Laura Murphy joined the SARE program and the Robinson lab in the spring of 2018. Laura directed the SARE program, including interacting with community partners to identify our stellar SARE scholars, overseeing the admissions process, and developing and executing the curriculum. Laura also coordinated the CSM Initiative, which is our umbrella pathway program. In the lab, Laura was actively engaged in scientific research, in particular deciphering how nonmuscle myosin IIB mechanoresponsiveness helps guide cellular decision making and fate.

Under Laura’s wonderful leadership, SARE helped 61 SARE scholars launch their careers, and as added indication of Laura’s awesomeness, this included the heroic transitioning of SARE to an online format during two years (2020 and 2021) of the COVID lockdown when everything had to be virtual. Yet, our scholars flourished because of Laura’s and the SARE team’s extraordinary effort.

Laura graduated from Mount Holyoke with her degrees in Biology and Dance. As an undergraduate, Laura was a teaching assistant in mathematics and astronomy and an undergraduate mentor for chemistry and physics. Laura continues to practice the art of dance, occasionally defying the laws of gravity even in the lab. In her off time from SARE, Laura teaches dance at Kinetics Dance Theatre and Stars Studio