Research institute director, alumna to discuss finding her calling in October 24 Suter Science Seminar

St. Luke’s University Health Network research institute director Jill Stoltzfus will present a Suter Science Seminar at Eastern Mennonite University on Wednesday, Oct. 24, at 4 p.m.

She will discuss From Undergraduate Education to Meaningful Employment: How a Former EMU Psych Major Found Her Calling in the World of Academic Hospital Research.

The seminar in Science Center Room 106 is free and open to the public.

Stoltzfus will discuss her transition from EMU psychology major to her current role as research institute director at St. Luke’s University Health Network, an academic 10-hospital organization based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Her presentation will cover the scope of her daily tasks and activities working with physicians, nurses, residents, fellows, medical students, and other hospital staff; some of her current research project involvements; and sample content from the lectures she gives to medical students, residents, and fellows, content that emphasizes a highly practical and “user friendly” approach to biostatistics and other research concepts.

After graduating from EMU with a degree in psychology and a journalism minor in 1991, Stoltzfus worked as a therapist with chronically mentally ill adults in her hometown of Harlan, Kentucky. In 1995, she received her MSEd in psychological services from the University of Pennsylvania, followed by her doctorate in school/community/child clinical psychology in 1999. After a postdoctoral research fellowship, Stoltzfus conducted educational research at Temple University from 2001-2006, then came to St. Luke’s University Health Network.

She enjoys teaching a fitness class at a local gym, hiking, cooking, and traveling.

This is the fourth of five spring semester Suter Science Seminars, which are made possible by the sponsorship of the Daniel B. Suter Endowment in Biology and the co-sponsorship of supporting programs.

The final fall semester seminar is on Nov. 28, and features EMU professor of biology Jeffrey Copeland on Aging Genes and Electrochemistry in the Drosophila Brain.