Nadia St. Thomas

INSPIRING INDIVIDUAL

Nadia St. Thomas

Nadia St. Thomas, a senior biochemistry major at Maryville College from Pembroke Pines, was named the recipient of the prestigious LeQuire Award for the 2021-22 academic year.

Established in 1987 by descendants and friends of Maryville physician Granville Dexter LeQuire and his wife, Ellen Brickey LeQuire, the LeQuire Award includes a cash gift to help defray the expenses of applying to medical school and an engraved pewter julep cup.

St. Thomas, who will graduate in May from the 203-year-old college located in East Tennessee, was named winner of the award by College President Dr. Bryan F. Coker at the institution’s annual Academic Awards ceremony on April 2. The recipient of the LeQuire Award is selected each year from among the graduating class by the College president. Students are nominated by faculty members from the Humanities and Natural Sciences division.

St. Thomas plans to take a gap year after graduation to obtain work in either a research lab or direct patient care, during which time she plans to apply to medical schools. Her aptitude for research, faculty members nominating her for the award wrote, make her well-suited for such graduate work: “She isn’t satisfied with just learning facts or answering the ‘what’-type questions; she enthusiastically wants to know the answers to ‘why’ behind scientific principles, observations and chemical reactions,” they wrote.

A graduate of Archbishop Edward A. McCarthy High School in Southwest Ranches, Thomas completed two Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) programs in Summer 2021, studying biochemistry and molecular biology in an environmental health and safety context in one, and evaluating data from oncology patient outcomes under the supervision of a retired Mayo Clinic physician at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in the other. Her research and findings during the latter REU have been submitted for publication, Coker noted in his presentation.

“And keep in mind, the REUs were in addition to work on her Maryville College-required Senior Study,” Coker added. “For it, (St. Thomas) again examined the links between human health and environmental health by studying the presence of the pesticide imidacloprid in the nectar of flowering plants growing near Eastern Hemlock trees treated against the wooly adelgid infestation.”

“The fact that she would so completely devote herself to a topic that is not traditionally medical in the textbook sense of the word demonstrates her adaptability and her scientific curiosity,” according to one nominating faculty member.

Maryville College is a nationally-ranked institution of higher learning and one of America’s oldest colleges. For more than 200 years, we’ve educated students to be giving citizens and gifted leaders, to study everything, so that they are prepared for anything — to address any problem, engage with any audience and launch successful careers right away.

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