Two University of South Carolina students were awarded prestigious Goldwater scholarships Friday (March 28).
Both are Honors College students, with one earning a degree in biochemistry and molecular biology and the other earning a customized Baccalaureus Artium et Scientiae-MD degree.
It is the 33rd consecutive year the university has had at least one Goldwater scholar and USC has had 72 scholars total since the awards were established in 1986 to honor U.S. Sen. Barry Goldwater of Arizona.
More than 400 higher education institutions nominate up to four students each academic year for the $7,500 awards meant to encourage undergraduate students to pursue research careers in natural sciences, engineering and mathematics. A total of 441 scholarships were awarded this year from the 1,350 nominees by 445 institutions.
This year’s USC winners are:
Linden McGregor of Lexington, Kentucky, is an Honors College sophomore majoring in biochemistry and molecular biology with a minor in Spanish.
Her career goal is to earn a Ph.D. in biochemistry and become a professor and researcher.
“My aim is to advance understanding of metabolic and neurological disorders and to provide mentorship to students,” says McGregor, who also is a McNair Scholar.
She currently works in Caryn Outten's lab, researching iron homeostasis and metal co-factors. She is studying an iron transcriptional repressor to identify targets for antifungal medications. McGregor previously worked with a researcher at the University of Kentucky, researching cell dynamics.
She has been a Magellan ambassador for the Office of Undergraduate Research, presenting to clubs, organizations and classes about research opportunities and resources at USC and has won a first place for a poster presentation at Discover USC.
Michael Pitre of West Sayville, New York, is an Honors College student and McNair Scholar working on a BARSC degree with an accelerated undergraduate to M.D. concentration and a minor in neuroscience.
His career goal is to become a physician with a Ph.D. in neuroscience.
“I wish to develop therapeutics to combat neurodegenerative diseases in the lab, and then personally implement them in the clinical setting,” he says.
Pitre has worked in Joseph McQuail’s lab at the School of Medicine Columbia, where he analyzed publicly available mRNA datasets to investigate the effects of aging and Alzheimer's Disease on key enzymes involved in the D-serine signaling pathway.
He also has worked in the lab of Mark Sarzynski in the Arnold School of Public Health, studying the impact of exercise type, dose and amount on the risk for chronic diseases.
Pitre is the co-founder and co-president of Gamecock Emergency Medical Students, a campus organization dedicated to improving emergency preparedness in the campus community and finding training opportunities related to emergency medicine.
He also serves as operations chair of MedElem, which seeks to inspire the new generation of health care professionals by volunteering at local elementary schools to engage students in a variety of health care topics.
How they do it
Students applying for national fellowships and scholarships work closely with top research faculty members. This year’s Goldwater faculty committee was chaired by Melissa Moss, engineering and computing. Committee members were Dave Barbeau, earth, ocean and environment, Zhengqing Fu, biological sciences, Mark Uline, engineering and computing, Yanwen Wu, physics and astronomy, Joshua Cooper, mathematics, Fabienne Poulain, biological sciences, and Aaron Vannucci, chemistry and biochemistry.
Students interested in applying for the Goldwater or other national fellowships should contact National Fellowships and Scholar Programs.