A Chatham Bio Grad at the Berkeley National Lab
Gina Cowser poses for a photo in the hills of Berkeley, CA. (Courtesy of Gina Cowser)
When Gina Cowser ’25 walked into a National Laboratory during a tour with her Chatham University professors last year, she immediately knew it was where she wanted to be.
“This is where I belong,” the human biology student thought to herself. “I immediately was like, ‘Is there any way that I could apply?’”
Before that visit to one of several National Laboratories overseen by the U.S. Department of Energy, Cowser had only worked in a medical lab. “To non-science people, that might just sound like you're still doing lab work; it must be the same,” she said. “It's actually quite different.”
The National Laboratories, funded by billions of federal dollars, are research powerhouses where scientists have access to cutting-edge technology. This January, Cowser was selected for an internship at the National Laboratory in Berkeley, CA.
As a student at Chatham, Cowser enjoyed the University’s serene Shadyside campus, its proximity to coffee shops and libraries in Shadyside and Squirrel Hill, and the supportive faculty in the science department.
Cowser (second from right) poses for a photo with fellow members of Chatham’s Run Club. (Courtesy of Gina Cowser)
It was at Chatham that Cowser first started doing lab research related to phages—viruses that infect bacteria and replicate—with Associate Professor of Biology Welkin Pope.
“She’s the best mentor I could have ever asked for,” Cowser said. “She was so incredibly patient, and it’s so great to work with someone who you know truly believes in you, even when you don’t believe in your own capabilities.”
In May 2025, Cowser went to Richland, WA, to tour the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) with Pope and another faculty member, Associate Professor of Physics Jamiyanaa Dashdorj.
“I went to Washington with them, which was super awesome,” Cowser said. “I just fell in love with it.”
After that tour of PNNL, Cowser knew she had to work at a National Lab like it. She had applied for a National Laboratory internship before but was rejected. This time, she was determined.
“I put a lot more effort into my application after seeing one of the labs in person,” Cowser said. “I was a lot more fired up to get in.”
When she learned she’d be spending the winter and spring working at the Lawrence Berkely National Laboratory in northern California, “there were definitely some tears,” she said. “All that hard work, all that research finally paid off.”
Renting a spare room from a couple who lived in the heart of Berkeley, Cowser was able to walk to the lab in less than a half hour. “I was immediately taken aback by how beautiful it is,” she said. “The trees, the landscape, and UC Berkely’s campus—even the national lab I was at had some botanical gardens. ”
She spent most of her time working in a biosafety level 2 laboratory with infectious diseases, requiring strict protocol.
“I felt like a real scientist,” she said. “You’re all suited up, you’re behind the glass, and no one can touch anything. You have to shower after.”
Cowser (front row, fourth from right) stands for a photo with other members of the Berkeley Lab in California. (Courtesy of Gina Cowser)
There, Cowser continued working with phages—a personal passion of hers—focusing her research on how phages interact in an environment that was more like those in which they exist in nature. She expects her work will lead to her name appearing in some forthcoming articles, including one in Science.
Outside of the lab, Cowser said she enjoyed taking in the beauty of the Bay Area, exploring San Francisco and the UC Berkeley campus, as well as hiking the region’s various trails and mountains.
Now, after wrapping up the Berkeley Lab internship in May, Cowser started a new job at Duquesne University, where she’s working as a research laboratory technician in the Dembowski Lab.
“We’re looking into how the proteins affect viral replication, which is something we don’t really understand,” she said. “I’m really stoked about this experience, because all of my undergraduate experience was with phages, so I’m excited to expand my knowledge of viruses.”
Looking back, Cowser said it was the faculty support and experiences she got at Chatham that laid the foundation for her new job and her experience at the Berkeley Lab.
“I'm just really grateful to Chatham and to Dr. Pope and the science department for getting me here to where I am right now with this really awesome research position,” she said.
Learn more about Chatham’s Bachelor of Biology degree at chatham.edu.