LSU Beckman Scholars Program
The LSU Beckman Scholars program is a 15-month paid immersive leadership and research program within the College of Science. In addition to research experience, Beckman Scholars receive comprehensive professional development opportunities including personalized mentoring; community building; expert guidance in science communication; and leadership development incorporating justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) principles.
Two students will be selected per year for this prestigious program. Those selected will receive a stipend of $18,200 broken down as follows:
- First Summer — $6,800
- Academic Year — $4,600
- Second Summer — $6,800
Note: This opportunity involves a full-time summer commitment beginning in summer 2024 and including summer 2025.
Minimum Criteria
- Good academic standing
- Completion of at least one semester with a declared major in biochemistry, biological sciences, chemistry, physics (medical physics concentration only), or microbiology
- Full-time undergraduate student
- Citizen or permanent resident of the U.S. or its possessions, or hold DACA recipient status
- Strong verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills
- Plans to pursue a PhD, MD, MD/PhD, or another scientific career path
Note: The selection committee will implement a holistic review of applicants.
Application Requirements
- Completion of the following online application. The application includes three essay questions. It may be useful to download the following pdf of the application before you start.
- Resume (uploaded with application)
- Unofficial Transcript (uploaded with application)
- Two Letters of Recommendation: You will be asked to provide the names and emails of your recommenders on the online application. We will reach out to them for the letters.
Application Deadline: Friday, March 1, 2024.
Program Expectations
- Pursue an undergraduate research project developed with and under the direction of a Beckman approved Mentor.
- Participate fully in all activities associated with the SCI Lead Leadership Learning Laboratory including assessments and workshops focused on understanding leadership styles, diversity in leadership, conflict management, and a January retreat for professional development.
- Participate in the LSU Discover Program for the duration of the award including the summer research program orientation, LSU Discover summer workshops, end-of-summer symposium (SURF), and LSU Discover Day.
- Attend annual Beckman Symposium in each of the two summers of the award term.
- Comply with Beckman reporting requirements and LSU employee trainings.
Mentor Research Areas
Beckman scholars will be matched with an individual mentor from biological sciences, chemistry, or medical physics. Specific mentor research areas are as follows:
- Ichthyology/Evolution: Evolution and biogeography of freshwater and marine fishes.
- Utilizing high-performance, multi-core computers (e.g., supercomputers) and machine learning techniques to understand the impact space radiation has on both the health of human spaceflight crews, and the resilience of space vehicle hardware systems.
- Mechanisms of organ formation during embryogenesis using Drosophila.
- Molecular-Cell Biology: Using Drosophila melanogaster to study nucleolar stress - when cells (especially neuroblasts) fail to produce sufficient ribosomes needed for protein synthesis.
- Disease ecology and evolution, quantitative ecology: We examine how disease outbreaks and environmental variation influence populations focusing on host-pathogen interactions and population viability.
- Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Electrochemistry: Addressing challenges in environmental chemistry such as water purification, adsorption of contaminants and separation, energy storage, and solar fuels production and catalysis.
- Synthetic Organic Chemistry: Synthesis of complex molecules with diverse structural architectures that are suitable for high-throughput screening in drug discovery research.
- Marine physiology and ecology, evolutionary responses to climate change.
- Neuroendocrinology and Behavior: Understanding how different neurotransmitters and hormones help wild animals successfully cope with challenges from predators to disease.
- Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology: Design and synthesis of artificial molecular machines to control cell function with light to treat diseases such as cancer and development of new photocatalysts.
- Medicinal Chemistry/Chemical Biology: Using natural products as probes to delineate mechanisms underlying metabolic processes relevant to human disease.
- Organic Chemistry: research involves the total synthesis of organic molecules that are colorful, the study of their spectroscopic properties, and their conjugation with biomolecules, such as proteins. These conjugates have potential applications in the detection and treatment of various cancers.
- Biochemistry: Investigating the chemical mechanisms used by plants and some microbes to convert solar energy to chemical energy through photosynthesis.
For further information about the LSU Beckman Scholars Program, please contact Valerie Stampley at vderou1@lsu.edu.
The LSU Beckman Scholars Program is supported by
To learn more about the Arnold & Mable Beckman Foundation, visit:
https://www.beckman-foundation.org/about-foundation/mission-philosophy/.