Chemistry alumna strides from ROTC to regulatory consultant

Her most transformative experience was becoming an undergraduate researcher. Working with Professor Fred Stevens enabled her to forge vital connections and gain early research exposure, both of which gave her an advantage in graduate school and beyond. The most exciting part was how accessible such opportunities were.

“Being an undergrad researcher felt like the norm in the College of Science,” she said. “If you wanted to go into graduate school or if you wanted to work in a laboratory, this was an option for you.”

After graduating, Murty served as an officer in the Navy for two years before she returned to Oregon State as a graduate research assistant. Her former mentor Professor Stevens connected her to Professor Morrie Craig for her studies, and from there she earned her master’s in Pharmacy and Natural Products Chemistry. “I loved every moment at OSU,” she said.

With her degree obtained and a new foundation in mass spectrometry, a method used to discern chemical compositions, Murty began working in a crime lab at the University of Miami. There she was introduced to forensic toxicology, analyzing DUI and sexual assault samples while developing new methods of analysis.

Murty then moved to Texas and joined the global healthcare company Labcorp as a quality assurance specialist in another forensic toxicology lab. Over 4,000 samples meticulously made their way in and out of the lab every day. It was critical she ensured their analyses remained high-quality and consistent for each client.

Although she enjoyed her work, Murty began to crave a change in her career. So, after briefly teaching high school chemistry, she applied for a Ph.D. program at Texas A&M University. She’d hoped to continue researching mycotoxins — the focus of her master’s degree — but was thrust into a very different playing field when she arrived.

“I got there and my advisor said, ‘Actually, I’m not doing mycotoxin research anymore.’ He handed me a Petri dish of a cotton pathogen and I had no idea what to do with it,” Murty recalled.

Wanting to get the ball rolling regardless of her uncertainty, she pulled skills from her previous positions and applied the techniques she’d learned. She began extracting bacteria and testing them against the cotton pathogen to see if any could function as a biocontrol agent, a means to hinder the pathogen’s disease. Despite later facing the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, she adapted by collaborating remotely and conducting additional genetic analysis. In the end, she successfully persevered and earned a Ph.D. in plant pathology and microbiology.

Combining genetics and biocontrol, Murty’s Ph.D. research paved the way for her current role in regulatory affairs where she applies her expertise to the development and approval of pesticidal products.

The experience highlighted a through line across her entire career, from getting started as an undergraduate researcher to her latest position helping companies venture into the pesticide industry: Being unafraid to begin.

“Take the initiative, even if you’re wrong, even if it ends up failing,” she advised. “You might start a bunch of stuff that doesn’t work, but you’ll start something. Whatever you’re thinking about, I’d say just do it.”