A Cowboy, Without Question

Her research goes the distance

 

 

Meet Dr. McKale Montgomery

 

Before the sun comes up, she’s running by headlamp. This October, she smashed the Kansas record for a woman’s full marathon, beating the entire field — men included — in the process. Her Twitter following quickly ballooned, but her speed and persistent stride are just part of her story. When she’s not winning marathons or caring for her 2-year-old daughter, she’s in the lab.

 

After getting a master’s degree and Ph.D. in nutrition from OSU she pursued post-doctoral research in a biomedical sciences lab.
While training for the marathon trials for the U.S. Olympic team, she began to notice novel connections between cancerous tumors and nutrients like iron. With backing from the National Cancer Institute, she’s pursuing innovative ways to leverage cellular iron regulation to combat cancer, all while running 80-90 miles per week and inspiring the next generation of researchers as a professor.

 

“I think I’m one of the few people in the world that has an alarm go off and gets up because they want to get ready for work to see what happens next,” she said. “I’m really fortunate in that regard.” She credits the interdisciplinary research culture and tight-knit community at OSU with bolstering her research and offering the kind of environment where you can “have it all.”

 

“It’s interesting, even though OSU has a sprawling campus, I cannot go to another building without seeing someone I know,” she said. “We really value getting to know each other.”

 

That’s how we build Cowboys.

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