Prepared for the Laboratory

Working in a lab at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense last summer, Emily Kopp ’25 got some hands-on experience conducting research in a professional setting, and both the techniques and the stakes felt like they were beyond anything she had done before.

But thanks to the course work she had undertaken at Washington College before starting the internship, Kopp felt prepared and thrived in the role, which she was invited to return to next summer. 

“The good thing about Washington College is how small the class sizes are and how labs are attached to almost every class,” Kopp said. “It was really nice being able to say I took medicinal chemistry, biochemistry, biological compounds, toxicology—classes I feel like bigger institutions only offer to grad students. Even if it's an introductory course, I've taken it as an undergrad. My mentor would talk about some things that his lab did or used to do, and it was really cool to be able to say, 'I kind of know what you're talking about, even though I haven't done that level of research before.’” 

The U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense is the Department of Defense’s lead laboratory investigating medical treatments for chemical exposures, and because of the nature of the work and the employer, Kopp cannot go into too much detail about what she did there. (And there were aspects of the lab’s work she couldn’t do as a summer intern, lacking certain clearances.) But the work involved maintaining cell cultures and measuring the impact of various chemical exposures on cells. 

Kopp said the principal investigator running the lab, Albert Ruff, was an experienced mentor from whom she learned a lot, partially because she was comfortable asking him questions. The small class sizes and close relationships with professors at Washington mean Kopp was already used to one-on-one interactions with Ph.D.s in the lab. 

That familiarity with the way academic scientists interact and the willingness to engage closely with mentors should serve Kopp well after graduation this spring. She is applying to graduate school to study in a biomedical field, possibly through the Washington College post-graduate partnership with Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, D.C. 

“I really enjoyed it,” Kopp said. "I want to stay in research. I don't have a specific end goal of one single career title, but I do enjoy being in the lab and being the one that's actually doing the research there.” 

— Mark Jolly-Van Bodegraven