Ph.D. student is 1st American Psychology Society minority outreach fellow

University of Louisville doctoral student Mesia Moore Steed is excited about scientific research. The Henderson, Ky., native plans to build a career studying homocysteine, a little-understood, toxic, sulphur-containing amino acid that is as damaging to the heart and blood vessels as cholesterol.

"It's the cholesterol of the 21st century," she said.

Steed's inquiry into the way homocysteine causes arteriosclerosis and other cardiovascular diseases will have implications for patient treatment.

And the work she does over the next year as the first American Physiology Society K-12 Minority Outreach Fellow could have implications for future career scientists as she shares her excitement for biomedical research
with pre-college students in Louisville and from around the country.

"I'm really into mentoring and teaching," she said, noting that she is looking forward to exposing students to the various opportunities for scientific careers that she didn't know about herself.

It wasn't that Steed didn't know about science. With nurses, respiratory therapists, physician's assistants -- more than one of each -- in her family, she knew about the medical opportunities to help the sick. Her interests, however, were elsewhere.

"I was interested in wellness," said Steed, who as an undergraduate at UofL majored in exercise science and sport medicine. Yet, while she especially enjoyed her exercise physiology classes, she didn't really know physiology could be a career.

That changed when she met Irving Joshua, chair of the department of physiology and biophysics in the School of Medicine, while she was working at the Northwest Area Health Education Center (AHEC) in Louisville. Joshua encouraged Steed to take a physiology course. She did, and was hooked.

Joshua also encouraged her and the other physiology and biophysics students to apply for the APS outreach fellowship.

Steed did, and was the only recipient selected nationwide.

In the coming year, Steed will encourage pre-college minority students who are under-represented in science -- African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanics and Pacific Islanders -- to think about becoming biomedical researchers.

She will work with students and teachers at several APS conferences and forums and visit two minority student classrooms to do career presentations and hands-on activities.

"All of my in-class work will be here in Louisville," said Steed, who will draw on her previous experiences working with kids at the AHEC program and as a cheerleading coach.

"I'll also be encouraging the professors in my department to go out into the schools, too."

Steed is "going to make an excellent scientist," Joshua said. "She recognizes not only excellence in research but also has a desire to share with others.

"She wants to continue to motivate others. We don't have many students who have the desire and social concern she has."

"Mesia's enthusiasm for sharing the excitement of doing science makes her an ideal outreach fellow," said Marsha Matyas, APS director of education.

"I was very excited, very honored," Steed said about receiving the fellowship. "I felt really good about it -- blessed -- not just for myself and family, but for my department, the University of Louisville and my lab.

"When you travel to conferences, you see a lot of big universities get lots of awards and recognition. For it to come back to Kentucky and Louisville,
was great."