University Of Alabama At Birmingham announces Goldwater Scholars

Two neuroscience students and two students in the Blazing Biomedical Careers program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham have been named 2023 Goldwater Scholars — the most prestigious math and science award for undergraduate students — by the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation.

The Goldwater Scholars Program was established in 1986, honoring U.S. Sen. Barry Goldwater. This preeminent undergraduate award is designed to foster and encourage outstanding students to pursue research careers in the natural sciences, engineering and mathematics. Goldwater Program received 1,267 nominations this year, and the winners will receive a scholarship equal to the amount of their tuition, housing, fees and books up to a maximum of $7,500 per academic year.

“UAB’s consistent success in the Goldwater competition testifies to the academic rigor as well as the tremendous support our undergraduates find in the research community here on campus,” said Michelle Cook, Ph.D., director of the UAB Office of National and International Fellowships and Scholarships. “Receiving a Goldwater Scholarship validates the work these students have done so far and empowers them toward even bigger things to come.”

Selected as scholars from among UAB’s nominees were Nikhita Mudium and Ethan Wan, both neuroscience majors in the College of Arts and Sciences as well as members of the Early Medical School Acceptance Program and the UAB Honors College.

Nikhita Mudium investigates neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s disease, specifically the cellular interactions that induce neuroinflammation-mediated degeneration of dopaminergic neurons. She works in the lab of Ashley Harms, Ph.D., and David Standaert, M.D., Ph.D., in the Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine’s Department of Neurology. She plans to pursue an M.D./Ph.D. in interdisciplinary neurobiology to combine academic research and hospital resources to ensure that mechanisms in the human extra neuronal environment inform treatment research. Mudium is a member of the UAB Honors College’s Science and Technology Honors Program.
Ethan Wan works in the lab of Jeremy Day, Ph.D., in the Heersink School of Medicine’s Department of Neurobiology. He characterizes cell type-specific transcriptional responses to cocaine in rats and investigates how different exposure lengths alter these responses. He plans to pursue a Ph.D. in computational neuroscience and investigate transcriptional reward, motivation and motor responses in the striatum to accelerate our understanding of neuroscience and contribute to future medical advances. Wan is a member of the UAB Honors College on the Personalized Pathway.
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UAB’s two additional Goldwater Scholars, Jaden Adams and Chandlor Dobbs, recently transferred from Jefferson State Community College after conducting research with UAB mentors as part of the Blazing to Biomedical Careers program.

Jaden Adams, a biomedical sciences major in the School of Health Professions, studied the effects of combined-neuromuscular electrical stimulation intervention on muscle cross-sectional area and signaling for inflammation under the supervision of Ceren Yarar-Fisher, Ph.D., within the Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. He plans to pursue a Ph.D. in physical therapy to improve patient outcomes by increasing our understanding of the impact of various physical therapy interventions and techniques.
Chandlor Dobbs, a biomedical engineering major in the School of Engineering, observed the chemo response of ovarian cancer cells in 3D models in the lab of M.K. Sewell-Loftin, Ph.D., within the Department of Biomedical Engineering and the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center. He plans to pursue a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering with the goal of becoming a principal investigator specializing in ovarian and lung cancer research. Dobbs is a member of the UAB Honors College on the Personalized Pathway.