dean Emeritus of the Math and Engineering Department at MCC, who encouraged her to enroll – an encouragement she considers one of the most impactful decisions of her life.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe instructors were, without exception, engaged and interested in the success of each student,\u201d she said. \u201cLearning in itself became rewarding, and I found myself studying within a community of students and professors who were intensely curious and invested in the exchange of ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked what advice she would give current MCC students, Scheible said, \u201cConsider taking classes outside your area of interest. You\u2019ll learn new knowledge that you\u2019ll find yourself unexpectedly calling on later in life. Learn from and listen to as many different kinds of people while you\u2019re there. There are few spaces in life that will offer as vast and as diverse a community of ideas and people as MCC.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scheible’s broad approach to learning and collaboration is reflected not only in her advice to students but also in her own impactful research career, where she has contributed to more than forty published journal articles.<\/p>\n

Her lab focuses on a range of projects centered on the determinants and outcomes of normal and abnormal immune development in human infants. Collaborating with researchers nationwide and internationally, they study immune development from the molecular level to the population level. The team emphasizes a biopsychosocial\u200b approach to address immune-related questions in infants.<\/p>\n

Scheible\u2019s dedication and excellence in both research and patient care have earned her numerous awards throughout her career. Her honors include the American Thoracic Society Abstract Award in 2017 and the University of Rochester Bronze Star in 2014. She was recognized with the Patient- and Family-Centered Care Award twice, in 2012 and 2013, and earned the University of Rochester Strong Star consistently from 2011 to 2016.<\/p>\n

Early in her career, she was named a Young Investigator by the Pediatric Research Society in 2011 and was a nominated attendee at the NICHD\u200b Fellows Conference in 2009. Scheible was also awarded the prestigious Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award from 2008 to 2011. Additional distinctions include the Janet M. Glascow\u200b Memorial Achievement Award in 2004, a Summer Fellowship in Anesthesiology in 2000, and academic honors such as Outstanding Graduate in the Faculty of Arts and Letters and the Lucia Maria Haupt Award in Anthropology in 1993, along with the Kreyer Prize for Excellence in German in 1991.<\/p>\n

\"Professional

Kristin Scheible<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In honor of National STEM Day tomorrow, we\u2019re celebrating MCC alumna Kristin Scheible, MD, whose dedication to science, medicine, and education exemplifies the power of a strong foundation in STEM. For Kristin Scheible\u200b, MD, Monroe Community College (MCC) was the first step toward a fulfilling career in medicine and research. Today, she serves as an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":719,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[103],"tags":[72],"class_list":["post-2075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mcc-proud","tag-alumni"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/719"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2075"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2075\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2093,"href":"https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2075\/revisions\/2093"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}