Patrick Mannion ’23: Creating a Foundation for the Future

During Patrick’s first-year at Emmanuel, he met another new face on campus—not a fellow student, but the School of Science & Health’s Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Dr. Nathan Lau.

“Like myself, he was new to Emmanuel, and he was beginning his research project,” he said. “I joined Dr. Lau’s research team and spent two amazing summers working as his intern. Working in the lab has helped me to focus on what’s next in my career path.”

Patrick credits a number of fellow students and professors for shaping his time at Emmanuel, from students in the Science Living-Learning Community who served as early tutors and mentors, to the Health Professors Advisory Committee which helped him shape his undergraduate curriculum for medical school admissions, and Professor of Chemistry Dr. Aren Gerdon, who had him interview professionals in potential career paths and discuss options available after graduation. “These were invaluable conversations for me,” he said.

His work with Dr. Lau opened opened many doors, including landing an internship at Harvard Medical School, due in part, he said, to the training on equipment and procedures he learned in the labs of the Maureen Murphy Wilkens Science Center.

“Emmanuel has one of the best locations for pre-med students as I am able to take a five-minute walk to one of the best medical schools in the country,” he said. “The experience has exposed me to so many options I did not know existed. This was undoubtedly my most impactful experience during college."

Patrick also took part in many cocurricular activities, including playing trombone in the pep band, and as a member of the men’s volleyball team. “I have played volleyball since I was 10, but I never thought I’d play at the college level. The camaraderie of the team is fantastic. We played and practiced together, even studied together. As captain, I did my best to make this an extended family. It certainly has been that for me.”

Since graduation, Patrick has worked as a research assistant in the Walter Laboratory at Harvard Medical School and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, where he studies genome maintenance and how defects in this process cause cancer and other human diseases.

“At this moment, if I could do anything for a career, I would like to be a general practitioner, but I might pursue a Ph.D. in chemistry instead. The good thing is that I know Emmanuel has given me what I need to follow either path.”