Georgetown College. Georgetown University.

Caitlin McMullen is attending the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City. (Courtesy Caitlin McMullen)

By Theodora Danylevich

Dr. Sarah Stoll remembers Caitlin McMullen as “a sparkling person with a lot of energy.” Now in her second year of medical school, McMullen began to work with Dr. Stoll in her freshman year and earned several honors for her research, including the Freshman Chemistry Award and a John T. Adams Fellowship in 2005 for summer research. McMullen ultimately graduated with a Chemistry Department Award for Distinction in Chemistry and headed to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City.

McMullen came to Dr. Stoll’s lab driven by curiosity as well as a willingness to push herself and grow as a student.

“Dr. Stoll’s projects first stood out to me because they were so different from the research a typical pre-med student might do,” she says. “I knew very little about inorganic materials, especially as a freshman chemistry student, and I wanted to challenge myself by learning more.”

When McMullen joined Dr. Stoll’s lab, she first set about doing hydrothermal synthesis experiments with manganese. Later, she took on a project to make capped Europium Sulfite (EuS) nanoparticles.

“EuS nanoparticles have both magnetic and semiconductor properties, with a variety of potential applications,” explains McMullen. “‘Capping’ (basically attaching) the nanoparticles with organic materials, you can control the solubility of the particle, making it more useful.”

“For each of these projects, Dr. Stoll guided me every step of the way," says McMullen. “She would enthusiastically help me when I became stuck, or needed help interpreting results. I will always remember the positive encouragement Dr. Stoll provided me.”

Developing important research skills was another key part of her experience in Dr. Stoll’s lab. This was enhanced by the collaborative group environment.

“The faculty, graduate students, and other undergraduates were always willing to share their time to teach me something new,” McMullen says. “Everyone got excited about the other students’ projects and worked together to solve problems.”

For McMullen, Dr. Stoll’s supportive and engaged teaching approach was just as important as the research problems themselves, if not more so.

“As a doctor, I will be placed in the position of an educator with medical students as well as with my patients,” she explains. “I hope to be as helpful and encouraging with them as Dr. Stoll was with me throughout my career at Georgetown.” McMullen hopes to pursue a medical practice in psychiatry, neurology, or obstetrics.

Hailing from Far Hills, New Jersey, McMullen occasionally forgets there is a life outside of medical school and chemistry, though she loves to spend time with fellow Georgetown alums who have also moved to New York City. She also enjoys the outdoors and skiing when she has free time.

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