Major Undergraduate Awards Season Begins with Four Goldwater Scholars

Media Contact: Lori Fogleman, 254-709-5959
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Baylor University undergraduate STEM researchers have kicked off the spring major fellowships and awards season by earning a record four Goldwater Scholarships, the preeminent undergraduate award that supports outstanding undergraduates interested in pursuing research careers in the sciences, engineering and mathematics. Baylor’s four Goldwater Scholars – Ava Frescura, Kiera Griffin, Aliyah Ogden and Nicholas Storti – are immersed in impactful research opportunities alongside their Baylor faculty mentors and supported in undergraduate research by the Office of Engaged Learning.

“This is always an exciting time of year on our campus, as we celebrate the success of our students and their faculty and staff mentors in nationally competitive fellowship applications. To kick off the season with a record four Goldwater wins is invigorating, a testament to something unique about Baylor,” said Andrew P. Hogue, Ph.D., associate dean for engaged learning at Baylor. “We are one of precious few R1 universities that also ranks near the top in undergraduate teaching and undergraduate research. These Goldwater wins are evidence in support of those rankings, a sign that at Baylor, high-level research and transformational undergraduate education are inextricably connected and objectively world-class.”

Baylor's 2025-2026 Goldwater Scholars

Ava Frescura

Junior biology major with a concentration in cell and molecular biology from Houston

Career goal: Ph.D. in toxicology and conduct research in the pharmaceutical field or work for a university as a principal investigator.

Mentors: Michelle Gaylord, associate director of clinical and diagnostic assay development with Pfizer; Maria Teresa Fernandez-Luna, Ph.D., lecturer in biology at Baylor; and Ramon Lavado, Ph.D., associate professor of environmental science at Baylor and principal investigator of the Lavado Lab, which focuses its research on environmental and molecular toxicology.

Kiera Griffin

Junior Science Research Fellow from Conroe, Texas

Career goal: Ph.D. in genetics and genomics and work as a principal investigator and run a research group analyzing the impacts of environmental toxicants on the regulation of the human genome at a top university.

Mentors: Christie M. Sayes, Ph.D., professor of environmental science at Baylor and director of The Sayes Group research lab, which focuses on the human and environmental health effects of engineered materials; Rizalia Klausmeyer, Ph.D., senior lecturer in chemistry and biochemistry and director of the Science Research Fellows at Baylor; and Michelle Gonzalez, program manager of First in Line, which supports first-generation Baylor students as they navigate being the first person in their immediate family to attend a four-year university.

Aliyah Ogden

Junior Science Research Fellow with a focus on neuroscience from Algonquin, Illinois

Career goal: Ph.D. in neuroscience and then conduct research, lead a university lab and teach at the university level.

Mentors: Jacques Nguyen, Ph.D.,  assistant professor of psychology and neuroscience at Baylor and PI of the Nguyen Lab that focuses on behavioral and neurobiological mechanisms underlying the onset and development of substance use disorders and addiction; Rizalia Klausmeyer, Ph.D., senior lecturer in chemistry and biochemistry and director of the Science Research Fellows at Baylor; and Keith Murphy, Ph.D., professor of neuropharmacology at University College Dublin.

Nicholas Storti

Senior electrical and computer engineering major from East Norriton, Pennsylvania

Career goal: Ph.D. in electrical engineering and become a professor at a university and conduct research in electric machines and power electronic motor drives to provide greener vehicles.

Mentors: Emmanuel Agamloh, Ph.D., associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at Baylor; Annette von Jouanne, Ph.D., professor of electrical and computer engineering at Baylor; and Mark D. Does, Ph.D., professor of biomedical engineering, radiology and radiological sciences and electrical engineering at Vanderbilt University.

Undergraduate research excellence

“This record-breaking number of Goldwater Scholarship winners demonstrates both the caliber of student-researchers at Baylor and the emphasis Baylor faculty place on mentoring in addition to their own research excellence,” said Baylor Goldwater representative Daniel Benyousky, Ph.D., director of major fellowships and awards in the Office of Engaged Learning. “Baylor's four Goldwater Scholarship winners have all distinguished themselves in research labs at Baylor in addition to thriving in the classroom. They also have set themselves apart by attaining highly competitive summer internships in labs at other universities or in industry, publishing their research in academic journals and presenting at conferences.”

Remarkably, Benyousky said, Baylor’s Goldwater Scholars have done this across a wide range of disciplines and majors like electrical engineering, Science Research Fellows, biology, biochemistry, and psychology and neuroscience. All were mentored by outstanding Baylor faculty members – Drs. Emmanuel Agamloh, Annette von Jouanne, Christie Sayes, Riz Klausmeyer, Ramon Lavado, Maria Teresa Fernandez-Luna and Jacques Nguyen, “all of whom have not only achieved their own research successes but work tirelessly to help undergraduates develop their research skills,” Benyousky added.

As a preeminent Christian Research 1 university, Baylor University stands alongside Duke, Michigan, Princeton, Stanford and Yale – and the only Texas university – on a short list of prestigious colleges and universities that make the U.S. News & World Report top 30 for both undergraduate teaching and undergraduate research. Baylor is the only school with an explicit, primary identity as a Christian university to make both lists.

While undergraduate teaching excellence has long been a hallmark of the University, Baylor’s continued investment in research has nearly tripled over the last seven years, which includes a focused emphasis on undergraduate research. Baylor professors bring cutting-edge knowledge gained in their research into the classroom, and undergraduates – such as Baylor’s Goldwater Scholars – receive dynamic opportunities in all disciplines to pursue faculty-guided research that equip them to make new discoveries while strengthening critical, analytical and writing abilities.

In the years ahead, Baylor In Deeds, the University’s strategic plan, charts a course for increased interdisciplinary research focus that builds on the University’s strengths, expands emerging areas of study and captures the energy of Baylor’s location in the burgeoning Texas Triangle.

About the Goldwater Scholarship

The Goldwater Scholarship is part of an ongoing partnership with UWorld and the Department of Defense National Defense Education Programs (NDEP). Goldwater Scholars have gone on to win an impressive array of prestigious awards, becoming National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellows, NSF Graduate Research Fellows, Hertz Fellows, DOE Computational Science Graduate Fellows, Astronaut Scholars, Churchill Scholars, Marshall Scholars and Rhodes Scholars.

The Goldwater Foundation is a federally endowed agency established in 1986 by Public Law 99-661. The Scholarship Program honoring Sen. Barry Goldwater was designed to identify, encourage and financially support outstanding undergraduates interested in pursuing research careers in the STEM fields.

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked Research 1 institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 20,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions. Learn more about Baylor University at www.baylor.edu.