Alissa graduated in 2009 with a Bachelor of Science in Bioinformatics. She met her husband, William Boyle, MBA ’09, at Gannon University during a lab they shared. While at Gannon, Alissa served as a Student Ambassador, and Chair of the Honors Program's Student Advisory Board. She was the recipient of the Leadership Award Scholarship, and the Academic Excellence Scholarship all four years of her attendance at Gannon. In 2009 she received the Award for Excellence in Bioinformatics.
Alissa continued her education at the State University of New York at Buffalo and entered a graduate program through Roswell Park Cancer Institute. Her academic focus was in Molecular Pharmacology and Cancer Therapeutics and in June 2015 she earned her Ph.D. Alissa is currently a Clinical Pharmacology Post-Doctoral Associate with an oncology pharmaceutical company called Athenex, Inc. in Buffalo, NY. During her career, she has contributed to several scientific publications, has presented her research at national conferences, and has enjoyed the role of mentor/teacher to many students and interns.
Alissa volunteers for “Bald for Bucks” and Buffalo Women in STEM. In June 2016 she started her 3-year term as a Director on the Alumni Association’s National Alumni Board. She is a valuable asset to the team, chairing the Marketing/Social Media Committee.
Her favorite Gannon memories include participating in the women’s basketball intramural league, living with four of her still very close friends in Kenilworth, and interacting with students on a weekly basis to plan events for the Honors Program. Her favorite classes while studying at Gannon included calculus and discreet math.
Several of the courses she enrolled in while at Gannon University were designed very similarly to graduate classes, and directly prepared her for what to expect when entering a PhD program, including Dr. Konieczko’s cell biology course. The fundamental principles instilled during her early years at Gannon prepared her for a successful graduate and post-graduate career in the field of oncology.
?(Published May 2016)