Abigail McElhinny grew up in Greenville, Pa. She enjoyed science, and attended Seton Hill to study biology. 

In the summer after her junior year, she planned to go back home and take a summer job.

Her professors had other ideas. She took their advice, and spent that summer completing a research internship in immunology at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, NY. She believes that internship defined her career path.

"I fully believe that Seton Hill taught me to be a leader.”

“Doing a research internship opened my eyes,” she says. “I realized you could have a job solving problems.”

Dr. McElhinny returned to Seton Hill in December to participate in the annual Women in Science event. During the event, she shared her academic and research experiences with female high school students interested in science.

“Being on campus here for four years changed my life,” she said. “Science is about leadership. I fully believe that Seton Hill taught me to be a leader.”

Today, Dr. McElhinny is a leader in cancer research. As the senior vice president for Personal Genome Diagnostics (PGDx), she is working toward solving the problem of matching each cancer patient with the appropriate treatment. 

It’s a big challenge. Dr. McElhinny is up to it.

“Seton Hill,” she says, “Gave me the foundation to be able to do anything.”