Rebecca Alford

2016 Hertz Fellow
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Rebecca Alford is Senior Scientist – Molecular Design & Simulation at The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson.

Rebecca was formerly a postdoctoral research fellow at D. E. Shaw Research.

With an overall interest in developing tools to improve the drug discovery and testing pipeline, Rebecca focused her PhD research on computational tools to study membrane proteins. Membrane proteins control the transit of molecules and information across the lipid bilayer, and understanding their structures provides insights to keep cells healthy and defend against disease. Rebecca credits thesis advisors Jeff Gray and Karen Fleming with excellent mentorship while at Johns Hopkins University, where she also participated in several efforts to increase diversity in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

Rebecca holds a bachelor’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University.

My favorite aspect of the Hertz Fellowship was the freedom to explore risky and promising research ideas. The opportunity to develop and pursue my own research questions helped me develop into a confident, creative, and independent scientist.
– Rebecca Alford

Graduate Studies

Johns Hopkins University
Chemical Engineering, Biomolecular Engineering

Undergraduate Studies

Carnegie Mellon University

Related News

Apr 21, 2016
Prestigious Hertz Foundation Fellowship Recipients Announced Fellows to join most competitive PhD Fellowship program in science and engineering in the United States