UK Beckman Scholars
Meet UK's Beckman Scholars
2024-25 Beckman Scholars
Elizabeth Elliott
Elizabeth Elliott, a biology major and chemistry minor in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Lewis Honors College. Elizabeth will investigate the effect of ion channel misexpression on membrane potential and relationship to temperature and extracellular ion concentration within fly models in the lab of Robin Cooper, Ph.D., professor in the College of Arts and Sciences Department of Biology. Ion channel misexpression can lead to fetal miscarriage, deaths in infants and adults, developmental abnormalities, cystic fibrosis, autism, epilepsy, cardiac diseases, and cancer.
Shasanka Lamichhane
Shasanka Lamichhane, a chemistry major and mathematics minor in the College of Arts and Sciences. Shasanka will investigate the interface chemistry of metal-organic frameworks (MOF) in contact with electrolyte solutions, materials that are of interest for energy generation and storage, in the lab of Chad Risko, Ph.D., professor in the College of Arts and Sciences Department of Chemistry.
2023-24 Beckman Scholars
Kaitlyn Brock
Kaitlyn Brock, a neuroscience and psychology major in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Lewis Honors College. Brock will be investigating the mechanisms and effects of bacterial endotoxin on skeletal muscle and synaptic transmission within fly and crayfish models in the lab of Robin Cooper, Ph.D., professor in the College of Arts and Sciences Department of Biology. Bacteria that produce endotoxin trigger an immune response in humans that can lead to sepsis and infection.
Hena Kachroo
Hena Kachroo, a chemistry major in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Lewis Honors College. Kachroo will be investigating biochemical solutions to challenges in sustainable energy in the lab of Anne-Frances Miller, Ph.D., professor in the College of Arts and Sciences Department of Chemistry.
2022-23 Beckman Scholars
Elaf Ghoneim
Elaf Ghoneim, a neuroscience major in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Lewis Honors College. Ghoneim will be investigating novel anti-inflammatory drug candidates in the lab of Linda Van Eldik, Ph.D., director of UK’s Sanders-Brown Center on Aging and professor in the College of Arts and Sciences Department of Neuroscience.
Parker Sornberger
Parker Sornberger, a mathematics and chemistry major in the College of Arts and Sciences. Sornberger is joining the lab of Chad Risko, Ph.D., in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Chemistry and at the Center for Applied Energy Research (CAER), where he will be investigating new π-conjugated molecules that are building blocks of materials used in technologies for clean energy production and energy conservation.