Muskingum News

Muskingum University’s Natural, Applied, and Health Science (NAHS) Division newsletter recently featured the accomplishments of  two alumni, neuroscience graduate Dr. Margot Kossman Williams ’07 and nursing graduate Karissa Knox ’14.

Margot Kossman Williams ’07
After graduating summa cum laude from Muskingum, Margot earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Cell and Development Biology from the University of Virginia.  She completed her postdoctoral research training in developmental biology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, where she was awarded a prestigious NIH Pathway to Independence fellowship.

Since November 2019, Margot has served on the faculty of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, as an Assistant Professor in the Molecular and Cellular Biology Department.

At all stages of her career, Margot has enjoyed teaching, mentoring, and volunteering with students of all ages to encourage their passion for scientific inquiry. She continues to train the next generation of scientists within her lab, where she studies early embryonic development in the vertebrate zebrafish model. 

Karissa Knox ’14
After earning her Muskingum Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree, Karissa began her nursing career in Zanesville, Ohio, at Genesis Hospital System in the Cardiovascular Intermediate Care Unit. 

Her career has since taken her to critical care nursing, specializing in cardiovascular intensive care, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina; to nursing in the Coronary Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in Tampa (Florida) General Hospital; and to travel nursing. During her time as a travel nurse, Karissa served in Long Island, New York, St. Petersburg, Florida, and Albuquerque, New Mexico, assisting with the Covid-19 pandemic and the need for ICU nurses. 

Karissa has now returned to the Coronary ICU at Tampa General Hospital. Beginning in May 2021, she will be pursuing a Doctor of Nursing Degree in Nurse Anesthesia at The University of South Florida in Tampa.