»Meet our Beckman Scholars

Castanon is working with Associate Professor of Food Science Rosalee Hellberg, investigating authentication of grass-finished beef. Consumer demand for grass-finished beef is driven by concerns regarding quality, nutrient density, and environmental sustainability. Castanon investigates such concerns relating to four different finishing diets. Using gene expression profiling, Castanon is linking gene expression data to nutrient density data, hypothesizing that genes regulating the synthesis of long-chain n-3 fatty acids, polyphenols, and vitamin E will exhibit differential expression based on supplemental feeds used in grass-finished beef production.

Janda worked towards developing more sustainable chemical processes, investigating organic catalysts that can serve as more sustainable and cost-effective replacements for precious metals.

As Chapman's first Beckman Scholar, Kocik filled a key gap in marine research with a project to test nanoparticles as a tool for restoring ecosystems.

Niswender is working with Assistant Professor Cecilia Zurita Lopez to characterize PRMT7 Substrate Methylation in Triple Negative Breast Cancer Metastasis. Triple-negative breast cancer is an aggressive subtype with limited treatment options and poor prognosis, particularly when metastasis occurs. Protein arginine methyltransferase 7 (PRMT7) has been found to be overexpressed in metastatic breast cancer, while tumor suppressor p53 is often functionally impaired in these cases. Niswender is investigating the potential role of PRMT7 in directly methylating p53 at specific arginine residues, thereby altering its transcriptional activity and promoting cancer progression. Using a combination of in vitro methylation assays, mass spectrometry, and transcriptional analysis via qPCR, Niswender aims to determine whether PRMT7-mediated monomethylation impacts p53’s regulation of downstream targets such as p21. The work could reveal a novel mechanism of triple-negative breast cancer metastasis and identify PRMT7 as a viable therapeutic target.

Nguyen researched drought tolerance in chia by zeroing in on these plants at the genomic level. In addition to being a Beckman Scholar, Nguyen was also a Simon STEM Scholar and Goldwater Scholar.

Rosa used computational techniques to investigate how Lewis acidic salts activate sulfur-fluoride bonds.

Sanders is working with Associate Professor Cedric Owens to investigate temperature dependence of Nitrogenase and CowN’s low temperature protective properties. Nitrogenase is an important enzyme in nature since it is the only enzyme to catalyze the reduction of nitrogen gas into the plant nutrient ammonia. There are three isoforms of the enzyme containing, respectively, a molybdenum-iron sulfur, vanadium-iron-sulfur or iron-sulfur cofactor in the active site. The temperature dependence of the three isoforms differs, with molybdenum nitrogenase being the most sensitive to low temperatures. Sanders is investigating the reason why the vanadium and molybdenum isoforms of nitrogenase have different temperature dependencies. She’s also exploring whether nitrogen fixing bacteria have chaperone proteins that enhance nitrogenase activity at low temperature. This work will help elucidate how different nitrogenase isoforms are used by bacteria in different climatic environments.

Shah worked with Assistant Professor Jerry LaRue throughout his entire time as an undergraduate, focusing on making hydrocarbon-based fuels more energy-efficient.

Vetter is working with Professor of Biological Sciences Chris Kim in assessing arsenic bioaccessibility in mine wastes. Prevalent in the earth’s crust, arsenic harms the environment and humans exposed to it. Inhalation or ingestion are common routes of exposure — especially for people living near abandoned mine sites. Vetter's aim is to determine the effectiveness of arsenic spatial distribution as an indicator of the changes in arsenic's bioaccessibility in mine wastes over time, using simulated gastric fluid extraction and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Her findings will likely offer a novel approach to long-term risk assessments of these mine sites.