Georgetown College. Georgetown University.

Louisa Warren's work in Dr. Moasser's lab is furthering her interest in medical school. (Photo: Roland Dimaya)

By Dayo Akinwande

Cura personalis is commonly used in its religious tradition by the Society of Jesus to describe the responsibility of the major superior (who governs the Order) to care for each person in the community with his talents. For Louisa Warren, her “major superior” is Dr. Bahram Moasser, who she first met in her freshman year.

“Dr. Moasser explained his projects in a language that I could understand after only a semester of chemistry,” she recalls. “I also liked the opportunity to start research in a new lab so that I could see everything from the beginning.”

Warren currently synthesizes vinylglycine, a compound that she says will be useful for Dr. Moasser’s lab in future projects. The benefit of vinylglycine and solid phase peptide synthesis is that it offers an efficient way to make a variety of peptide chains so that they can create a library of ligands to test. Such work has taught Warren how to read a procedure and to generate helpful recollections upon opening her organic textbook.

“I can usually link whatever I’m reading about to something we have talked about in the lab,” says Warren, “and just being reminded how relevant everything I’m doing is makes me more enthusiastic and engaged.”

For now, Warren is content with primarily focusing on soaking in all that she can from her Georgetown experience. Her course of study and extracurricular activities symbolize her desire to have a multifaceted experience at Georgetown. She double majors in chemistry and French—subjects that give her “more of a balance.” She also participates in the South Asian Society’s Rangila show each year and Hawaii Club’s Lu’au, which she credits as being educational and a welcome break from the rigors of class.

“I like that Georgetown is strong in many different areas,” says Warren, “and I appreciate going to a liberal arts school where I am getting a well-rounded education.”

Warren harbors thoughts of attending medical school in the near future. For that, she is appreciative of Dr. Moasser, whom she lauds as an attentive and patient mentor because of his meticulous guidance with his answers to her questions.

And that leads her to crack up with a pun: “Dr. Moasser and I had good chemistry.”

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