Mollie Barnard ’06

2025 Laurel School Young Alum of Distinction

Molecular and Genetic Epidemiologist, Cancer Researcher

Mollie Barnard '06 was a lifer at Laurel who was equally talented in math and art, competed on the tennis and swim teams, and served as class treasurer. She earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from Swarthmore College.

In 2016, while earning her Doctorate of Science in epidemiology from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Mollie was awarded a highly competitive National Cancer Institute (NCI) F99/K00 Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Fellow Transition Award to study the role of inflammation and immunity in ovarian tumor development. In 2018, she took her NCI fellowship award to the University of Utah’s Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI), where her research resulted in several papers, including one titled “Endometriosis Typology and Ovarian Cancer Risk,” that was published in JAMA.

In 2022, Mollie joined the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine as an Assistant Professor. She is a member of both the Department of Medicine and the Slone Epidemiology Center, where she continues to develop an impressive research program examining risk factors for breast and ovarian cancers.

Striving to better the world in keeping with Laurel’s mission, Mollie has dedicated much of her leisure time to volunteering and mentorship.