Student Chapters

Chapter leader finds his niche

Elizabeth Stivison
Oct. 1, 2018

From his days poring over “1,000 Facts on Science and Technology,” one of a series of children’s books an uncle sent him, to recently starting a Ph.D. program, Jacob Crosser always has let his interests guide him.

As an undergraduate, Crosser was active in the Purdue University American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Student Chapter, first as a member and then as outreach chair and eventually as president.

Chapter-leader-finds-niche-full-col.png Jacob Crosser does an elephant toothpaste demonstration to introduce chemical reactions and catalysis during Celebrate Science Indiana, an outreach event, in fall 2015 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. Courtesy of Jacob Crosser Crosser joined the chapter to get an idea of what working as a biochemistry researcher might be like; he ended up staying active because of its outreach activities. The chapter organized volunteer opportunities, including science demonstrations in local elementary school classrooms, and participated in the Purdue Spring Fest, a day when the university invites people from the surrounding community of West Lafayette, Indiana, to campus to participate in science demonstrations and experiments. Crosser, who grew up in the town, said he was inspired by these events.

“Two years ago, I had done an estimate of how many active participants came by our booth, and it was something on the order of 700 people over two days,” he said.
 

Jacob Crosser Jacob Crosser

He noticed that several children came back to the ASBMB booth year after year, looking forward to making slime out of borax and glue or whatever the science demonstration was for that year. Outreach kept Crosser involved, he said. The chapter helped him figure out what he wanted to do in his life, so he wanted to help others figure out their potential career paths by exposing them to science while they were young.

“To help someone else figure that out,” he said, “that’s a good feeling.”

The figuring out wasn’t straightforward for Crosser, who started college hoping to study engineering before he realized he wanted to solve the more complex problems that appear in biological systems. After this realization, he discovered biochemistry. That wasn’t quite the answer either, however; Crosser found he really missed doing the math problems he’d enjoyed in school when he was younger. He returned to physics and math and took an extra year to complete minors in both subjects.

Crosser now has found a niche for himself pursuing a Ph.D. in applied mathematics with a focus in computational biology at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

“I intend to center my career around the study of the complex biological systems I’ve come to love,” he said, “through the lens of mathematics that I’ve found very natural.”

Enjoy reading ASBMB Today?

Become a member to receive the print edition four times a year and the digital edition monthly.

Learn more
Elizabeth Stivison

Elizabeth Stivison is a careers columnist for ASBMB Today and an assistant laboratory professor at Middlebury College.

Get the latest from ASBMB Today

Enter your email address, and we’ll send you a weekly email with recent articles, interviews and more.

Latest in People

People highlights or most popular articles

Unraveling cancer’s spaghetti proteins
Profile

Unraveling cancer’s spaghetti proteins

Aug. 13, 2025

MOSAIC scholar Katie Dunleavy investigates how Aurora kinase A shields oncogene c-MYC from degradation, using cutting-edge techniques to uncover new strategies targeting “undruggable” molecules.

How HCMV hijacks host cells — and beyond
Profile

How HCMV hijacks host cells — and beyond

Aug. 12, 2025

Ileana Cristea, an ASBMB Breakthroughs webinar speaker, presented her research on how viruses reprogram cell structure and metabolism to enhance infection and how these mechanisms might link viral infections to cancer and other diseases.

Understanding the lipid link to gene expression in the nucleus
Profile

Understanding the lipid link to gene expression in the nucleus

Aug. 11, 2025

Ray Blind, an ASBMB Breakthroughs speaker, presented his research on how lipids and sugars in the cell nucleus are involved in signaling and gene expression and how these pathways could be targeted to identify therapeutics for diseases like cancer.

In memoriam: William S. Sly
In Memoriam

In memoriam: William S. Sly

Aug. 11, 2025

He served on the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Council in 2005 and 2006 and was an ASBMB member for 35 years.

ASBMB committees welcome new members
Society News

ASBMB committees welcome new members

Aug. 7, 2025

Members joined these committees: Education and Professional Development, Maximizing Access, Meetings, Membership, Public Affairs Advisory, Science Outreach and Communication, Student Chapters and Women in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Cadichon honored for academic achievement
Member News

Cadichon honored for academic achievement

Aug. 4, 2025

She won the State University of New York at Old Westbury’s Dr. Henry Teoh Award for Outstanding Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program Graduating Senior, which recognizes exceptional achievement, leadership and promise in a student.