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McAlester native's student Pfizer experience fosters career optionsOklahoma More than 2,000 students from around the globe put their names in the hat for 150 internships available at Pfizer Inc., this past summer. One of these highly sought-after positions was granted to Oklahoma State University student Randilea Nichols. Nichols, a double major in biochemistry and molecular biology and microbiology and molecular genetics within the Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources at OSU, worked in St. Louis in the Global Biologics Department. "Randilea is a highly motivated undergraduate student who has the potential to be an accomplished scientist in the future," said Ramamurthy Mahalingam, assistant professor in the department of molecular biology and biochemistry. "I am indeed very proud of her accomplishments. Given her sanguine nature, team-playing abilities and excellent communication skills, I am optimistic that she will be successful in her future endeavors." Figuring out those future endeavors is still in the process; however, this internship and experience outside the classroom will pay off. "I did this internship to get hands-on experience in industry. I am torn between becoming a doctor or getting my medical degree and a Ph.D.," Nichols said. "This (internship) was able to give me valuable experience to help me make my decision." Being selected for an internship with a big gun in the pharmaceutical company is not the only achievement of Nichols that should be noted. "She has been awarded the prestigious Niblack scholarship for conducting research in my laboratory in collaboration with my graduate student, Xin Zeng," Mahalingam said. "This highly competitive award is made to students with excellent grade-point-averages as well as interest in conducting research." Nichols, a native of McAlester, is doing research on a National Science Foundation-funded project aimed towards identifying genes involved in biomass production in switchgrass. Given her research with plants, why the interest in Pfizer? "Pfizer is the number one pharmaceutical company, so doing an internship with them is a great opportunity," Nichols said. "My experience in both industry and academia will give me insight into where I would want to do my research." Until the day comes when Nichols needs to make that decision, she can be found in a laboratory, putting her experiences, accolades and expertise to good use at OSU.
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