Beckman Scholars

Marcos Hendler

Mentor: Carol Parish

Marcos is studying the cyclization energetics of anticancer prodrugs based upon the enediyne scaffold. His results will provide fundamental structure-activity insights and lead to a better understanding of these important drugs such that can be triggered to cyclize only under very specific cellular conditions.

Aine MacDermott

Mentor: Melinda Yang

Aine’s research focuses on the evolution of the alcohol metabolism gene ADH1B in present-day and ancient East Asian humans. In particular, she is interested in clarifying the origin, intensity, and timing of positive selection for the spread of variants in the ADH1B gene.

Media Release: Two UR Students Receive Beckman Awards to Further Faculty-Mentored Research on Anti-Cancer Drugs and Ancient DNA

Abigail Ali

Mentor: Isaac Skromne

Abigail’s research aims to develop calcium-binding carbon nanoparticles to deliver proteins to bones to treat skeletal diseases.

• Read the Beckman Scholar Program Feature on Abigail Ali.

Auden Wilson

Mentor: Julie Pollock

Wilson’s research is focused on the development of photoactivated chemotherapies for lung and breast cancer treatment. In particular, he is interested in understanding their mechanisms of action in order to design better therapeutics.

Media Release: Two UR Students Awarded Competitive Beckman Scholarships to Further Faculty-Mentored Research on Fighting Diseases.

Camryn Carter

Mentor: Carol Parish

Carter’s research focuses on understanding the molecular behavior of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the causative agent of the COVID-19 disease. In particular, she focuses on how the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein binds to the ACE2 receptor, gaining entry to human cells. She is using docking and molecular dynamics to study the effectiveness of viral mutation and to design drugs to block cellular entry.

Camryn Carter, pursuring her Ph.D. at MIT, received a NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP), 2025. The five-year fellowship provides three years of financial support, including an annual stipend of $37,000.

Media Release: Carter selected by Cell Press for a Rising Black Scientist Award, Feb. 16, 2023

Beckman News: 2022 BSP Camryn Carter Accepted to MIT, 2022 BSP Camryn Carter Published in the Journal of Molecular Graphics and Modelling, 2022 BSP Camryn Carter Selected by Cell Press For a Rising Black Scientist Award

Helen Xia

Mentor: Wade Downey

Xia’s studies the elaboration of indoles, a biologically and pharmaceutically important class of compounds, with nitrone, aldehyde, and acetate electrophiles. Indole-containing pharmaceuticals are useful in the treatment of migraines, nausea, and many types of cancer.

Beckman News: Beckman Friday Feature: Helen Xia, Helen Xia Named Goldwater Scholar

Media Release: University of Richmond Students Awarded Prestigious Beckman Scholarships to Further Undergraduate Research in the Sciences

Harry Dang

Mentor: Michael Leopold

Dang’s research is focused on the development of cost-effective and portable sensors used by law enforcement, health professionals, and consumers to screen for explosives, drugs, and disease biochemical indicators.

Julia Vidlak

Mentor: Miles Johnson

Vidlak’s research is focused on the synthesis of new catalysts for catalytic cross-coupling reactions that are needed for the efficient and selective synthesis of pharmaceuticals.

Najwa Labban

Mentors: Julie Pollock and Michael Leopold

Labban’s research focused on the incorporation of enzymes into biosensor schemes for the detection of abnormal concentrations of biomolecules in diseases such as prostate cancer, galactosemia, and sepsis.

Post-graduation activity: MD-PhD program at the University of Virginia

Arjun Jaini

Mentors: Carol Parish and Michael Leopold

Arjun’s research focused on the computational and experimental design of halogen-based sensors. He also worked on understanding the aggregation behavior of asphaltenes and tautomerization of enediynes.

Post-graduation activity: PhD program in Materials Chemistry at Yale University

Hannah Small

Mentor: Linda Boland

Small’s research focused on how different potassium ion channels regulate action potential firing and investigated metabolic regulation of cellular excitability.

Post-graduation activity: Research Assistant, Brain and Cognitive Sciences Dept., Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Michael Pannell

Mentor: Michael Leopold

Pannell’s research focused on the use of nanoparticle networks as functional components of amperiometric biosensors designed for the detection of clinically relevant targets.

Post-graduaction activity: Post-Baccalaureate Fellow at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Adam Luxon

Mentor: Carol Parish

Adam’s research involved understanding the singlet and triplet cyclization pathways for enediynes as well as the aggregation behavior of asphaltenes.

Post-graduation activity: PhD program in Chemical Engineering, Virginia Commonwealth University

Scott Yeudall

Mentor: John Gupton

Scott Yeudall’s research focused on developing new organic chemical reactions to synthesize Lycogarubin C, which is an important and novel antitumor agent

Post-graduation activity: MD-PhD program at the University of Virginia

Tyler Heist

Mentor: Malcolm Hill

Heist’s research involved Investigating Intracellular Symbiont Dynamics in Sponge:Symbiodinium Relationships.

Post-graduation activity: Quantitative and Computational Biology (QCB) graduate program at Princeton University

Caroline Braun

Mentor: Kristine Nolin

Braun’s thesis focused on Addition Reactions of Electron-Deficient Cyclopropanes Catalyzed by Calcium(II) Complexes.

Post-graduation activity: Ph.D. in chemistry at Vanderbilt University

Emily McFadden

Mentor: Michelle Hamm

McFadden studied the mutagenic potential of the damaged deoxynucleotide 8-oxo-2’-deoxyguanosine with different DNA polymerases.

Sarah Rhoads

Mentor: Lisa Gentile

Rhoads worked on a project geared at understanding the regulation of ionotropic glutamate receptors.

Brown University’s Warren Alpert Medical School

Ian Winters

Mentor: April Hill

Winters’ research focused on developing an RNA interference methodology for the knockdown of gene expression in sponges.

Post-graduation activity: Stanford University School of Medicine Biosciences PhD Program in Genetics

Sally Fisher

Mentor: Carol Parish

Fisher’s research focused on Dynamics and folding pathways of the tetratricopeptide repeat region in the cargo binding domain of Kinesin motor proteins.

Read more about Sally in our newsroom.

Andrew Massaro

Mentor: Malcolm Hill

Massaro’s research focused on Trophic status of tropical marine sponges: the effects of symbiosis and temperature on feeding behavior.

Post-graduation activity: Studies at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine

Ben Giglio

Mentor: John Gupton

Giglio’s research focused on the Application of Vinylogous Iminium Salts to the Synthesis of Biologically Active, Marine Natural Products of the Lamellarin.

Post-graduation activity: Studies University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill to obtain a Ph.D. in chemistry

Kathryn L. Holstien

Mentor: April Hill

Holstien’s research focused on the Unexpected Diversity of T-box Transcription Factors in Porifera.

Post-graduation activity: Studies in developmental biology at Baylor University

Evan B. Wang

Mentor: Carol Parish

Wang’s research focused on the Conformational Analysis of Trans-fused Ether Rings in Brevetoxin A.

Post-graduation activity: University of California at Berkeley to obtain a Ph.D. in chemistry

Robert W. Contino

Mentor: Craig Kinsley

Contino’s research focused on the effect of Maternal Reproductive Experience on Cytochrome c Oxidase mRNA Concentration in the Rat Brain.

Post-graduation activity: Emory University Medical School

Sarah M. Remmert

Mentor: Carol Parish

Remmert’s reserch focused on the Spin-Flip Studies of Diradicals.

Post-graduation activity: Studies at Oxford University on a Clarendon Scholarship