Associate Professor, Kathryn McGarry, chemistry, is proud of the confidence developed in the students she invites into research and the communal spirit they build together in her lab. In her own time as a graduate student immersed in materials research, McGarry grew passionate about her discoveries.
She brought her curiosity to her role teaching in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, starting in 2016. As a new faculty member, she began to involve undergraduates in research shortly after she started teaching classes at UW-Stevens Point.
Among those first students she mentored was first-generation chemistry major Celena Josephitis, a ‘19 graduate. She joined the lab during her sophomore year and trained closely with Dr. McGarry. She said McGarry was always willing to touch base and clarify complex lab protocols and new techniques she was getting familiar with.
They explored copper-based catalysts, which are lower in cost, more abundant, and less harmful to the environment than other metal catalysts more often used in pharmaceuticals and other products. Research focused on novel ways of making nitrogen heterocycles, ring-shaped organic structures of nitrogen and carbon, used widely in pharmaceuticals on the market.
“They’re found in a lot of medical and industrial applications, like in everyday commercial products,” said Josephitis.
McGarry was instrumental in helping Josephitis to identify a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) where she would be able to diversify her skills in the lab. Even the precise instrumentation she used shaped the path for the future chemist. Josephitis earned her chemistry Ph.D. in 2024 and now works for Tolmar, a specialty pharmaceutical company, as a research and development scientist in oncology.
“I needed that pillar of support from someone who knew what that next step forward could be for me,” said Josephitis. “McGarry was someone who knew what I wanted to do and did everything in her power to make it happen for me.”
Even when she wasn’t getting accepted to some of the competitive schools she applied to for graduate studies, she said it was McGarry who kept motivating her search and assuring Josephitis that she indeed had the ability to succeed in her career path. Many of McGarry’s students have gone on to have careers in science or continued their studies in graduate school.
“To be able to see that this work I’m doing is making an impact on their career and their trajectories is the biggest motivator for me,” McGarry said.
Her success in preparing students for careers in the sciences and her ongoing scholarship made McGarry a strong candidate for the 2026 University Scholar Award, which she received at the ceremony earlier this year.
“I was so honored and grateful for the recognition and support by my department,” McGarry said. “It’s an environment in which people are really allowed to grow.
McGarry believes in looking at problems in novel ways and removing barriers. She joined an effort led by associate professor Erin Speetzen, chemistry, an instructional designer in the Center for Inclusive Teaching and Learning, to apply and secure a $1.5 million grant through the National Science Foundation to offer scholarships to low-income UWSP students majoring in Biology, Chemistry, or Biochemistry who intended to enter the STEM workforce or pursue graduate study in a STEM field.
“Diversifying the science workforce is really important, which begins at the university level. This grant helps UWSP draw in high achieving, low-income students,” said McGarry.
The S-STEM Scholars Program is aimed at giving special attention to expanding opportunities to a wider segment of students. The grant includes first-year seminars, paid research, a mentorship plan for students, and supplemental instruction.
“They get support early on. We are making them aware of resources, checking in with them,” she said.
UWSP has applied for the next NSF grant application to continue the program for future years. The first cohort of S-STEM Scholars will graduate in 2027.
She continues to inspire the next generation of chemists to address real world problems. Over the past two years, McGarry’s scholarship has centered around antibiotic resistance. In her lab, students examine crude extracts of Shitake mushroom powder in chromatography and evaluate the compounds after their extract is isolated to then measure the level of bacteria growth.
McGarry’s research assistants will continue their studies this fall. They are enhancing their scientific understanding of antibiotic resistance, experimenting on the compounds in mushrooms thought to have medicinal benefits. Her personalized approach empowers her students to rely on their creativity and analytical mindset. McGarry shares her scholarship and hands-on skills. The more students invest in the experiences in the lab and lecture, the more they stand to gain.