MCC Daily Tribune
Celebrating National STEM Day (Saturday, November 8)
In honor of National STEM Day tomorrow, we’re celebrating MCC alumna Kristin Scheible, MD, whose dedication to science, medicine, and education exemplifies the power of a strong foundation in STEM.
For Kristin Scheible, MD, Monroe Community College (MCC) was the first step toward a fulfilling career in medicine and research.
Today, she serves as an Associate Professor of Pediatrics (primary) and Microbiology & Immunology (secondary) at the University of Rochester, Associate Chief of the Division of Neonatology at the Golisano Children’s Hospital at Strong, and Co-Director of the Research Pillar at the University of Rochester (UR) Institute of Human Health and the Environment.
Scheible initially attended MCC from 1989 to 1991. “I studied liberal arts, which offered an outstanding sampling of academic areas that I had never before engaged in,” she said. “I was also able to take advantage of the cross-registration program that existed at the time with the University of Rochester to advance my German language studies.” Through this program, Scheible was able to take advanced German at the UR, which was covered by MCC tuition.
After earning her bachelor’s degree with a double major in anthropology and women’s studies from the University at Buffalo (UB) through the 2+2 program, Scheible started a family. She later returned to MCC to complete her pre-med coursework from 1996 to 1998.
Looking back on her time at MCC, Scheible recalls several inspirational figures, including David Day. She added, “It was because of his class that I went on to major in anthropology.”
Later, during her pre-med work, Scheible benefited from the outstanding instruction of Mike Goho, Tammy DiNolfo, Tim Tatakis, and others. “I felt more prepared for my Medical College Admission Test than my student counterparts from local private universities,” she said.
Scheible began medical school at the University of Rochester in 1999 when her daughter was three years old. She took a year off to care for her son, who was born in 2001, before graduating in 2004.
She completed her Pediatric Residency at URMC from 2004 to 2007, followed by a Neonatology Fellowship from 2007 to 2010. During her residency and fellowship, Scheible worked on a flu-related study in Dr. David Topham’s research lab, which inspired her to continue in academic medicine and pursue a career as a physician-scientist.
Scheible credits her daughter for her interest in neonatology. “After I graduated from UB, I worked as a corporate account representative at Borders Books and Music,” she said. “I fully intended to rise in that company as a book buyer or something akin to a corporate position.”
When Scheible’s daughter was born and admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, it marked her first exposure to hospital medicine or neonatology. “It was inspiring to see the team working so hard and so skillfully to care for my child and the other patients around her,” she said. “We were fortunate to bring her home healthy thanks to their care.”
“When I brought her home, I realized that I wanted to be part of a profession that would bring personal meaning to the trade-off that any work outside caring for her would create,” she said. “Like many of us, staying at home was not an option for us financially, so this was an important, and ultimately the best, decision.”
Inspired by her own path and determined to give back, Scheible is working to create opportunities in medicine for the next generation. In fact, Scheible credits MCC’s Global Education and International Services Coordinator, Christina Lee, for her involvement with the Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP) students.
“Dr. David Dean, Jennifer Young, and I were introduced to Joanne Santos by Christina,” she said. “This was such a great idea of hers, to partner with the MCC CSTEP students to build better bridges between our community and our researchers interested in mentoring.”
Launched in 2021, the program has hosted 4 to 10 students every year since, with four students completing internships in Scheible’s lab. As part of this lab-based internship, students are fully immersed in hands-on research, each assigned a discrete project to complete in 8-10 weeks, contributing to the lab’s broader scientific goals.
Scheible said, “I’ve had students develop and complete assays for measuring cytokines in breastmilk, develop a data-capturing tool for a clinical COVID study, and the most recent student optimized an assay to measure antibody strength against the tetanus vaccine to measure the impact of PFAS (forever chemicals) on human immune development.”
Many of these students have continued their careers in the medical field. One student is currently enrolled in a master’s program with plans to attend medical school. Another student began a Physician Assistant program before transitioning to pursue a medical degree. Additionally, two other students are now working as nurses at the University of Rochester.
Three students from other labs are either currently in medical school or in the process of applying, and at least three others are pursuing graduate degrees to become researchers.
Reflecting on her time at MCC, Scheible described it as “foundational and life-changing”. She admitted that she was not a dedicated student in high school and missed nearly half of her senior year, leaving her feeling lost after graduation. It was her stepfather, Gary Miller, Dean Emeritus of the Math and Engineering Department at MCC, who encouraged her to enroll—an encouragement she considers one of the most impactful decisions of her life.
“The instructors were, without exception, engaged and interested in the success of each student,” she said. “Learning in itself became rewarding, and I found myself studying within a community of students and professors who were intensely curious and invested in the exchange of ideas.”
When asked what advice she would give current MCC students, Scheible said, “Consider taking classes outside your area of interest. You’ll learn new knowledge that you’ll find yourself unexpectedly calling on later in life. Learn from and listen to as many different kinds of people while you’re there. There are few spaces in life that will offer as vast and as diverse a community of ideas and people as MCC.”
Scheible’s broad approach to learning and collaboration is reflected not only in her advice to students but also in her own impactful research career, where she has contributed to more than forty published journal articles.
Her lab focuses on a range of projects centered on the determinants and outcomes of normal and abnormal immune development in human infants. Collaborating with researchers nationwide and internationally, they study immune development from the molecular level to the population level. The team emphasizes a biopsychosocial approach to address immune-related questions in infants.
Scheible’s dedication and excellence in both research and patient care have earned her numerous awards throughout her career. Her honors include the American Thoracic Society Abstract Award in 2017 and the University of Rochester Bronze Star in 2014. She was recognized with the Patient- and Family-Centered Care Award twice, in 2012 and 2013, and earned the University of Rochester Strong Star consistently from 2011 to 2016.
Early in her career, she was named a Young Investigator by the Pediatric Research Society in 2011 and was a nominated attendee at the NICHD Fellows Conference in 2009. Scheible was also awarded the prestigious Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award from 2008 to 2011. Additional distinctions include the Janet M. Glascow Memorial Achievement Award in 2004, a Summer Fellowship in Anesthesiology in 2000, and academic honors such as Outstanding Graduate in the Faculty of Arts and Letters and the Lucia Maria Haupt Award in Anthropology in 1993, along with the Kreyer Prize for Excellence in German in 1991.
Photo Caption: Professional headshot of Kristin Scheible wearing her lab coat and smiling at the camera.
Attached Files:
Kristin Alumna.jpg
Courtney Weimar
Community Relations
11/07/2025