Nicole Chan ’25 joins 27 other Reedies who have won the award, which financially supports students who show promise in becoming the next generation of research leaders.
By Cara Nixon
July 31, 2024
Biology student Nicole Chan ’25 has received the Goldwater Scholarship, a prestigious award that financially supports college sophomores and juniors who show exceptional promise of becoming the next generation of research leaders in the natural sciences, engineering, and mathematics in the United States.
Nicole is the 28th Reedie to win the award, in the company of alumni who have found success as industry scientists, engineers, and academics in fields ranging from evolutionary biology and veterinary medicine to mathematics and physics. The last time a Goldwater Scholarship was awarded to a Reedie was 2021.
Since elementary school, Nicole has been fascinated by the way things work. Specifically, she found an interest in biological processes, which led to a desire to understand human illness. Though she loved science from a young age, she wasn’t empowered growing up to pursue the field as a career. But studying biology, tutoring for biology classes, and researching in Prof. Derek Applewhite’s lab while at Reed has helped her feel more confident in pursuing her passion. And receiving the Goldwater Scholarship has inspired her even further. “Receiving the Goldwater has shown me there are people out there, like my recommenders and people who supported me along the way, who believe that I can be a researcher, and that’s really important to me,” Nicole says.
As she looks toward her senior year, Nicole plans to work on a thesis about protein targets that can possibly be involved in cellular migration. After graduation, she intends to take a couple of gap years to pursue research, and then attend a dual degree MD/PhD program.
Nicole is grateful to Derek, who she says encouraged her to apply for the Goldwater, and has also given her opportunities to grow and foster her love for science.
“Nicole is an extremely talented student, intelligent, hard working, and an excellent lab citizen,” Derek says. “She is a critical thinker and is always looking for ways to help out in the lab. Moreover she cares about her community. It’s been an absolute privilege to mentor her these last couple of years.”
Prof. Eric Zornik and Prof. Janis Shampay are two other faculty members Nicole points to as helping push her forward in her pursuit of a science career. She’s also grateful to the staff at the Center for Life Beyond Reed, who she says were instrumental in her winning the scholarship.
“This award is just another moment that's really motivating for me and reminds me that it's important to continue to pursue your dreams,” Nicole says.