Beckman Scholars Program

Brennan is an evolutionary biologist who studies the mechanisms that drive genital diversification through sexual conflict and sexual selection.

Beckman scholars working with Professor Brennan will develop skills in vertebrate anatomy including 3D modeling, micro-CT scanning, histology and dissection to understand female genital morphology and coevolution across species.

Camp investigates how bacteria communicate with one another to coordinate complex biological processes through gene regulation.

Beckman scholars working with Professor Camp will use molecular biology techniques to study the bacterium Bacillus subtilis (a harmless relative of the Anthrax-causing bacterium Bacillus anthracis), which can transform itself into a metabolically dormant and environmentally resistant spore.

Colodner is a cellular and molecular neuroscientist whose research is focused on understanding how communication between the two major cell types in the brain, neuronal and glial cells, is disrupted in neurodegenerative diseases.

Beckman scholars working with Professor Colodner will use modern genetic techniques in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, to examine the functional consequences of tau expression on neuronal-glial interactions in the fly brain. These experiments are aimed towards understanding mechanisms of tau toxicity and identifying novel therapeutic targets for these disorders.

The Gomez research group works to understand how charged defects alter ionic conduction pathways in materials.  The team uses first principles tools to generate data sets of minima and transition states to create maps or graphs for ionic conduction in the presence of charged defects.  The large graphs are then searched by both traditional graph theory tools and team developed extensions.

Beckman scholars working with Professor Gomez will work on either data collection phases or method development to understand ion conduction in a variety of technologically important systems.

Su is a computer scientist with a background in medical robotics. Her work examines the interactions of robotic surgical tools and soft deformable tissue. Her focus is on computer vision, haptics, (medical) robotics, bilateral teleoperation, image segmentation and 3D reconstruction.

Beckman scholars working with Professor Su will explore methods to improve robotic teleoperation experiences by integrating computer vision and AI algorithms to provide vision-based haptic feedback.

Woodard is a molecular geneticist who studies the role of hormones in directing stage- and tissue-specific developmental physiological processes.

Beckman scholars working with Professor Woodard will learn molecular biology techniques including real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) and western blot analysis, and using transgenic fruit flies, Drosophila, to study the genes that play key roles in directing metamorphosis.