Monday, April 15, 2002

Education

Whiz Kid: Annely Richardson

By Adria Cimino

Annely Richardson Boston University Biomedical engineering

Annely Richardson, a senior in the Boston University biomedical engineering program, has held her dream of going into medicine for about a decade.

She made the decision in the sixth grade, when her grandmother was paralyzed by a stroke.

"That was really frustrating for me," said Richardson, who wanted to help her grandmother and others suffering from similar problems.

Today, the 21-year-old Scituate native is on her way to reaching the goal.

She is receiving her bachelor's degree next month and then will continue as a BU medical student.

Richardson, however, will not be new to the medical school.

She was admitted to the school as a sophomore as part of an eight-year program that allows students to take some of the medical and undergraduate courses simultaneously.

Richardson now is working on her senior project at BU's Center for Biodynamics. She is studying the population dynamics of gene expression.

Engineering was a natural undergraduate choice for Richardson, who enjoys building things and "taking science and applying it."

She said that engineering has taught her how to solve problems and think creatively - valuable skills for a medical student.

Engineering classes have shown Richardson that "even if something looks difficult and scary, you can figure it out," she said.

Richardson maintains a grade point average of 3.92 without any particular difficulty.

"It's something I've always done," she said. "I take it as it comes."

But on occasion she has chosen study over sleep as part of her stellar educational performance.

In spite of the hectic academic schedule, Richardson has spent the past few years as an active member of BU life and enjoys a variety of hobbies.

She has sung in choirs since the fourth grade, currently is learning how to play the guitar, and loves running.

The Boston Marathon, however, is not on her schedule.

"I really value my knees," said Richardson, who hopes to pace herself so that she can pursue hiking well into her 60s.

Richardson serves as president of the BU chapter of Alpha Eta Mu Beta, the biomedical engineering honor society, and helped to establish BU's Bio Ethics Society.

Her interest in addressing ethical issues goes hand-in-hand with another career goal: science writing.

Richardson said she would like to write for a general audience about the latest biotech discoveries.

Although she considers the general knowledge to be "pretty good," she said, "there are definitely misconceptions out there."