Competition drives John “Conor” Moran whether he’s on the court as part of George Mason University’s tennis team or in the lab chasing down new treatments for cancer.
A self-described “science nerd,” the biology senior loves tennis. George Mason’s NCAA Division 1 tennis team and cutting-edge labs held equal importance for the University Scholar during his time at Mason.
“It’s not just the excitement of winning,” said Moran, who plans to pursue a MD and PhD. “It’s the result you get when you’re looking for the answers. We could be changing how lung cancer is treated.”
As a Chantilly High School student, Moran worked on a science fair project that dove into how stress affects chemo resistance to cancer. He was hooked.
“I’m looking at cancer cells under a microscope, and I couldn’t believe it,” he said with a wide grin, recalling his first high school encounter with what could be his career. He soon became part of Mason’s prestigious Aspiring Summer Scientists Internship Program.
He’s spent years working in the lab at the Science and Technology Campus, helping to analyze the protein networks between different populations of lung cancer patients. Graduating this May, he plans to make personalized medicine his career.
Moran’s enthusiasm and “broad mind” has made him an asset in the lab, said Mariaelena Pierobon, Moran’s mentor and a professor in the Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine at Mason’s Institute for Advanced Biomedical Research. Critical thinking and learning how to take criticism are key to success in the lab, she said.
“It’s all about using your mind and transforming your thought into an experiment,” Pierobon said.
You’ll find Moran always on the move––he’s leaving tennis practice in the afternoon and heading to the lab. “I’m not sure how I do it,” he said. “I know the work needs to get done.”
Moran considered playing tennis for a living. He had a taste of what it could be like to play professional tennis when he competed last year in the Citi Open in Washington, D.C.
Moran is a well-organized and disciplined athlete, said his coach Gary Quam, who coached Moran for three years and recently retired after 26 years of coaching. Moran went from being a non-starting player to a critical member of the team.
“To be a good student, you have to push away distractions,” Quam said. “In tennis you have to focus on the here and now. You can carry that practice in focus and move it to focus in the lab or on a test.”
Moran has realized that professional tennis is not his future. “I’m not good enough—I hate to admit that––I’m not going to play on the pro tour.”
But he already knows where he’s going. “I’ve applied to medical school.”