Mallory Sea of Sioux City, a senior chemistry and biology major at Morningside College, participated this summer in the Amgen Foundation’s prestigious Amgen Scholars Program. Sea spent eight weeks in Japan, conducting hands-on research at the University of Tokyo. She was one of 340 students globally this year accepted into the Amgen Scholars Program from nearly 5,000 applicants.

Mallory Sea of Sioux City, a senior chemistry and biology major at Morningside College, participated this summer in the Amgen Foundation’s prestigious Amgen Scholars Program.

Sea spent eight weeks in Japan, conducting hands-on research at the University of Tokyo. She was one of 340 students globally this year accepted into the Amgen Scholars Program from nearly 5,000 applicants. The program partners with 17 leading educational institutions across the U.S., Europe and Japan to host students in research labs.

According to Sea, the lab she worked in at the University of Tokyo specializes in synthetic organic chemistry and pharmacology.

“My project had to do with synthesizing organic compounds for high resolution imaging of biological materials,” Sea said. “We were trying to get a better picture of the surface morphology of proteins by using my synthetic compounds during scanning electron microscopy. The technology in the lab was pretty amazing.”

In addition to her individual research experience, Sea joined other Japan-based Amgen Scholars at a regional summer symposium in Tokyo. Sea heard firsthand from leading scientists working in industry and academia on drug discovery and development, met other Amgen Scholars and summarized her research work with an oral presentation and a poster.

Amgen is a multinational biopharmaceutical company headquartered in California. The Amgen Foundation seeks to advance excellence in science education and to inspire the next generation of innovators.

Starting in September, Sea will embark on another international study program that involves environmental research in Panama. She will be based in the Bocas del Toro province along Panama’s Caribbean coast and will study marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Sponsored by the School for Field Studies, the curriculum for the semesterlong program focuses on defining key tropical island systems, both natural and human, and how they interface.

The School for Field Studies, located in Massachusetts, is the largest environmental study abroad program for college undergraduates in the U.S.