Goldwater Scholarship Nominees Reach for New Heights in STEM Research

On behalf of Northeastern University, the Undergraduate Research and Fellowships office is delighted to share the names of our four nominees for this year’s Goldwater Scholarship. Our candidates have been pursuing significant research across the STEM disciplines, undertaking projects of import ranging from the engineering of anti-cancer pharmaceuticals from plants to the study of the fundamental nature of our solar system.  We’re very proud of those who applied for this honor — and our nominees.

Amanda Dee COE’23, Bioengineering with a minor in Mathematics
Mentors: Maxim Prigozhin, Carolyn Lee-Parsons, Madelaine Bartlett
 Amanda been involved in STEM research for as long as she can remember — starting off in the First Lego League at 8 years old. Eager to learn more, she reached out to a local professor in her hometown of Amherst at 13, an experience that taught her multiple molecular biology techniques and more importantly, lit a fire within her to learn all that she could about plant biology. Amanda has been following that flame ever since, conducting research with Professor Madelaine Bartlett throughout high school. Since joining us at Northeastern, Amanda has coupled rigorous coursework in bioengineering and mathematics with sustained, hands-on research in the field. Since her first year at Northeastern, Amanda has worked in the laboratory of Professor Carolyn Lee-Parsons, taking on projects of growing complexity and sophistication as the years have passed.  This work has focused on studying transcription factors that regulate the biosynthesis pathway for the Catharanthus roseus, commonly known as the Madagascar Periwinkle. C. roseus produces two powerful anticancer compounds, to vinblastine and vincristine, and the hope is a greater understanding of these pathways will enhance compound production. To support her deep engagement in this work, Amanda has earned one PEAK Ascent Award (Spring 2020) and two PEAK Summit Awards (Fall 2020, Fall 2021).  In addition to her work in the Lee-Parsons lab, Amanda was a  Analytical Research and Development co-op at Sunovion Pharmaceuticals and more recently, completed a research co-op at the Prigozhin Lab at Harvard. Here, she did computational work focused upon the optimization of multicolor electron microscopy, a tool that will allow us to visualize and understand the spatiotemporal organization of cell signaling. In addition to her deep commitment to research, Amanda has made deep impacts on campus as a certified peer tutor, resident assistant, and an active leader in NU Stage Musical Theater Company.

Giona Kleinberg COE’23, Bioengineering/Biochemistry with a minor in Data Science
Mentors: Bernardo Sabatini, Sandra Shefelbine, Ester Comellas
Giona Kleinberg joined us at Northeastern eager to create new knowledge and improve the lives of others — but he wasn’t sure where or how he could make the most impact. Taking full advantage of all that Northeastern has to offer, Giona has found his footing and is eager to pursue the combined MD/PhD degree in Developmental Neurobiology, in order to understand and treat  disease. A combined Bioengineering and Biochemistry major with a minor in Data Science, Giona has spent his time at Northeastern developing a robust conceptual framework in his studies, as well as  computational skills that are already revolutionizing work in the natural sciences.  In order to further develop his knowledge and tools, Giona has sought out opportunities to pursue research in a wide variety of settings. Beginning in his first year, Giona has worked in the lab of Professor Sandra Shefelbine, completing a series of projects focused upon understanding joint morphogenesis and its relation to mechanical stimuli.  In each of these projects, Giona has made significant contributions not only to the analysis of data but to the process of analysis itself, creating tools, novel organizational schema, and algorithms that make what were formerly complex, messy and time consuming processes easier, faster, and more intuitive for all involved. One of the systems Giona helped to create has subsequently been adapted throughout the Northeastern University research apparatus. The nature of the COVID crisis meant that many of Giona’s projects had to be completed remotely but recently, he was able to complete an in-person, wet lab co-op with Bernardo Sabatini at Harvard, investigating metabolic, cortical, and behavioral changes in mice due to excess thyroid hormone in order to better understand mania, bipolar disorder, and decision making. This experience has led him towards the field of study, developmental neurobiology, that he hopes to pursue in his MD/PhD. Outside of research, Giona keeps very busy: he is a certified snowboard instructor, a peer tutor, a medical scribe, and a volunteer crisis text counselor.

B. Parazin COS’23, Physics with a minor in Mathematics
Mentors: Samuel Munoz, Michael Coughlin, Leo Singer
Born and raised in Massachusetts, B. first became enamored with geomorphology while taking a class during their freshman year, Dynamic Earth, where the state’s natural wonders — the kettle pond that is Thoreau’s Walden, the moraines of Boston Harbor — came to new life in light of a growing understanding of how each was formed, over long periods of time. Since then, B. has maximized Northeastern’s experiential learning model to move towards their dream of earning the PhD in geophysics, focusing on planetary physics research, with the aim of studying large-scale geomorphological processes not simply in our backyard, but throughout the solar system. Working under the mentorship of Professor Sam Munoz, B. performed data analysis on several large-scale historical datasets of climatic factors in the Mississippi River Basin.  Building off this research, B. more recently completed a research co-op, under the mentorship of Michael Coughlin of the University of Minnesota and Leo Singer, from the Goddard Space Flight Center, that has focused on various aspects of multi-messenger astronomy. While we can “visit” objects within the solar system, in order to understand the nature of the “beyond” beyond this, we rely on information from what are known as “extrasolar messengers,” electronmagnetic radiation, gravitational waves, neutrinos and cosmic rays produced by astrophysical processes. In their work, B. has focused on the development of novel computational tools that allow us to more efficiently collect and understand the information that is “out there.” B. is also a leader in Northeastern’s Society of Physics Students and has served as a set designer for the NU Stage Musical Theater Company.  B. earned the Honors Early Research Award.

Ari Zlota COS’23, Biochemistry with a minor in Behavioral Neuroscience
Mentors: Elena Ivanova, James Monaghan, Clifford Woolf
Ari Zlota hopes to earn the MD/PhD and build a career focused upon understanding the immune response to tissue and organ injury with the aim of developing novel immune-targeting regenerative therapies. To this end, he has built off of his foundational studies in biochemistry and behavioral neuroscience with a sustained engagement in research, producing a record of accomplishment that is remarkable. Having gotten settled at the university, Ari began conducting research with Spiro Pavlopoulos, a Research Professor at Northeastern. Here, Ari’s work focused on developing pharmaceutical technologies that targeted a particular anti-inflammatory compound already produced by the body and sought to prevent its degradation, therefore combat inflammation and consequent pain.  In research experiences that have followed, Ari’s work has continued to focus on the new ways that we might harness, adapt, and deploy elements of our existing immune systems: working to develop a non-addictive, therapeutic pain-killer by creating a molecule silencer of nociceptors, our body’s pain-sensing neurons; trying to create a STING agonist that will activate the body’s natural immune sensing of cancers; and finally, he’s explored the regenerative powers of the axolotl salamander, with an eye towards how we might one day harness this ability in the service of human health and well-being under the mentorship of Professor James Monaghan. Not suprisingly for someone who hopes to spend their time translating bench research into the clinic, Ari has worked in a variety of patient-facing roles in healthcare, notably serving as an EMT and an outpatient volunteer at Boston Healthcare for the Homeless.  Deeply engaged on campus, Ari is also a certified tutor and leader with NU ACES.