Georgetown College. Georgetown University.

Megan Dougherty, now a senior in Georgetown’s undergraduate biology department, came to biology through an interest sparked early on by her father’s work as a physician. “Interest in biology has always been encouraged at my house,” she says.

Dougherty, who received a GUROP, joined Dr. Weiss’ ecology lab last year and is working alongside graduate student Heather Mallory, researching learning and memory in praying mantids, particularly their predatory behaviors. “The sheer rapacity of the mantids is pretty awe inspiring, especially since not much is known about the insects and this interested me as well.” The work in the lab is engaging and exciting, but “the best thing about working with Dr. Weiss,” says Dougherty, “is that she takes a personal interest in the people working in her lab. She not only mentors the scientific process, but she sort of acts as a life coach too.”

After she finishes at Georgetown, Dougherty plans to pursue graduate study, hopefully in the medical field. Having been raised in a military family, Dougherty insists that her dream of her future includes work that does not require her to move frequently.

Dougherty’s other academic interests include psychology, sociology, and literature/English. Outside of academics, she enjoys playing the piano, Uno, and ping-pong. Also, though she would prefer not to move a lot, Dougherty longs to travel to different countries.

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