Lauren Conrad has been named student marshal for the Penn State Berks spring 2026 commencement ceremony. She is earning a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology with a minor in chemistry, and the ceremony will be held at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 9, at the Santander Arena in downtown Reading.
Conrad, of Fleetwood, Pennsylvania, said she became interested in biochemistry during her first year at Brandywine Heights High School. The seeds of that interest took root when she completed the Medical Health Professions Program, a joint initiative of the Berks Career and Technology Center, Penn State Berks, and Tower Health. The program provides high school seniors with real-world experience and a head start on a future in healthcare.
It also brought Conrad to Penn State Berks during her senior year, cementing her decision to apply.
“Penn State Berks is the only college I applied to,” stated Conrad. “I loved the professors I met during the Medical Health Professions program. They really wanted to help in any way they could.”
Conrad explained that conducting research became her end goal after realizing that a medical career was not a good fit, and she did not waste any time getting involved in research when she came to Penn State Berks. During her first semester, she began working with Lorena Tribe, professor of chemistry, on a computational research project on the digestive enzyme, trypsin, which breaks down proteins.
She then worked with Justin DiAngelo, professor and program chair of the biochemistry and molecular biology degree program, for the remaining three years. In DiAngelo’s lab, she studied how a gene in the brain regulates fat metabolism, using fruit flies as a model organism.
As a Penn State Schreyer Scholar, Conrad was required to complete a thesis. Working with DiAngelo as her adviser, her thesis was titled “Neuronal 9G8 functions in NPF-expressing neurons to regulate whole-animal triglyceride storage.“
Her research was not limited to campus. Conrad completed two Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships in pharmacology: one at the University of Michigan in 2024 and one at the Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences in 2025. At the University of Michigan, she studied a class of proteins called adhesion G protein-coupled receptors, and at the Mayo Clinic, she studied potential treatments for gynecological cancers.
She also presented her research at several professional conferences, and she co-wrote a scholarly journal article with other Penn State Berks students for Engaging Students in Physical Chemistry, a publication of the American Chemical Society.
Academic success came easy for Conrad, and she was always willing to help others, serving as a learning assistant for two courses: one in chemistry and another in calculus.
During her time at Penn State Berks, Conrad’s experiences were not confined to the classroom or lab. She also served as a Cohen-Hammel Fellow. The Cohen-Hammel Fellows Program is a scholarship program for talented and engaged students who complete all four years at Penn State Berks and give back to the local community through service and leadership.
During her time as a Cohen-Hammel Fellow, Conrad worked with the Veggie Rx program, which began as a joint initiative between Penn State Berks and Penn State Health St. Joseph to provide free vouchers for fresh produce to at-risk community members with diabetes. She also worked with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society to raise awareness in the city of Reading by volunteering with Walk MS and bringing a speaker to campus to educate students about multiple sclerosis.
On campus, Conrad was actively involved in several student organizations. She served as a Lion Ambassador student tour guide, a Welcome Week team leader, vice president of the Christian Student Fellowship, member of the DiscipleMembers at Penn State Berks student organization, and president of the Berks Chemical Society, a student chapter of the American Chemical Society at Penn State Berks.
For all her accomplishments, Conrad received several prestigious awards, including the Berks Scholar Award, the Academic Excellence in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Award, the Excellence in Biomathematics Award, and the Excellence in Statistics Award in 2026; the Evan Pugh Scholar Award in 2025; the Excellence in Physics Award in 2024; and the President Walker Award in 2023, just to name a few. And she made the Dean’s List every semester, graduating with a 4.0 GPA.
When asked how Penn State Berks has prepared her for the future, Conrad said, “Penn State Berks has given me confidence in my abilities to conduct research and to think critically. The classes have been challenging, which helped me develop my problem-solving skills.”
During the commencement ceremony, Conrad will give a speech titled “Dear Younger Me,” a reflection of lessons learned during her four years at Penn State Berks.
What does the future hold for Conrad? She has been accepted into the University of Michigan’s doctoral program in pharmacology, which she will begin in late August 2026.