University of Memphis Athletics
Photo by: Travis Pendergrass
"Major League" Researcher
Oct 16, 2019 | Baseball
Trela worked an internship at US Biologic this summer, holds a 4.0 GPA in biomedical engineering.
NOTE: The Alec Trela feature first appeared in the Sept. 26 Memphis Football GameDay program when the Tigers hosted Navy.
Senior Alec Trela always knew he wanted to pursue a degree in the medical realm. In fact, a large part of how he ended up in the Bluff City was based on his academic endeavors.
His current advisor and Chair and Professor of the Biomedical Engineering Department, Dr. Joel Bumgardner, was an instrumental piece in his recruitment as a student to the university. Having a professor who understands the demands of being a student-athlete was a large point of emphasis for what Trela was looking for as he grew academically and athletically.
"He understands that. We've had people as a part of the biomed degree who doubled as student-athletes. He's really good about being compatible with those sorts of things," Trela noted. "My biggest advantage at Memphis was not sacrificing my athletic or academic sides. He was somebody who pitched that, and that's not something I necessarily heard anywhere else."
His academic pursuit has paid off. The Bloomington, Ill., native holds a 4.0 grade-point average in biomedical engineering and has been named to the American Athletic Conference's All-Academic Team three times. In addition to being a Dean's List member, Trela became just the third Tiger in program history to garner College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America honors last spring.
Trela knew the possibilities of pursuing a vast field would yield numerous opportunities, but perhaps what he may not have anticipated is the amount of invaluable experience he would gain this summer.
As part of his major, the shortstop needed an internship and was eager to complete one close to his second "home." The senior, through Bumgardner, was connected with Dr. Jolieke van Oosterwijk, Chief Science Officer with an innovative biotech company called US Biologic located in downtown Memphis. The disease prevention company develops oral vaccines to address the world's greatest health challenges.
After meeting with van Oosterwijk, Trela knew it would be a great fit. He began working on experiments surrounding animal-borne diseases and quickly got into the groove of hands-on work.
"This internship has been a great experience for me," Trela said. "I feel it broadened my mind in terms of research, as well as deepened my laboratory skill set."
"Alec was a tremendous help to us," van Oosterwijk said. "Clearly he had great training from Dr. Bumgardner's laboratory, and he contributed right away."
Imperative to Trela, the internship allowed him to gain unique hands-on experience while also fulfilling his summer workouts with his teammates.
"Memphis has been really good and flexible with student-athletes, and she was the same way," he said of his schedule. "We would have our Monday, Wednesday and Friday workouts in the morning from 8-10:30. I would go into the lab around noon and do experiments from 12-5:30 or 6 and gain some incredible experience. I don't think some athletes get some of that experience, so that was nice."
On the diamond, Trela started every game in 2019 for the Tigers at shortstop and currently leads the squad with 169 career starts. After turning in strong numbers in his first two seasons, Trela capped 2019 second on the team in home runs (9), second in doubles (15), third in RBI (32) and fourth in hits (53).
With Trela and the Tigers beginning their fall slate in late October, the senior also noted that his internship this summer was a brilliant way to transition into his final year as an undergraduate.
"It was a great interplay," he said. "In the morning, I'm working out and getting to blow off steam and focus on baseball. You turn the page, I get to go in and learn from a well-established company.
"I feel as if it has gotten me into the swing of things for this year. I was up early every day to go through workouts and then go to the lab. I'm doing the same thing five days a week to help me get in the routine."
After graduating, Trela isn't hesitant in pursuing his lifelong dream of playing professional baseball. If there is something else he learned following his summer work, he also plans to continue his education as a secondary step off the field.
Although Trela plans to play baseball as long as he can, what he experienced this summer certainly left its mark preparing him for a career beyond the diamond.
"This experience also helped me prep for the real world. I have some buddies who work in the lab at the university, and that's fantastic," he added. "I got the advantage of witnessing how a company works. Watching the way people interact was enlightening."
Senior Alec Trela always knew he wanted to pursue a degree in the medical realm. In fact, a large part of how he ended up in the Bluff City was based on his academic endeavors.
His current advisor and Chair and Professor of the Biomedical Engineering Department, Dr. Joel Bumgardner, was an instrumental piece in his recruitment as a student to the university. Having a professor who understands the demands of being a student-athlete was a large point of emphasis for what Trela was looking for as he grew academically and athletically.
"He understands that. We've had people as a part of the biomed degree who doubled as student-athletes. He's really good about being compatible with those sorts of things," Trela noted. "My biggest advantage at Memphis was not sacrificing my athletic or academic sides. He was somebody who pitched that, and that's not something I necessarily heard anywhere else."
His academic pursuit has paid off. The Bloomington, Ill., native holds a 4.0 grade-point average in biomedical engineering and has been named to the American Athletic Conference's All-Academic Team three times. In addition to being a Dean's List member, Trela became just the third Tiger in program history to garner College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America honors last spring.
Trela knew the possibilities of pursuing a vast field would yield numerous opportunities, but perhaps what he may not have anticipated is the amount of invaluable experience he would gain this summer.
As part of his major, the shortstop needed an internship and was eager to complete one close to his second "home." The senior, through Bumgardner, was connected with Dr. Jolieke van Oosterwijk, Chief Science Officer with an innovative biotech company called US Biologic located in downtown Memphis. The disease prevention company develops oral vaccines to address the world's greatest health challenges.
After meeting with van Oosterwijk, Trela knew it would be a great fit. He began working on experiments surrounding animal-borne diseases and quickly got into the groove of hands-on work.
"This internship has been a great experience for me," Trela said. "I feel it broadened my mind in terms of research, as well as deepened my laboratory skill set."
"Alec was a tremendous help to us," van Oosterwijk said. "Clearly he had great training from Dr. Bumgardner's laboratory, and he contributed right away."
Imperative to Trela, the internship allowed him to gain unique hands-on experience while also fulfilling his summer workouts with his teammates.
"Memphis has been really good and flexible with student-athletes, and she was the same way," he said of his schedule. "We would have our Monday, Wednesday and Friday workouts in the morning from 8-10:30. I would go into the lab around noon and do experiments from 12-5:30 or 6 and gain some incredible experience. I don't think some athletes get some of that experience, so that was nice."
On the diamond, Trela started every game in 2019 for the Tigers at shortstop and currently leads the squad with 169 career starts. After turning in strong numbers in his first two seasons, Trela capped 2019 second on the team in home runs (9), second in doubles (15), third in RBI (32) and fourth in hits (53).
With Trela and the Tigers beginning their fall slate in late October, the senior also noted that his internship this summer was a brilliant way to transition into his final year as an undergraduate.
"It was a great interplay," he said. "In the morning, I'm working out and getting to blow off steam and focus on baseball. You turn the page, I get to go in and learn from a well-established company.
"I feel as if it has gotten me into the swing of things for this year. I was up early every day to go through workouts and then go to the lab. I'm doing the same thing five days a week to help me get in the routine."
After graduating, Trela isn't hesitant in pursuing his lifelong dream of playing professional baseball. If there is something else he learned following his summer work, he also plans to continue his education as a secondary step off the field.
Although Trela plans to play baseball as long as he can, what he experienced this summer certainly left its mark preparing him for a career beyond the diamond.
"This experience also helped me prep for the real world. I have some buddies who work in the lab at the university, and that's fantastic," he added. "I got the advantage of witnessing how a company works. Watching the way people interact was enlightening."
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