First Year Scholars 2023

Oregon Health & Science University
School of Medicine, Biomedical Sciences

• The Rose E. Tucker Charitable Trust Scholar
• Brenden plans to study infectious disease immunology, with the goal to contribute to the fight against viral disease by developing vaccines or antiviral drugs.

Oregon State University
College of Engineering, Civil Engineering

• The Anne & Peter Jarvis/OSU Engineering Endowment Scholar
• Stephanie does engineering education research on working engineers’ identity and engagement in design activities, focusing on professional identity construction and motivations.

Oregon State University
College of Science, Integrative Biology
 

• The Linda & Gary Wallmark Scholar
• Emily plans to research topics related to coastal ecological resilience and flexible, long-lasting solutions to climate change.

Oregon Health & Science University
School of Medicine, Biomedical Sciences

• The Nancy & Dodd Fischer/OHSU Endowment Scholar
• Jessica is interested in improving the precision and safety of CAR-T cells for metastatic stage cancers and the persistence of tumor-fighting T cells. 

Oregon State University
College of Agricultural Sciences, Food Science and Technology

• The Sarah & Ross Smith/OSU Ag Science Endowment Scholar
• Sarah is involved in optimization and scaleup of a biopolymer coating to protect wine grapes in vineyards from smoke taint during wildfires.

University of Oregon
Arts & Sciences, Biology
 

• ARCS Foundation Oregon Chapter Scholar
• Caroline focuses on DNA damage repair and solving problems related to infertility and congenital disabilities. 

Oregon State University
College of Science, Microbiology
 

• ARCS Foundation Oregon Chapter Scholar
• Benjamin plans to apply his knowledge of genomics and transcriptomics to contribute to the crucial field of climate change research in hopes of finding novel pathways critical to our understanding of the carbon cycle.

Oregon State University
College of Engineering, Computer Science

• The Jean & Richard Josephson/OSU Engineering Endowment Scholar
• James plans to further his knowledge on the different applications of Machine Learning in hopes of using it to create new pharmaceutical drugs.

Oregon State University
College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences

• ARCS Foundation Oregon Chapter Scholar
• Ian's research includes marine carbonate chemistry and trace metal in the ocean, and their respective ecological and biogeochemical impacts.

Oregon State University
College of Engineering, Electrical & Computer Engineering

• The Beth & John McQueston and Meleah & Scott Ashford Scholar
• Adrian's research includes grid integration of renewable sources, distributed generation, and power electronics.

Oregon Health & Science University
School of Medicine, Biomedical Sciences

• The Elizabeth & Wallace Preble Scholar
• Alyssa is interested in the immune system's role in cancer, autoimmunity, and tissue homeostasis to further the development of personalized cancer vaccines. 

Oregon State University
College of Agricultural Sciences, Marine Mammal Institute

• The Sheila & Mike Goodwin Scholar
• Michaela aims to understand how aspects of the physical environment and social structure influence the movements and space use of Hawaiian false killer whales.

Oregon State University
College of Science, Mathematics
 

• ARCS Foundation Oregon Chapter Scholar
• Aren will focus on probability, involving improving probabilty distribution methods to better analyze randomness and chaos in scientific systems.

University of Oregon
College of Arts & Sciences, Human Physiology

• The Liz & Gregg Christiansen Scholar
• Brittany's research involves the evaluation of muscle-derived exercise-induced biomarkers and their potential neuroprotective benefits for Parkinson's disease and related conditions.

Oregon Health & Science University
School of Medicine, Neuroscience
 

• The Anne & Mike Zubko Scholar
• Kayla utilizes ex vivo electrophysiololgy to elucidate how the insular cortex integrates diverse neuronal information.

Oregon Health & Science University
School of Medicine, Biomedical Engineering

• The Barbara & Philip Silver and Caron & Larry Ogg /OHSU Endowment Scholar
• Marina will combine her engineering and science backgrounds in cardiovascular research.

University of Oregon
College of Arts & Sciences, Human Physiology

• The Susan & Bill Smith/UO Human Physiology Endowment Scholar
• Julissa will conduct research in the physiological adaptations that occur at the cellular level in the musculoskeletal system with exercise or disuse.

Oregon State University
College of Engineering, Computer Science

• ARCS Foundation Oregon Chapter Scholar
• Matthew's research focuses on improving the computational efficiency of natural language processing applications. 

Oregon Health & Science University
School of Medicine, Biomedical Engineering

• The Janis & Robert Harrison/OHSU Endowment Scholar
• Celina uses quantitative image-based cytometry to analyze the dysregulation of nuclear dynamics during the cell cycle of cancer.

Oregon Health & Science University
School of Medicine, Neuroscience
 

• The Annie & Brian Reeves Scholar
• Arisa is interested in nerve loss in the heart caused by high blood pressure.

University of Oregon
College of Arts & Sciences, Chemistry
 

• The Jill Josselyn/UO Arts & Science Endowment Scholar
• Mary Ruth is interested in understanding the role of proteins that help control cell division to provide crucial information for more effective cancer treatments. 

Oregon Health & Science University
School of Medicine, Biomedical Engineering

• The Kathleen Ames & Lynda Falkenstein Scholar
• Benjamin is excited to study single-cell cancer epigenetics.

Oregon State University
College of Agricultural Sciences, Environmental and Molecular Toxicology
 

• ARCS Foundation Oregon Chapter Scholar
• Spencer is focused in understanding how toxic Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) compounds bind to body receptors to determine which PAHs chemical exposures could lead to disease. 

Oregon Health & Science University
School of Medicine, Neuroscience

 

• The Elise McClure Scholar
• Frederika is interested in the interactions of the immune system and brain during neurodevelopment.

Oregon State University
College of Pharmacy
 

• The Hammond Family/OSU Pharmacy Endowment Scholar
• Shaz has an interest in natural product drug discovery and wants to contribute to the development of innovative therapeutics.

Oregon State University
College of Engineering, Materials Science

• The Julie & Wayne Drinkward Scholar
• Madison is interested in using data analytics and machine learning, along with materials science domain expertise, to improve efficiency of the materials design process and to enable the development of new products.

Oregon State University
College of Engineering, Civil Engineering

• The Walsh Construction Company Foundation Scholar
• Louisa is researching novel intersection signal timing technology with a focus on safety and multimodal transportation.

University Of Oregon
College of Arts & Sciences, Chemistry
 

• ARCS Foundation Oregon Chapter Scholar
• Katelyn is pursuing research in organic, inorganic, and material sciences.

Oregon Health & Science University
School of Medicine, Biomedical Engineering & Behavioral Neuroscience

• The Missy & Peter Bechen Scholar
• Daniel is interested in finding neurocorrelates of alcohol induced neuroinflammation, and how they may be related to cognition.

Oregon Health & Science University/Portland State University
School of Public Health

• The Jamie & Michael Anderson/OHSU-PSU Endowment Scholar
• Lynette wants to improve menopause healthcare and policy to shape policy decisions for health initiatives and clinical guidelines.