Allyson Sgro

Scientist Allyson Sgro developed her early enthusiasm for research in the chemistry lab at Bard College at Simon’s Rock, where she investigated carbenes with Professor David Myers.

She wrote her senior thesis, “Full of Energy and Nowhere to Go - An Examination of Reactions Related to Diadamantylcarbene,” at the age of 18. Allyson credits David with influencing her career as a scientist and says his enthusiasm in the classroom got her excited about teaching as well. “David had this amazing approach to science. He was so full of curiosity and energy, and it was really just infectious.”

After graduating from Simon’s Rock, Allyson went on to earn her PhD at the University of Washington in Seattle and worked in the laboratory developing new tools for biological analysis.

Allyson completed her BA from Simon's Rock with concentrations in Chemistry and Pre-Medical Studies.

Chemistry Program

Pre-Medical Studies

She earned her MS and PhD in Chemistry at the University of Washington.

Then came Princeton University, where Allyson taught scientific writing and investigated the origins of collective behavior in Dictyostelium, single-cell organisms also known as “slime molds.”

While conducting her postdoctoral work at Princeton, Allyson was a Writing in Science and Engineering fellow and lecturer. She was prepared to teach writing thanks to the fundamental skills she learned at Simon’s Rock.

“Scientists don’t think of themselves as writers. It’s something that a lot of scientists struggle with that I really enjoy.”

In 2017, she became an assistant professor of Biomedical Engineering and a member of the Biological Design Center at Boston University. While there are many career paths for STEM graduates, a few intrepid scientists choose to start their own academic research laboratories. As principal investigator for Sgro Lab at the Center for Integrated Life Sciences & Engineering at BU, Allyson is helping research students address the question of how cells coordinate their behaviors by creating and applying new methods to observe and control these behaviors.

Over her career, Allyson has received numerous awards, among them a Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award at the Scientific Interface and a National Research Service Award from the National Institutes of Health, and her name appears in several notable scientific publications. Boston University awarded Allyson with the College of Engineering Dean’s Catalyst Award, and the Moorman-Simon Interdisciplinary Career Development Professorship to support her work as a junior faculty member whose scholarship spans more than one school or college.

Taking Risks

Allyson’s parents were skeptical about Simon’s Rock, but Allyson was convinced it was the right place for her. “Simon’s Rock was the beginning of me taking an unconventional approach to things and sticking with my intuition on what’s going to be right for me. What I’ve taken away from Simon’s Rock, that I live with every day, is that there are many paths to success, and when I know something is right for me and that I may be successful at it, I should go for it.”

“I think Simon’s Rockers are all risk takers. They all know that this is a little bit unconventional to do. Simon’s Rockers share a confidence in themselves. I think you have to believe in yourself a little bit more than to take that straight and narrow ‘I’m going to wait to go to college’ path.”