Outstanding Seniors in the College of Science: Natalie Rawlings

This spring, the College of Science recognized 12 outstanding seniors for their contributions in and out of the classroom. Natalie Rawlings is this semester's recipient from Molecular & Cellular Biology!

The College of Science caught up with Natalie to learn more about her experiences at the University of Arizona and what is on the horizon after graduation.

Why did you choose to study in your specific department/major?

I believe that understanding every aspect of a concept facilitates the easy identification of where things might go wrong and how to fix them, and it’s why I chose to study Molecular and Cellular Biology and Biochemistry. This belief started at the dinner table. Growing up, my pharmacist parents prided themselves in never “dumbing down” their dinnertime conversations about pharmaceutics and medicinal chemistry. As a kid, I hardly understood those conversations, and they rarely simplified it for me. It was frustrating at the time, but in retrospect, listening to complex, technical explanations without hand-holding shaped how I think and made me comfortable facing inexperience and uncertainty while still asking questions and learning to connect the dots myself.

In high school, this mindset drew me to an interest in the cell signaling and transduction unit in biology because it applied the molecular logic I’d grown up hearing about. I realized how much I loved understanding the logic of cells, especially how small perturbations in pathway dynamics could trigger major physiological consequences. In my first semester of college, I joined the Capaldi Lab, a molecular biology/systems biology lab because I was curious about what cell signaling research actually looked like. As I spent more time in the Capaldi Lab, I gained a great sense of satisfaction in the approach to asking questions at the molecular level and understanding how cells precisely function. The prospect that the smallest changes in protein activity or gene expression could cause massive changes in cellular behavior filled me with perpetual awe, and I wanted nothing more than to play a role in advancing our understanding of it. Over time, I found that MCB offered a unique research approach in which one can ask questions about how cells work and pose solutions for when they stop working in one fell swoop.

Tell me about a class or research project you really enjoyed.

A class that I have really enjoyed was MCB 447: Big Data in Biology and Medicine, taught by Dr. Ryan Gutenkunst and Dr. Claire McWhite. This was a course I took last semester, and we learned about the large variety of ways that high-dimensional data can be visually represented as well as how complex data such as genomics, metabolomics, and proteomics can be processed and analyzed computationally. I felt like this was both an incredibly useful and entertaining class, as I had the chance to learn about some of the mathematical/computational concepts underlying much of the data I have come across while reading research papers. 

What is one specific memory from your time at UA that you'll cherish forever?

It's hard to decide on one particular memory, but I've walked to grab lunch at Time Market so many times with so many friends over the years, that I'll always remember that as "our spot." I've probably tried everything on the menu at this point, and I will never forget all of the riveting conversations I've shared with friends as we walked from campus down University boulevard. 

What are you most proud of having accomplished in your time at UA?

I think I am most proud/grateful for having found a sense of community at UA. You are only as strong as your support system, and I am very proud and grateful that I had the ability to build such a phenomenal support system of friends and mentors who I could lean on in challenging times and who knew how to support me and bring the best out of me. I don't think my freshman year self could have imagined that I would have made so many fantastic connections across campus and built meaningful relationships that have truly allowed me to thrive during my years here. 

What is next for you after graduation?

I will be attending medical school and will be pursuing a career as a physician-scientist!