Avery VonDielingen
Graduation Year: 2025
Major: Pharmacy major with an Entrepreneurship concentration
Hometown: Zionsville, Indiana

The Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (FNLCR) offers students the chance to engage in research that focuses on drug discovery in cancer. Students work on projects that range from basic biological research to developing novel therapeutics while collaborating with leading scientists. This experience deepens their understanding of drug discovery and prepares them for a career outside of college. Meet Avery, a current FNLCR student.

What made you choose Butler during your college search?
I chose Butler for their respected pharmacy program and involved campus atmosphere. Butler’s small class sizes promoted a personalized learning experience for their students and I could tell that there were so many different ways to become involved on campus. I was looking for a school that would allow me to obtain a solid foundation of pharmaceutical knowledge while also advancing my leadership skills through extracurricular involvement.

How did you discover the Frederick Lab, and what made you interested in it?  
I discovered the Frederick Lab through the Accelerating Therapeutics for Opportunities in Medicine (ATOM) internship that was promoted by Butler faculty. I was interested in non-traditional PharmD careers and thought that this internship would be an insightful opportunity to become more involved with research and explore this area of interest.

What’s the best part about being a student in the Frederick Lab?
The best part about being a student in the Frederick Lab was the inter-professional collaboration with other scientists. I was able to greatly expand my knowledge surrounding other scientific areas and saw how these different professions collaborated throughout the drug discovery process in clinical research.

What advice would you give someone considering the Frederick Lab?
If someone was considering the Frederick Lab, I would advise them to not hesitate in reaching out to Butler’s Pharmaceutical Sciences faculty about their interest in getting involved with this experience. The faculty are more than willing to help students seek out opportunities within the pharmaceutical sciences. Additionally, I would advise students to begin familiarizing themselves with the drug discovery process and how clinical research is conducted.

What do you want to do after graduation, and how has the Frederick Lab prepared you for it?
After graduation, I am planning on pursuing a residency to obtain further postgraduate training with the goal of becoming a clinical pharmacist. During my time at Frederick Lab, I was able to attend informative clinical research seminars and gain first-hand experience working on projects under the mentorship of data scientists. I plan on leaning on this knowledge and developed skills when working on research projects throughout residency and in my future careers.