Full Story on Mpouli and the Honor She Received From the McNair Scholars' Program
 
Eastern Washington University track and field standout Aulane Mpouli has been honored by EWU and the Ronald E. McNair Scholars' Program as its October Featured Scholar.
 
A junior athletically from Auburn, Wash., Mpouli is a chemistry and biochemistry major with a 3.50 grade point average. She is currently applying to chemistry PhD programs with the goal of conducting bench-to-bedside translational cancer research.
 
"Our whole coaching staff is incredibly proud and inspired by what Aulane has accomplished," said Eastern women's track and field head coach Marcia Mecklenburg.

Mpouli is interested in mechanisms to evaluate protein-ligand interactions, as well as chemical biology, and enzyme dynamics in disease prevention. She also seeks to deepen her understanding of proteomics and drug designs. Her ultimate goal is to contribute to a team that furthers knowledge about the detection and prevention of cancers.
 
A 2018 graduate of Auburn Riverside High School, Mpouli has been honored three times on the Big Sky All-Academic team – twice as a freshman in 2018-19 and indoors in 2019-20 before the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in the cancellation of the 2020 outdoor campaign.
 
She finished fifth in the pentathlon at the 2020 Big Sky Conference Indoor Championships, finishing with 3,419 points in the five-event competition to rank fourth in school history. She also competed in the long jump and triple jump at the league championships, and her career bests indoors in those two events are 18-7 1/4 and 38-9 1/2, respectively.
 
As a freshman, she was 11th in the heptathlon at the Big Sky Outdoor Championships with a total of 4,429 points. Her best at EWU outdoors in the long jump is 18-0 1/4.
 
The McNair Scholars' program works with motivated and talented juniors and seniors who are first-generation college students and low-income, and/or from a group underrepresented at the doctoral level.