One of the highest honors in science education was conferred recently upon Georgetown junior Jessica Melone (COL ’04) when the Henry Luce Foundation awarded her a Clare Boothe Luce Scholarship

Melone found out that she had been awarded the scholarship at the end of August. To receive this award, she was first nominated by a board at Georgetown and then selected by the foundation from a pool of nominees from several other schools. “It’s one of the top honors in the science world,” Georgetown biology professor Heidi Elmendorf said. “It’s quite an honor alone to be nominated by Georgetown.”

“What we seek for nominations for the Clare Booth Luce Scholarship is a female student who aspires to a career in biological research and has an outstanding academic record,” Chair of the Georgetown Biology Department Ellen Henderson said.

The Henry Luce Foundation awards this honor to women who show exemplary work in science, engineering and mathematics.

Melone is in the John Carroll Scholars program and is also a Hughes Scholar, which allows her to complete four years of advanced coursework with extensive research opportunities. In her spare time, she tutors calculus and chemistry along with participating in the French Cultural Association and Biology Club.

Melone’s essay, “Genetic Engineering on a Selective Basis,” was published in the Princeton Journal of Bioethics her freshman year. A biology major with a minor in French, she worked in Elmendorf’s Giardia Laboratory at Georgetown. Working with DNA and protein machinery, she dealt with DNA samples, developed lab techniques and learned how to think critically and analyze situations.

“She is incredibly talented and hardworking,” Elmendorf said. “She’s one of those people that is really deserving.” Elmendorf said Melone is a very careful worker, both in class and in the lab. “Nothing escapes her notice. She takes the time to really understand everything.” While working with her in the lab, Elmendorf said that Melone was a team player and was well liked by her colleagues.

“Professor Elmendorf has been a huge support for me, acting as both a mentor and a friend,” Melone said. “Also, Dr. Henderson has supported and helped me numerous times in order to direct me toward my goals.”

Melone is currently focusing on research for her senior thesis. She is interested in studying neurobiology, focusing specifically on Alzheimer’s. Working with the disease on a molecular and cellular level, she said she wants to study what causes it and how it propagates. “It is humbling to think how those who remember so little still have so much to teach us,” she said. Her interest in this subject was sparked when her grandmother was diagnosed with severe dementia and Alzheimer’s. “It had a large toll on my family,” Melone said. After this incident, elone really wanted to delve into the disease and learn more about it, she said.

In the future, Melone said she plans to continue doing research in neurobiology and maybe even cancer. “Although it is difficult to find a cure, you can help the process of learning the causes and understand how the molecular machinery works,” she said.

Even after receiving the Luce Scholarship, Melone is very humble about her achievements, according to Elmendorf. “Jessica elone seeks a research career and has an exceptional academic record of achievement. We were thrilled to nominate her, believing her to be an outstanding candidate for this prestigious award,” Henderson said.