Idaho WWAMI healthcare education leader is a proud LC State grad – Campus News

On a day-to-day basis this looks like Fehrenkamp working in the lab or teaching medical students. An integral piece being that undergraduate and medical students are involved in research and take an active role in her lab work. Through Idaho WWAMI she is studying infant immune development as it relates to what infants are fed. 

“I’m really interested in the role of maternal health and ultimately infant health outcomes,” said Fehrenkamp. “Basically, [the research is] a very preventative upstream approach to healthcare; that if we can make babies as healthy as we can during their development, then they will be healthy adults.” 

Lately she has been looking at the circadian rhythm of breast milk to understand how the lack of sleep and increased stress of new moms affects infants. In studying this, Fehrenkamp has relied on collaborative relationships both inside and outside of the WWAMI program. One of her outside collaborations is with LC State associate professor in chemistry Nancy Johnston. 

Together, Fehrenkamp, Johnston, and LC State undergraduates have been able to quantify melatonin, a key sleep hormone, in breastmilk. The LC State undergraduates were able to take their findings and present them at the July IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) conference. 

“Now I have shared abstracts, shared conference presentations, and soon to be shared publications with LC state faculty,” said Fehrenkamp. “So that’s a cool little circle to come back to in my life.” 

Each month the biomedical researchers at both LC State and U of I meet for dinner to collaborate and enjoy each other’s company. Fehrenkamp credits these dinners for her ability to keep in touch with her undergraduate advisors and continue working with LC State associate professors Johnston and Eric Stoffregen, as well as chair for the Physical, Life, Movement, and Sport Sciences Division Rachel Jameton. 

Though the connection these faculty members hold with Fehrenkamp is on a peer-to-peer basis, it stems from mentor-to-mentee relationships developed when she was in college. 

With Jameton, specifically, it stems from her first moments on campus. 

“I was actually on her hiring committee. I was the undergrad that was part of that,” Fehrenkamp said. “And for a couple of years then Rachel was mentoring me in more than just organic research methods.” 

Recognizing similarities between her journey and Fehrenkamp’s, Jameton introduced her to the possibility of studying for a Ph.D. 

“She [Jameton] once was also med school bound but then fell in love with [organic chemistry],” said Fehrenkamp. “She was the first person ever to mention to me a Ph.D.” 

When Fehrenkamp graduated from LC State in 2005, she took time away from school before heading to the University of New Mexico for, what she thought at the time, was medical school. Nine years and three degrees later, Fehrenkamp returned to her home state of Idaho with a Ph.D., just as Jameton had once encouraged. 

Though she sees herself as just a person who educates medical students, it is clear to others that her legacy is becoming much greater. Not only was Fehrenkamp selected as one of Idaho Business Review’s Women of the Year, but she also won U of I’s recent Power of Possibilities Talks. 

“I feel very much like the nerdy girl that has been chosen for prom queen,” she said. “And it’s very awkward and a bit humbling, but of course, an amazing honor.” 

As Fehrenkamp continues pushing forward in her career, she has a list of future aspirations. She wants to continue building her lab, be known for doing quality work on infant immune development, uncover underlying mechanisms that could lead to inflammatory disorders in children, train high quality medical students, and more. 

Fehrenkamp is just one example of using LC State’s small school experience to accomplish big things. 

In one word, Fehrenkamp’s advice to current students is to simply “engage.” 

“Engage on campus, engage with your faculty, engage with your community, engage with other students,” she said. “The holistic approach to learning is to be engaged.”