Two University of Michigan students have been awarded the 2025 Goldwater Scholarship: Harini Ram and Amy Wei! The Goldwater Scholarship is considered one of the most prestigious awards undergraduate students in STEM can receive.
The Goldwater Scholarship was established in 1986 to provide support for highly qualified STEM students who plan to pursue a PhD and research career in these fields. It provides $7,500 to Scholars in support of their junior and/or senior year of undergraduate study.
Harini is a sophomore majoring in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology with plans to pursue an MD/PhD in Cancer Biology or Immunology. Her goal is to become a physician-scientist who discovers mechanisms of cancer progression and engineers novel therapies to address therapeutic vulnerabilities and resistance mechanisms.
Harini is currently working on a research project in the DiFeo laboratory in Michigan Medicine’s Department of Pathology. She studies miR-181a and MYC-mediated metabolic reprogramming in the tumor microenvironment of high-grade serous carcinoma. Her previous research involved the protective role of STING-rich ciliated cells in halting carcinogenesis, as well as the identification of a TNIK-CDK9 axis as a targetable strategy for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer, resulting in both co-authorship on a publication under review and 2nd authorship of a published manuscript in Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, an American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) journal.
Outside of the laboratory, Harini is a strong proponent of science communication and participates in several extracurriculars. She leads laboratory tours for high school students through the One Day Closer program, served as the business subteam lead of Project MIA, a biomedical engineering team that develops sustainable and culturally-sensitive menstrual pads for an indigenous community in the Peruvian Amazon, and collaborated with a team of 30 students in the Michigan Synthetic Biology Team, to engineer and optimize a bacteria to degrade pollutants in Ann Arbor groundwater. This team also received a silver medal in the international genetically engineered machines competition.
Harini notes that her win not only recognizes her commitment to research, but also highlights the urgent need for better treatments for patients facing chemotherapy resistance and limited options. The application process provided her with a meaningful opportunity to reflect on her experiences and reaffirm her motivation for pursuing this path.
Initially, she was hesitant to apply, knowing that few sophomores receive the award. Harini encourages anyone unsure about applying to just go for it, even if they don’t feel competitive enough, stating, “it’s not just about publications or awards; it’s about demonstrating your passion, curiosity, and resilience in the face of challenges. Future applicants should embrace this as an opportunity to tell their story authentically. Write with your truest voice because this scholarship values you as a whole person, not just a list of achievements.”
Harini would like to thank her PI, Dr. Analisa DiFeo for her unwavering support, and also appreciates the encouragement she received from the entire DiFeo lab, particularly Dr. Noah Puleo, Dr. Jose Colina, and Dr. Rita Avelar. She is grateful to Grace McIntyre for encouraging her to apply to Goldwater and the thoughtful recommendations from Dr. Montgomery, Dr. Bridwell-Rabb, and ONSF’s director, Melissa. Finally, Harini would like to thank her friends and family for their ongoing emotional support throughout her academic journey.
Amy is a junior Computer Science major and Mathematics minor in the College of Engineering. She plans to pursue a PhD in Computer Science or Software Engineering with the goals of conducting research and teaching in academia.
Amy is a current undergraduate researcher working with Professor Westley Weimer and Priscila Santiesteban, where she works on investigating the human factors that impact productivity in software engineering. She also teaches as an Instructional Aide for Discrete Mathematics (EECS 203) and is currently in her third semester of teaching. Her responsibilities include revising weekly homework assignments and publishing the grades, as well as hiring and managing the grading team.
She participated in Carnegie Mellon’s Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) in Software Engineering for the past two summers, where she developed a process model for the software testing process from a secondary analysis of screen recordings, and also built a usable testing tool for TypeScript programs that support unit testing, fuzzing, and property-based testing through a novel Composite Oracle. Amy is also the second author on a paper that has been accepted into the ACM International Conference on the Foundations of Software Engineering (FSE), as well as an author on a paper under review at the ACM Transactions on Software Engineering and Methodology journal.
Along with her Goldwater Scholarship win, Amy is also a recipient of the Distinguished Leadership Award and the Arlen R. Hellarth Award from U-M’s College of Engineering.
She wants to encourage anyone considering applying to believe in themselves, noting, “Far more important than submitting an application for an award is the appreciation you have for yourself, and for your work. Research is hard by nature—for any project, if it weren't hard then someone probably would have already done it. So let each small step be something you celebrate; you're doing a much better job than you think.”
Amy feels fortunate to have benefitted from the advice and foresight of her mentors and family, who have encouraged and guided her through her opportunities. She is particularly grateful to her mentors Dr. Joshua Sunshine, Dr. Brad Myers, Dr. Kimberly Diaz, Dr. Wes Weimer, Priscila Santiesteban, and Matthew Davis. She would also like to thank her friends and family for guiding and supporting her in all that she does.
