Brett T. Alldredge (BS ’08) produced a top-tier journal article as an undergrad.
You have to be invited to write for the Journal of Clinical Pathology. Brett T. Alldredge (BS ’08) wasn’t—after all, he was still an undergrad. But he requested permission to submit an article anyway. He just left that little “undergrad” part out.
“I didn’t think it would help my chances,” Alldredge admits.
Imagine his surprise when the editors responded to “Dr. Alldredge,” accepting his article as is.
“I wrote back as ‘Brett,’” maintains the recent neuroscience graduate, who was published as the sole author on an article compiling existing research on gap junctions—the proteins that connect cells together—in May.
“It’s most unusual to have undergraduates publish on their own,” says Runjan Chetty, the journal’s editor, who added that knowledge of Alldredge’s undergraduate status wouldn’t have impacted his decision to accept the article. “This is an important area of research. Brett’s contribution will be widely read.”
Gap junctions act as pathways in the body, allowing the passage of nutrients and electrical impulses, and they play a pivotal role in the treatment of various diseases. Alldredge began studying gap junctions as a research assistant for physiology and developmental biology professor David C. Busath.
Alldredge is currently in his first year at Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences.
