"Easton Native Using Science to Help Others"

         In the summer of 1984, while earning a chemistry degree from Gordon College in Wenham, Mass., Alynne MacLean went on a mission trip to Costa Rica.  The experience would change the purpose and direction of her life forever.  “I saw firsthand the terrible toll disease was taking on the developing world, and I wanted to do something to help.  I just didn’t know what that would be,” who grew up in Easton and now lives in Sharon.  “The hardest part was knowing that most of the suffering I witnessed could be prevented.”

          MacLean said she turned to her religious roots to help her find the answers she was seeking.  It wasn’t long before she came to realize she would use her life-long passion and love of chemistry to help the suffering in developing countries.

          Throughout the years MacLean would travel to some of the most impoverished areas of Africa, South America and the Caribbean.  She said her desire to help the suffering only grew.  She found that what was most needed was the ability to detect diseases so that the medical professionals could dispense the proper medication right on the spot.  The biggest obstacle was that many of the ill lived in remote areas with no electricity and no running water.

          “Believe it or not kidney disorders are one of the biggest killers among children and adults in developing countries,” MacLean said.  “These illnesses are treatable, but without electricity to support the testing equipment, it has been impossible to give the proper treatment.  There is usually a lot of guessing and many people have died in the process.”

          MacLean went on to earn a Ph.D. in analytical biochemistry from the University of Kentucky, the leaders in the use of technology known as enzyme immunoassays (EIA).  EIAs detect disease from samples of blood or urine and the tests do not require electricity.

            “EIAs are very similar to an over-the-counter pregnancy test, “MacLean said.  “They are quick, easy to use, and can withstand rough travel to the most remote areas of the world.  The best part is that they don’t need equipment that requires the use of electricity.”

          For the next 10 years MacLean had a very successful career in the corporate world, working as a top researcher for both Proctor and Gamble Pharmaceuticals and Bigoen.  Feeling like something was missing in her life, MacLean walked away from her lucrative position to start her own nonprofit organization.

          At the end of 2000, MacLean created a non-profit organization called Science with a Mission.  Her goal is to use EIA to detect disease in third world countries.   For example, pregnancy tests work best because doctors are able to detect a protein only  present in the urine during pregnancy.  MacLean hopes to identify proteins or other changes identifiable by EIA which indicate the presence of diseases such as kidney ailments, malaria and other maladies.

         Once accomplished she will find a company to manufacture the EIAs.

         Alynne’s sister, Christine Mac-Taylor, also has a Ph.D. in chemistry and is a board member of Science with a Mission.  Mac-Taylor is an associate professor at Salem State College.  Both sisters use the facilities at Salem State to further the research of EIAs, working with several undergraduate students.

          MacLean spends a great deal of her time investigating grants and other fund-raising sources.

          “Unfortunately, for Science with a Mission, 96 percent of all money donated from foundations goes to the United States.  Since the events of Sept. 11 it has become more difficult to help those overseas,” MacLean said.

          The Science with a Mission team hopes that by 2003 its first EIA will be ready for field testing.  In the meantime the goal will be, keeping the organization afloat while these goals are being achieved.

          Science with a Mission has been a wonderful, and sometimes frustrating experience for Alynne MacLean, but one she wouldn’t trade for anything.

          “I’m having a blast,” she said.  “I think something great is going to come out of it.  I want it to happen the way God wants it to.”

           In the meantime MacLean uses her spare time to tutor children from Sudan in math and science.  She met the four brothers through the East Bridgewater Covenant Church, and even hosted a big birthday bash for several of their relatives and friends at her home in January.

          “I found that they had several relatives living in Sharon, and the surrounding area,” she said.   “Many people from Sudan only know the year that they were born, but not the month, so they are assigned January 1 as their birthday.”

          She also recently took in a Sudanese student, and the student will live in her home until high school graduation.

          MacLean knew from a young age she would have a career in chemistry.

         “Since I was in the fifth grade I knew I wanted to make chemistry my life,” MacLean said.  “I would put on chemistry shows for the neighborhood, but I would tell everyone it was a magic show, because I knew nobody would come.”

            For information about Science with a Mission, write to