By Elisabeth Costanzo Stewart

Professor Phyllis O’Donnell, Ph.D., was in the fourth grade when she entered her first science fair. Her experiment was simple, but elegant. She collected Campbell’s soup cans, filled them with water of varying temperatures, and monitored them continuously for condensation. Little did she know then that this first foray into the scientific method would not only fuel a fulfilling career as a trained scientist and educator, but also spark a decade-long passion project. As co-chair of the Southern Tier Scholastic Science Fair (STSSF), O’Donnell creates a supportive environment for our community’s budding science and engineering investigators to think critically, problem-solve creatively, and explore the beauty of science.  

O’Donnell was born and raised in Staten Island, NY.  The seventh of eight children, she longed to be old enough to go to school and do homework alongside her siblings at the dining room table each night. Even as a little girl, science constantly swirled around in her mind. Fascinated by the complexities of DNA, gene variation, and inheritance, and the relatively new technology of cloning, O’Donnell couldn’t wait to grow up and spend her life in science labs and classrooms. 

A first-generation college student, O’Donnell attended her first SUNY as an undergrad at Stony Brook University. She dreamt of becoming a genetic engineer, but couldn’t find molecular biology in the course catalog. In its place, O’Donnell enrolled in the medical technology program, where she learned to analyze blood, fluid, and tissue samples. 

After graduating and earning her certification, she accepted a position at a mid-size hospital, floating between hematology, urinalysis, coagulation, general chemistry, and special chemistry laboratories. While she enjoyed the hospital lab setting, she excitedly accepted a position at a small pharmaceutical company. Among the drugs they created, they also developed orphan drugs, which are designed to treat rare diseases. At that time, the company concentrated its research in three areas: a potential treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia; a life-sustaining blood substitute for emergency situations when a blood transfusion wasn’t immediately available; and increasing the effectiveness of a drug for children suffering from Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID). Also dubbed Bubble-Baby Disease, SCID is caused by a genetic mutation in an enzyme and impacts a child’s ability to ward off infections. It manifests as a set of ailments and a weak immune system. Up until that point, children affected with the disease were confined to isolation. Though cases were very rare, their efforts enhanced these children’s quality of life.

Motivated by her desire to unearth solutions with science, O’Donnell felt it was time to head back into the classroom. But she didn’t go alone. Her then Stony Brook boyfriend, now husband, Matt, tagged along to complete his own graduate degree. O’Donnell’s SUNY #2 was Upstate Medical University (UMU). When her first child was 10 months old, she defended her dissertation and completed her Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology. Her research, which introduced genetically engineered DNA vectors into macrophage (a type of white blood cell) cell-lines, centered on the transcriptional regulation and production of Tumor Necrosis Factor-α (TNF-α). TNF-α, a cytokine, is essential for effective immune responses. Yet when overproduced, it can contribute to chronic inflammatory disorders.

“While in graduate school, I distinctly remember our professor explaining a topic and saying, ‘it is not yet known,’ O’Donnell reflected. “It was so exhilarating to realize that it was our job to figure it out! It gave purpose to our work.” 

As a new mother, O’Donnell was invited to remain at Upstate Medical to complete a one-year postdoc with her mentor, Dr. Steven Taffet. With a second baby on the way, and a job offer for Matt  from IBM, the family relocated to Broome County.

Thankfully, research opportunities were plentiful thanks to Binghamton University’s status as an R1 institution. At her third SUNY, O’Donnell collaborated with a biology department researcher to investigate and introduce effective transfection protocols for a colorectal adenocarcinoma cell line. After the birth of her second child, she devoted the next several years to supporting BU’s Department of Biological Sciences. As an immunology-focused postdoctoral associate, she researched the effects of spaceflight and, using a mouse microgravity model, how stress affects the susceptibility to infections and immune cell dysfunction. 

Professor O’Donnell is the 2020 recipient of the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. Photo Credit: Matt Ebbers

Though her work was challenging, intellectually provocative, and spurred a series of publications, O’Donnell kept toying with the idea of teaching. She had loved instructing second-year UMU medical students as a teaching assistant (TA) in graduate school and wondered if it was time to trade in a laboratory for a lecture hall. 

With her family comfortably settled in the Southern Tier, O’Donnell transitioned from a Binghamton University employee to a graduate student again and earned a Master of Arts in Teaching from Binghamton in biology adolescence education (7-12). 

Fortuitously, just as she completed her degree, an adjunct position in SUNY Broome’s biology department opened. Within weeks of her arrival at SUNY #4, O’Donnell immediately sensed how her community’s college prioritized supporting the success of its students above all else. Almost fifteen years later, her observations have remained the same. 

Whether she’s teaching prep, human, or micro, biology, Professor O’Donnell approaches every semester with the same goal  — “convince my students that science isn’t scary.” She does this by authentically sharing her love of the field and practical experiences she’s gleaned from her service in hospital, pharmaceutical, and research laboratories. O’Donnell smoothly shepherds students through biology courses — often instructing specialized cohorts of dental hygiene and nursing students through foundational material for their allied health careers. Proud to be nominated by her colleagues, O’Donnell received the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2020. 

While half of her scientist’s heart is in the classroom, the other half brings her back to her roots as a fourth-grade science fair hopeful. O’Donnell first became acquainted with the Southern Tier Scholastic Science Fair early in her career as an adjunct. Moved by its long history of fostering scientific exploration, she enthusiastically joined her “exceptional biology colleagues” to do her part. 

“At the time, Dr. Jen Musa was chairing the STSSF and asked if I would volunteer to coordinate a morning workshop,” O’Donnell explained. “I’ve loved science fairs ever since I was a little girl, and I find it so rewarding to work with kids. In 2016, I joined the team as co-chair. The incredible thing is that because the STSSF has been around for so long, many of its young participants ultimately end up in our classrooms as college students. It’s wonderful!” 

Whether teaching a classroom full of future hygienists or helping a fifth grader set up her experiment’s display board, O’Donnell offers the same short but sweet boost of encouragement: “You’ve got this.” And they all do — because Dr. O’Donnell is quietly in the wings, cheering them on.

Read more inspiring stories in the Fall 2025 edition of BROOME Magazine: bit.ly/broomefl2025

The Southern Tier Scholastic Science Fair celebrated its 20th anniversary this past spring. (above, l to r) Bill Hollister, Ph.D. (co-chair), Rachael Hagerman (LAA ’99; LT ’05), MA, Tracy Curtis Ph.D., O’Donnell, Alison Sheridan Brennan, MAT and Dan Brennan, Ph.D. Other STSSF officers who are not pictured are: Amanda Hollister, Ph.D., and Jen Musa (HSCD ’23; CHDC ’23), Ph.D. Photo Credit: Matt Ebbers

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