Lea-Pearl Njei, biological sciences; Caly Ferguson, mechanical engineering; and Jariatu Kargbo, biological sciences, have each received the prestigious Goldwater Scholarship for the 2025 – 2026 academic year. The Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation strives to promote a strong STEM workforce in the U.S., and Njei, Ferguson, and Kargbo are among this year’s 441 awardees nationwide. Since 2005, 34 UMBC students have been awarded a Goldwater Scholarship.

“Caly, Lea-Pearl, and Jariatu emerged from a field of well-qualified students to represent UMBC in the Goldwater competition,” shares April Householder ’95, director of undergraduate research and prestigious scholarships. “They worked with me and the Goldwater faculty committee to strengthen their applications, and their dedication paid off. For several years in a row, UMBC has had multiple winners for this extremely competitive award.”

Writing a Successful URA Proposal

URAs provide up to $1,500 to undergraduate students to support their research, scholarship, or creative work with a UMBC faculty mentor on an original project. UMBC students of all years and disciplines are invited to apply, as long as they remain enrolled at UMBC long enough to complete the proposed work.

Applications require a research proposal and mentor statement of support.

Apply now using the link below. Applications are due on May 2, 2005.

URAs provide up to $1,500 to undergraduate students to support their research, scholarship, or creative work with a UMBC faculty mentor on an original project. UMBC students of all years and disciplines are invited to apply, as long as they remain enrolled at UMBC long enough to complete the proposed work.

Applications require a research proposal and mentor statement of support.

"It was easy!," Scott explained. "And the next thing I knew, I had some real research cheddar!"

Apply now using the link below. Applications are due on May 2, 2005.

"It's a fantastic opportunity!" Scott said (loudly).

Analyzing The Impact Of Wildfires On Human Lung Cancer Through Molecular Homolog Identification In Drosophila

Michelle Jebaseelan, Idrees Chaudry, Godwin Aizenofe
Mentor: Maricel Kann, Bioinformatics and Computational Biology

Exposure to wildfires has been linked to lung deficiencies, including lung cancer, due to air pollutants inducing DNA mutations. To better understand the genetic pressures wildfires cause toward lung cancer, we utilize a study of protein expressions in drosophila flies exposed to controlled smoke conditions. These controlled conditions in drosophila provide grounds for studying orthologous relationships caused by genetic pressures. Observing putative orthologs in drosophila in comparison with non-smoking lung cancer patients helps identify functional driver genes for lung cancer. Specifically, this comparative study analyzes functional genes at three stages: (1) Identifying orthologs of the mutated genes in the Drosophila flies within the Human genome, (2) comparing the mutation positions to determine if any mutational homologs are present, and (3) examining the conserved interactions in orthologs, called interologs, to determine if protein-protein interactions are conserved between the two species. Comprehension of how protein-protein interactions are altered from wildfire-induced mutations can aid in discovering therapeutic targets and establishing more robust lung cancer treatments. Additionally, this comparative model can be scaled to incorporate analysis of other model organisms and provide insights into different diseases.

Unreliable Narration: Understanding Schizophrenia Firsthand Through Art

Sara Humphries
Mentor: Prof. Corrie Parks, Visual Arts

This creative research seeks to connect society with personal accounts of schizoaffective disorder. The disorder is largely characterized by its negative symptoms—a profound and continuous deterioration of self and sanity. The personal accounts of those afflicted are usually disregarded because of this, leaving our awareness of the disorder to come primarily from the friends, family, and doctors surrounding the schizophrenic. And yet, it is a disorder which continuously fascinates to a great degree. Subsequently, schizophrenia research becomes an echo chamber which excludes those with actual firsthand experience of the disorder. As someone recently diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, this artist has attempted to illustrate the internal mystery of schizophrenia through her own experiences. These pieces, which were painted in varying stages of psychotic episodes, serve as perceptual depictions of a myriad of symptoms such as dissociation, paranoia, delusions, and hallucinations. So far, these paintings have been used to incite discussions between the afflicted and those surrounding them. Works such as “This is Your Brain on Depersonalization” and “Psychosis” help convey the internal struggle as seen by the schizophrenic—a self-portrait of the less visible manifestations—which we can then use to replace this fear of the unknown with understanding of the disorder.