Career goals of first integrative life sciences grad continue to evolve

Elizabeth Prom-Wormley (M.P.H. ’99/M; Ph.D. ‘07/H&S) appreciates the interdisciplinary nature of the degree program at VCU.

After finishing her undergraduate studies at the College of William and Mary, Elizabeth Prom-Wormley (M.P.H. ’99/M; Ph.D. ‘07/H&S) sought an in-state master’s program in public health. Her search ended with Virginia Commonwealth University.

“At the time, no other school in Virginia had this program,” Prom-Wormley says. “There’s a lot of cutting-edge stuff going on here.”

Master’s degree in hand two years later, Prom-Wormley began working — free of charge — as a research assistant in the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, located in the Virginia BioTechnology Research Park adjacent to the VCU Medical Center.

“I was really interested in genetic epidemiology and wanted to see how the scientists there did their jobs,” she says.

 What started as a free gig turned into a full-time paid position. To supplement her knowledge, Prom-Wormley began taking classes at VCU in human genetics. Soon, she had accumulated enough credits to work toward a doctoral degree. The question emerged: Which program should she pursue? VCU offered a doctorate in epidemiology and a doctorate in human genetics, but both proved too specific for her. One of her human genetics professors suggested she try a new program offered by VCU Life Sciences in integrative life sciences.

“He thought it might be a really good fit and it was,” Prom-Wormley says. 

The program allowed Prom-Wormley to pick her course of study, combining multiple areas, not just one. The result produced a researcher with numerous skills and varied experience.

“People who have a lot of fingers in a lot of different pies are becoming really indispensable,” Prom-Wormley says. “VCU’s interdisciplinary route is very important in the way that science is developing in the future.”

As the program’s first graduate, Prom-Wormley sometimes acts as the “go-to” resource for incoming students. It’s a role she’s only too happy to play.

“I do it because the program is young, and I want to support it,” Prom-Wormley says. “The new classes of students are becoming more sophisticated and more interesting in their range. I want to cultivate that talent and get it out there.”

In June, Prom-Wormley begins her third year of a postdoctoral fellowship as a genetic epidemiologist at the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, where she’ll continue her work on the genetic and environmental components of chronic physical and mental health disorders. She hopes her research findings will ultimately guide disease prevention.

Prom-Wormley strives to balance the many hours she spends at the institute with an equal commitment to her personal interests. She and her husband, Brandon Wormley — a VCU graduate who works as a scientist in a molecular genetics lab at the institute — commute, eat lunch and work out together every day. Prom-Wormley, a second-degree black belt in tae kwon do, teaches the martial art to a group of co-workers a couple of times a week. She also practices yoga, which she believes helps with her science.

“Oftentimes, I’ll say, ‘I’m going to come to an answer,’” Prom-Wormley says. “And at the end of the day I don’t. But I think, look at all the things I did do along the way. Yoga allows me to appreciate all the little gifts on a daily basis as opposed to being frustrated about not reaching the end goal, which is sometimes very prevalent in science.”

When her fellowship concludes, Prom-Wormley must decide her next career move: a position in academia or industry. She’s not sure which path she’ll choose, but the thought of leaving Richmond is difficult.

“There’s so much good work going on here,” she says. “And I always find something new to do.”