Beckman Application Process

Beckman Scholar Award Details

Boston University is applying for an Arnold & Mabel Beckman Foundation Scholars Program Award for 2021. Applications for 2020 are not being accepted.

The total award amount is $21,000 per student, which includes:

  • Summer stipend of $6,800 per summer
  • Academic year stipend of $4,600
  • Travel and supplies allowance for $2,800 per summer
  • Travel and lodging for Beckman Scholars Annual Research Symposium

Eligibility

You must satisfy all of the criteria listed below in order to be eligible for this award.

  • Boston University sophomore
  • US Citizen or Permanent Resident
  • Minimum overall GPA of 3.4
  • Majoring in Biology, BMB, Chemistry, or Biomedical Engineering

Application Process

  • Read through the descriptions below and select three mentors whose research interests you.
  • Request two letters of recommendation from Boston University faculty. Letters may be emailed to urop@bu.edu or sent by regular mail to the UROP Office (143 Bay State Road).
  • Complete the online application. If you have technical difficulties with the online application, contact us at urop@bu.edu or 617-353-2020.
  • Ensure that all materials, including recommendations, are submitted by the application deadline.

After all applications have been received, finalists will be selected. If you are a finalist, the following steps will be taken:

  • Your application materials will be forwarded to your three potential mentors.
  • You will conduct a short one-on-one interview with each of your potential mentors.
  • You will be interviewed by the Beckman Scholars Committee.

More information about the Beckman Foundation and their Beckman Scholars Program Awards can be found on their website at: http://www.beckman-foundation.com

Beckman Faculty Mentors and Research Interests

Prof. Karen Allen (CAS Chemistry): Protein structure; biochemistry; X-ray crystallography; aldolase structure, activity and disease

Prof. Jennifer Bhatnagar (CAS Biology): Molecular biology and ecology; genomics; fungal growth competition and dynamics; climate change biology

Prof. Cynthia Bradham (CAS Biology): Developmental biology; Sea urchin embryogenesis; genomic and transcriptomic analysis

Prof. John Caradonna (CAS Chemistry): Non-heme iron metalloproteins and metalloenzymes; biochemical and medical aspects of iron/pterin-dependent aromatic amino acid hydroxylases; computational methods for rational metalloprotein and metalloenzyme design

Prof. Sean Elliott (CAS Chemistry): Biochemistry; molecular biology; redox regulation of protein; cysteine-based regulation of proteins; cytochrome c

Prof. Robinson Fulweiler (CAS Biology and CAS Earth & Environment): Marine biology; ecology and environmental sciences; chemical analysis of water; nitrogen and carbon fluxes

Prof. Thomas Gilmore (CAS Biology): Molecular biology and cell biology; human oncogenes and lymphoma/leukemia; structure and function of transcription factors; NF-kB; evolutionary origins of NF-kB and molecular ecology

Prof. Angela Ho (CAS Biology): Molecular biology and cell biology; Alzheimers Disease; mouse models; intracellular transport and signaling of proteins

Prof. Kimberly McCall (CAS Biology): Drosophila genetics; molecular mechanisms of cell death; ovary development

Prof. Frank Naya (CAS Biology): Molecular genetics of heart development; transgenic mice; molecular biology; transcription factor Mef2a; cardiac disease models; transcriptional control of developmental gene expression

Prof. John Porco (CAS Chemistry): Development of new methodologies for chemical synthesis and their application to synthesis of complex natural products and natural product-like molecules

Prof. Trevor Siggers (CAS Biology): Protein-DNA interactions; systems biology; molecular biology; inflammation; transcription factor NF-kB; protein-protein interactions on DNA

Prof. Arturo Vegas (CAS Chemistry): Organic synthesis; biological chemistry; drug development; targeted therapeutics

Prof. Adrian Whitty (CAS Chemistry): Biochemistry; protein structure and function; small-molecular drug discovery

Prof. Joyce Wong (ENG Biomedical Engineering): Biomaterials, tailoring cell-material interfaces for drug delivery and tissue engineering applications; direct, quantitative measurement of biological interactions