\u201cCongratulations to the students and their mentors, who exemplify the Lumberjack spirit of discovery and innovation,\u201d NAU President Rita Cheng<\/strong> said. \u201cI am very proud of these students and all they have accomplished. I know they will continue to accomplish great things.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Learn\nmore about NAU\u2019s Goldwater scholars:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Christopher Keefe<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Keefe has been a student research software engineer for the last year, studying the human biome in Greg Caporaso\u2019s<\/strong> lab at the Pathogen and Microbiome Institute. He was selected to be on a five-person team doing an innovative study on Alzheimer\u2019s disease and is in the initial stages of data collection and development of new computational methods and software. The first data for his analysis is coming soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His\ncareer goal is to develop computational methods to help society answer key\nquestions in ecology and human health, apply those methods in new research and\nshare them as free and open software tools to multiply their impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\nhave found work that can support causes and contribute to real people in the\nworld,\u201d Keefe said. \u201cBy leveraging large-scale biological data, I hope to solve\ncritical world problems and increase our understanding of pathology, antibiotic\nresistance and climate change ecology.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n His mentors are Caporaso, Dawn Birdsell<\/strong>, Matthew Dillon<\/strong>, Meghan Taylor, Ruby Hammond, Evan Bolyen<\/strong> and Ted Schuur<\/strong>. Ghaby\u2019s\nresearch in the computational biochemistry lab has him modeling, simulating and\nanalyzing insulin to develop room temperature preservation, while in his\nresearch in the genetics lab, he applies engineered proteins to provide insight\ninto inventible, improvable and usable proteinic mechanisms. He\u2019ll graduate\nwith the equivalent of seven years of research experience, after which he plans\nto earn a doctorate in computational biochemistry with an emphasis in protein\nengineering. He hopes to be a principal investigator and professor designing,\nrefining, and combining proteins for medicinal and gene-editing applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cComputational work permits problem-solving and curious investigation and does so without financial and visual limitations,” Ghaby said. “With scientific and intellectual freedom, I have been able to answer questions independently and produce interesting findings regarding medicinal storage. These benefits have led me to pursue computational protein engineering rather than experimental.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ghaby\u2019s mentors are Gerrick Lindberg<\/strong>, Matthew Salanga<\/strong>, Nashelly Meneses<\/strong>, Felix Wussow, Gery Allan, Don Diamond, Timothy Becker<\/strong> and Russell Benford<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Megan Gialluca Upon arriving at NAU, she jumped right into research; by her second semester, she\u2019d applied for and received the most prestigious research grant NAU gives to undergraduate students. She was the only freshman to win the grant. Her Goldwater essay discussed her exoplanetary research, which will have a tangible impact on the scientific community. She also works for Lowell Observatory as a public educator. She plans to get a Ph.D. in astrophysics; continue work in categorizing and determining levels of habitability of exoplanet atmospheres; and assist in missions to observe exoplanets and analyze the data. \u201cI strongly believe the future of astronomical sciences lies in better understanding the conditions on exoplanets,\u201d Gialluca said. \u201cI will be at the forefront of research that is critical to understanding how planets develop, how life developed on Earth and how atmospheres change when exposed to different conditions. This research is vital to understanding more about our own planet and how different factors will affect our planet\u2019s habitability, a condition critical for us to preserve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gialluca\u2019s mentors are Ty Robinson<\/strong> and Adam Wilcox.<\/p>\n\n\n\n About the Goldwater\nScholarship<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nBarry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation was\nestablished by Congress in 1986 to serve as a living memorial to honor the\nlifetime work of Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater, who served his country for 56\nyears as a soldier and statesman, including 30 years in the U.S. Senate. With\nthe 2019 awards, this brings the number of scholarships awarded since 1989 by\nthe Goldwater Foundation to 8,628 and a scholarship total to more than $68\nmillion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By\nproviding scholarships to college sophomores and juniors who intend to pursue\nresearch careers in the natural sciences, mathematics and engineering, the\nGoldwater Foundation is helping ensure that the U.S. is producing the number of\nhighly-qualified professionals the nation needs in these critical fields. Scholars\nselected as juniors are entitled to one year of funding up to a maximum of\n$7,500. Scholars selected as sophomores are entitled to two years of funding up\nto a maximum of $7,500 per year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For\nthe 2019 competition, 443 institutions nominated 1223 outstanding\nundergraduates from an estimated pool of more than 5,000 college sophomores and\njuniors. Last\nyear, NAU was one of only 12 universities nationwide to have three of four\npossible nominees awarded. In 2017, NAU was the only Arizona university awarded\na Goldwater recipient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nominees apply and are selected by the NAU Goldwater Selection Committee, made up this year of Marin Robinson<\/strong> and Kiisa Nishikawa<\/strong>. NAU students wishing to apply for a Goldwater Scholarship should contact Goldwater campus representative Melissa Hatfield Riggs<\/strong> at Natl_Scholarships@nau.edu<\/a> over the summer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Christopher](\"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wordpresst\/uploads\/sites\/153\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/20190605_Chris_Keefe_7314-1024x683.jpg\")
Kyle Ghaby<\/strong>
Ghaby\u2019s double major in chemistry and biomedical sciences is laying the foundation for a career in computational biochemistry, focusing on protein engineering for medical and gene-editing applications. After his first year at NAU, he interned with Beckman Research Institute at the City of Hope Hospital and has spent much of his NAU career in the lab working on various research projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wordpresst\/uploads\/sites\/153\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/6486_symposium_kyle_ghaby_20190426_480px.jpg\")
\n<\/strong>Gialluca\u2019s\npassion for research started in high school; she was one of three awardees of\nthe Astronomical League\u2019s National Young Astronomers Award and one of two\nfunded students to present her research at the league\u2019s annual convention in\nWashington, D.C. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Megan](\"http:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wordpresst\/uploads\/sites\/153\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/6007_symposium_megan_gialluca_20190426_480px.jpg\")
![\"NAU](\"http:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wordpresst\/uploads\/sites\/153\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/NAU_primary-281_3514-1-e1536853679171.png\")
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Heidi Toth | NAU Communications
(928) 523-8737 | heidi.toth@nau.edu<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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