BME junior named Goldwater Scholar
Fernando Vicente Zegarra, a junior in biomedical engineering, has been recognized by the Goldwater Scholarship program for his outstanding promise in a research career.
Originally from Lima, Peru, Zegarra studies biomedical engineering with a focus on computational biology. Anchored in Jonathan Schneck’s lab for the past two years, he has been involved in multiple cell engineering projects, characterizing the interactions of stimulating antigen-presenting cells and immune system T cells. He will join Andrew Feinberg’s epigenetics lab at the School of Medicine, where he will work on mathematical analysis and predictor models of epigenetics dynamics. He will pursue a PhD in biostatistics and hopes to join the field of epigenetics with an emphasis on big data analysis.
Established in 1986, the Goldwater Scholarship was one of the first significant national scholarships focusing on STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and math). Winners are nominated by their schools and selected for their academic merit. This year, 250 scholarships were awarded to students from an applicant pool of 1,286.
The program awards winners $7,500 to apply toward tuition, fees, books, and room and board. The national recognition has also been known to give students a competitive edge when pursuing graduate fellowships in their fields.