Krystle McLaughlin

McLaughlin grew up in Tobago, where she met Joan and Jay Mandle, professors at Colgate University, who encouraged her to apply.[1] She studied physics at Colgate University, graduating in 2006.[1] She was the only woman of colour in her graduating physics class.[1] At Colgate University she was a leader of the Society of Physics Students.[2] She has since returned to Colgate University, to speak at their annual SophoMORE Connections event, introducing undergraduate students to alumni.[3] In 2006 she joined Clara Kielkopf's laboratory at the University of Rochester.[4] She was awarded the University of Rochester William F. Neuman and George Metzger Awards.[5] During her graduate studies she was a guest lecturer at Hampton University.[6] Her thesis used X-ray crystallography to study thermodynamic and structural basis for protein-nucleic acid interactions, and she successfully defended it in 2011.[7]

McLaughlin joined University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a postdoctoral researcher, funded by a Seeding Postdoctoral Innovators in Research and Education (SPIRE) fellowship.[8] She characterised proteins responsible for the transfer of antibiotic resistance and virulence in bacterial cells, as well as teaching the biology program.[8] She was appointed a professor of practice at Lehigh University, where she started the PA DNA Day, a now annual celebration of DNA and genetics.[9][10] She was in Paris during the November 2015 Paris attacks.[11] At Lehigh University she developed innovative ways to teach undergraduates how to interpret crystallography.[12] She uses lysozyme to teach students about molecular modelling and crystallisation.[7] She has campaigned for a Synchrotron light source in South Africa.[13]

She joined Vassar College in 2017 as an assistant professor in chemistry.[14][15] Here her lab focus on the spread of antibiotic resistance, the gut microbiome and biochemistry of mycobacteriophages.[16][17]

She takes part in science outreach activities.[18] McLaughlin is the 2018 chair of the American Institute of Physics Liaison Committee on Underrepresented Minorities.[19] She was elected to the American Crystallographic Association communication committees.[20]