University of Chicago rising fourth-year students Sarah Kress, Eva McCord and Joshua Pixley have been awarded 2024 Barry Goldwater Scholarships, which supports students who intend to pursue research careers in the natural sciences, mathematics and engineering.
They are among the 437 U.S. college students to be selected for the prestigious scholarship out of a pool of over 5,000 applicants. Scholarships are awarded annually to cover winners’ cost of tuition, fees, books, and room and board up to $7,500 per year. Additionally, funds are designed to help STEM students fund their research during their final years of undergraduate study.
Learn more about these outstanding students below:
Sarah Kress
Sarah Kress, from Canton, Mich, is motivated by the opportunity to identify scientific problems that are relevant on a global scale—but where research findings have potential impacts far beyond her chosen field of chemistry.
“As someone who aspires to someday run her own lab, I also want to serve as a mentor to make research in chemistry more accessible, particularly for those who have been traditionally excluded from academic spaces,” said Kress. “A career as a professor will allow me to both push the boundaries of my field through scientific discovery and share those discoveries with others, whether scientists, students or those outside the field.”
Tell us about your research.
My research focuses on thinking about ways we can drive chemical reactions using electricity and identifying new kinds of catalysts to make each step along a chemical synthesis greener. I use electrochemistry to develop new synthetic techniques in an effort to help chemists and chemical engineers implement more sustainable practices globally.
Working under the mentorship of Anna Wuttig has helped to cultivate my love for discovery itself, learning why molecules do the things they do and then using those data to find answers to scientific questions. My passion lies in investigating the fundamental interactions that govern the behavior of molecules, and with Professor Wuttig, I’ve had the opportunity to experiment with new techniques in the unknown systems that we study.
For me, the draw of a career in research is that I’ll get to discover and develop brand-new chemical processes for the rest of my life.
What does it mean to you to receive the Goldwater Scholarship?
The Goldwater Scholarship is an amazing recognition of the work I’ve done so far, and an encouragement to keep pursuing my love of science. I’d also like to thank those who helped me along the way. Above all, I want to thank my first research mentor, Prof. Wuttig. Her pure passion and love for her research inspires me, as well as her ability to see the bigger picture while maintaining an incredibly detailed and careful approach to answering scientific questions. She dedicates so much of her time to working with her students one-on-one, and I would not be where I am as a scientist or a person without her support.
If I talked about all of the teachers and mentors who helped me, I’d be going on for pages and pages, but I’d like to thank in particular Scott Milam, and Profs. John Anderson, Kale Davies, Bryan Dickinson, Sarah King, and Greg Engel for all of their support.
Eva McCord
Eva McCord, from Grosse Pointe Park, Mich., is majoring in neuroscience. Her interest in making research part of her career has been bolstered by her work as an undergraduate researcher in the Ruthenburg Lab, as well as her role as a teaching assistant in the Biological Sciences’ Collegiate Division.
“I came to UChicago because I wanted to be surrounded by people who deeply love learning,” said McCord. “It’s no surprise that the College instilled within me an appreciation for, and a desire to contribute to, the rhythm and momentum of scientific research, where you have the potential to learn something completely new about the natural world—and can then share it with others.”
Tell us about your research.
Since my very first biology class at UChicago, I have been fascinated with the idea that genes “respond” to the environment, constantly being turned on and off as though by an intricate series of switches. And so, my research is interested in exploring how one protein—actin, specifically actin in the nucleus—acts as one of these “switches” during major gene expression events in neurons.
To do this, I’ve been looking specifically at how actin affects the process by which a stem cell—a cell that is capable of maturing into virtually any type of cell—becomes a neuron. This is a process called neural differentiation. To become a specific cell type, a stem cell has to stop expressing its own “stem cell genes,” and begin expressing cell-specific genes (in this case, “neural genes,” otherwise referred to as “neural markers”). What I’ve found is that, if you alter the typical behavior of actin in stem cells’ nuclei, and then attempt to turn those stem cells into neurons, you’ll see major differences in those mature neurons’ gene expression profiles compared to those that had normally-functioning actin.
Those changes in gene expression are non-trivial! If just a single protein has a potentially huge role in making sure neurons become neurons, this same protein might be involved in major neurobiological diseases where neurons don’t form properly. These kinds of ideas are exactly why I’m so excited about epigenetic therapies, and are a large part of why I want to pursue an MD-PhD.
What does it mean to you to receive the Goldwater Scholarship?
Being named a 2024 Barry Goldwater Scholar reaffirms my existing belief that science is an intrinsically inclusive and collaborative endeavor—an endeavor that thrives and is augmented by the act of making space for ideas that spawn from diverse perspectives and unique backgrounds.
I am the granddaughter of Polish immigrants who arrived in this country with just ten dollars in hand. My mother raised my two brothers and I as a single mother, and in middle school, my family was at risk of homelessness. Being a Goldwater Scholar demonstrates that I, even in light of the challenges I have had to overcome and the spaces I have had to create for myself as a low-income student, have the capability and drive to contribute to and care for the delicate and exciting ecosystem of scientific inquiry. My background is not a hindrance to my scientific career, but rather has equipped me with the very skills—tenacity, humility, and adaptability—that make me a scientist.
I would love to thank my mother, my grandmother, my uncle, and my two brothers—being a Barry Goldwater Scholar is just as much their accomplishment as it is mine. They nurtured my love for the sciences by nurturing me, for always believing in me, and for always being just a phone call away. I also owe much of my scientific career to my PI, Dr. Alex Ruthenburg. Dr. Ruthenburg was my first biology professor at UChicago, and his infectious enthusiasm inspired me to explore both epigenetics and teaching; this past fall, I was Dr. Ruthenburg’s teaching assistant for BIOS 20234 (Molecular Biology of the Cell, the Advanced Fundamentals Track), the very class that inspired me to explore a future in research.
Joshua Pixley
Joshua Pixley is triple majoring in Molecular Engineering (Bioengineering Track), Biochemistry, and Chemistry. The Westford, Mass. native works as a researcher in the Dickinson Group, and serves as a board member and current co-president of the UChicago International Genetic Engineering team.
“My introduction to research in the last two years has continuously solidified my interest in working towards a doctorate in chemistry,” said Pixley. “Wet lab research requires a type of critical and creative thinking that I have not found anywhere else and look forward to using into the future.”
Tell us about your research.
The human genome encodes over twenty thousand proteins. Of these, only around two hundred are currently druggable using small molecule inhibitors. A large portion of those remaining, many of which are therapeutic targets in cancer and other diseases, are considered “undruggable” using traditional modalities. I hope that my current and future work will contribute to the revolution in chemical biology that is making it possible to create therapeutics for diseases previously thought to be incurable.
What does it mean to you to receive the Goldwater Scholarship?
To receive this recognition is incredible validation that I have begun to take the correct steps on the ultimate path of my career. It is also wonderful to see the countless hours in the lab manifest into something external to the University.
I would like to express enormous gratitude to Professor Bryan Dickinson for fostering my work and finding a place for me in his group as well as to my mentor Dr. Matthew Styles for providing endless support and pushing me towards research independence. I would also like to thank my other fabulous recommenders, Profs. Mark Stoykovich and David Pincus for their guidance as well as CCRF for all of their help with my application.
Finally, I would like to thank my parents for being excited about good data and supportive after poor results even if they don’t always understand what I’m talking about. Without the support of all these amazing people, I would not have the confidence to move forward into this field.
UChicago’s winners were supported throughout the application process by the UChicago Goldwater faculty nomination committee and the College Center for Research and Fellowships (CCRF). CCRF supports undergraduates and recent College alumni through highly competitive national and international fellowships.