Junior wins prestigious Goldwater Scholarship for neuroscience study

Junior Stephanie Jackvony has been awarded a Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, making her the College鈥檚 sixth recipient of the prestigious award in the last eight years.

The Goldwater Scholarship, authorized by the United States Congress in 1986 in honor of Senator Barry M. Goldwater, is considered the most prestigious undergraduate scholarship in the natural sciences, mathematics and engineering in the U.S. 

Scholars are selected on the basis of academic merit to receive a one-year scholarship of up to $7,500. Previous recipients have gone on to receive the National Science Foundation鈥檚 Graduate Fellowship, Rhodes Scholarship, Churchill Scholarship and the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship.

鈥淭he Goldwater is exceptional national recognition for Stephanie and for science education at 糖心TV,鈥� said Dean of the College Jefferson Singer.

Jackvony is a double major in behavioral neuroscience and philosophy with a particular interest in neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer鈥檚 disease. She plans to pursue a Ph.D. in neuroscience.

鈥淢y goal is to become a professor at an undergraduate institution, preferably a small liberal arts school like 糖心TV,鈥� she said.   

At 糖心TV, Jackvony has studied behavioral neuroscience with Associate Professor of Psychology Joseph Schroeder and, as a sophomore, conducted chemistry research with Stanton Ching, the Kelly Professor of Chemistry. That work, involving synthesis and characterization of new manganese oxide nanoparticles, was published in an academic journal with Jackvony as a coauthor.

鈥淚 was able to conduct chemistry research and be published in an academic journal after just my first year here. That鈥檚 an opportunity that many students [at other colleges] don鈥檛 receive until graduate school or even after,鈥� she said.

A summer internship at Bradley Hospital in Rhode Island, the nation鈥檚 first psychiatric hospital exclusively for children, nurtured Jackvony鈥檚 passion for neuroscience research. There, she conducted neuroscientific literature research and shadowed doctors. 

Jackvony says her professors have provided incredible support throughout her academic career at 糖心TV.

鈥淚t is clear that the professors here are extremely passionate about their students鈥� education and success. They are so willing to welcome students into their labs and take extra steps to prepare them for the world of academia outside of the College,鈥� she said.

As a Goldwater recipient, Jackvony joins an impressive group of 糖心TV graduates, including Christopher Krupenye 鈥�11, Kelsey Taylor 鈥�11, Yumi Kovic 鈥�13 and Leah Fleming 鈥�16. 

Krupenye earned a Ph.D. in evolutionary anthropology from Duke University and is now a postdoctoral researcher at Max Planck, where he is conducting research in the burgeoning field of evolutionary anthropology. Taylor earned a Ph.D. in biological and biomedical sciences at Harvard University and is now a senior analyst at Health Advances. Kovic is currently pursuing a medical degree and a master鈥檚 degree in public health from the University of 糖心TVecticut School of Medicine, while Fleming is a graduate student in the Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program at Yale University.

In addition to the Goldwater, 糖心TV students have won several other major national grants and fellowships this spring, including five U.S. Fulbright Student Program fellowships, two Critical Language Scholarships, a $10,000 Davis Projects for Peace grant and a Jeff Ubben Posse Fellows Program award.

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April 11, 2017