Beckman Scholars Program supports cutting-edge research, professionalization for W&M biology and chemistry majors
William & Mary will carry on a proud tradition of external support for its innovative undergraduate researchers in biology and chemistry as one of only 14 institutions across the country selected to participate in the Beckman Scholars Program in January 2025.
The university has received this prestigious grant, backing the work of young, up-and-coming scientists in the fields of chemistry, biochemistry and the biological and medical sciences, multiple times, starting when the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation chose its inaugural class of college and university awardees in 1998. The honor, for which the Foundation invited W&M to apply once again, represents national recognition of the groundbreaking achievements of majors in the Departments of Biology and Chemistry.
The coming year’s Beckman Scholars, biology major Jenna Jablonski ’26 and chemistry major Sarah Foster ’27, will receive funding to undertake intensive research projects under the advisorship of a faculty mentor over a period of 15 months — part-time during the academic year and full-time during the prior and subsequent summers. The university will provide additional institutional support in the form of summer on-campus housing, conference travel funds and $1,000 for research supplies.
“The ability to engage in two summers of research provides a degree of continuity and experience that is not often achievable without this program,” said McLeod Tyler Distinguished Professor of Chemistry Douglas D. Young, who will serve as co-director of W&M’s Beckman program alongside Chancellor Professor of Biology Margaret Saha, the PI for the university’s proposal.
Saha echoed this assessment. “This longer-term funding allows students to focus on their research,” she said. “It also allows students who previously could not participate in research because they had to work to help support themselves to now have an opportunity to conduct full-time research.” Perhaps most importantly, it allows students to “attempt higher-risk experiments and explore novel multidisciplinary approaches to their work.”
A competitive process
To qualify for the program, Saha and Young submitted an extensive proposal in mid-2024, including detailed mentorship plans prepared by 15 biology and chemistry faculty members selected on the basis of their records of undergraduate mentoring, external support and commitment to interdisciplinary research oriented toward tackling global challenges.
These prospective advisors — eight newcomers to the Beckman Scholars Program and seven previously successful mentors — explained their visions for training students in experimental design and laboratory conduct, guiding their collection and interpretation of data, and coaching them in developing presentation skills, all in preparation for writing an honors thesis and completing an oral defense in their senior year.
Along with the biology and chemistry faculty’s strengths as mentors and scholars, W&M’s academic rigor and dedication to student research made the university a highly competitive applicant.
W&M’s R1 research activity classification, recently conferred by the Carnegie Foundation, reflects the institution’s commitment to innovation in scientific inquiry. The biology and chemistry departments in particular are focused on undergraduate and master’s-level education, supporting research opportunities for students at early stages of their academic careers while exposing them to the interdisciplinary liberal arts education that W&M provides.
According to Matthias Leu, professor and chair of biology, the Beckman Foundation’s support “will be instrumental in training the next generation of researchers, who will play a crucial role in solving problems related to human and environmental health.”
Robert D. Pike, professor and chair of chemistry, agreed. “The program enables our faculty to train the next generation of scientists in state-of-the-art techniques, to expose them to cutting-edge research, and at the same time advance their own research programs to generate impactful scientific results,” he said.
To access such opportunities, rising juniors majoring in biology, chemistry and related STEM fields submitted applications to become Beckman Scholars in March. The rigorous review process that followed evaluated applicants’ past research experiences, their academic records, faculty recommendations, the quality of their research proposals and the alignment of their projects with their career goals. This year’s pool of applicants was extremely strong.
Unparalleled student impact
For the 2025-2026 Beckman Scholars, the incredible academic and professional value of the program is clear.
Jablonski cites the opportunity to apply for the Beckman Scholars Program, among many other research experiences, as one of the main reasons she chose to study at W&M. Working under the mentorship of Professor Diane Shakes, the biology major will research the “crawling” movement of sperm cells of the worm Caenorhabditis elegans as a foundation for understanding complex human cell motility. She looks forward to publishing one or more papers on her honors thesis findings and attending both the annual Beckman Symposium and field-specific conferences with support from the program.
“With extra funding, I will also have the opportunity to buy supplies needed for new experimental techniques that would otherwise be unavailable, such as new antibodies or mutant worm strains allowing further development in my wet lab skills,” said Jablonski, who also recently received a Magnum Fellowship to support her research this summer.
The Beckman Scholars Program will be similarly indispensable to Foster’s research. Mentored by Katelynn Perrault Uptmor, assistant professor of chemistry, Foster will use comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry to study the volatile organic compounds present in different brands of Virginia kombucha, with the hope of refining analytical methods for understanding the impact of chemical profiles of foods and medicines on human health.
As a Beckman Scholar, the chemistry major will have many months to work on this complex research. “More time in the lab means that I will be able to develop more advanced laboratory techniques and learn more about the instrumentation and data analysis software I use in my research on a daily basis,” she said.
Both Jablonski and Foster appreciate the “amazing networking opportunities” the program will open to them through the Beckman Symposium and other collaborative experiences. For Foster, this will include cross-institutional work with undergraduates at James Madison University, who will perform the genetic sequencing of the microbiota associated with kombucha that are at the heart of her project.
As Young explained, such collaboration “generates lifelong friendships and professional support systems. … The Beckman community is far-reaching and incredibly supportive, assisting scholars throughout their careers.” Saha noted that the opportunity for Scholars to attend the Beckman Symposium in their first summer allows them to experience the breadth of multidisciplinary research and cultivate new collaborations early in their professional journeys.
As they look ahead to building their own careers, the two new Beckman Scholars both intend to pursue doctoral studies after graduating from W&M, Jablonski in molecular and cell biology and Foster in bioanalytical chemistry.
W&M’s history with the Beckman Scholars Program offers no shortage of success stories in precisely that vein. Biology and mathematics double major Yigit K. Simsek ’25, the recipient of this year’s prestigious Thomas Jefferson Prize in Natural Philosophy, laid the groundwork for an impressive academic career as a Beckman Scholar. During his term, he presented an award-winning paper at the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology conference, led a laboratory team of undergraduates on two research projects and shared his findings as lead author on an article recently published in the journal Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology, with a second peer-reviewed publication on the way. He is now set to pursue a Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley, in the fall.
“These experiences have been incredibly valuable in my journey as a scientist and allowed me to find my place in the greater scientific community,” Simsek said. “Conducting such exciting research seemed like a distant dream four years ago. Thanks to the Beckman Scholars Program, I can now happily call it my reality.”
