Four students from Johns Hopkins — Ying-Ying Wang, Katherine Villa, Wenqian Wang and Kevin Chen — are among the 323 undergraduates who have been awarded Goldwater Scholarships for the 2006-2007 academic year. The one- and two-year merit-based scholarships from the Goldwater Foundation, a federally endowed agency established in 1986, cover the cost of tuition, fees, books, and room and board up to a maximum of $7,500 per year.

The scholarship program honoring Sen. Barry M. Goldwater was designed to foster and encourage outstanding students to pursue careers in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences and engineering. The Goldwater Scholarship is the premier undergraduate award of its type in these fields.

This year's scholars were selected from a field of 1,081 students nominated by the faculties of colleges and universities nationwide.

Ying-Ying Wang, a junior biomedical engineering major, plans to seek a doctorate in biomedical engineering with an emphasis on drug delivery. She is currently working in the lab of Justin Hanes, an assistant professor in the Whiting School's Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. Her activities include coordinating the Hampden Tutorial Project and working as a peer tutor for the Office of Academic Advising and as a teaching assistant for the Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics.

A sophomore molecular and cellular biology major, Katherine Villa works in the lab of Victor Corces, a professor in the Krieger School's Biology Department, where she investigates proteins involved in DNA transcription. She will continue her work with Corces this summer, with funding from a Howard Hughes Fellowship. Her career goal is to teach at a university. She is the treasurer for Beta Beta Beta, the biology honors society, and volunteers with Habitat for Humanity.

Wenqian Wang, a junior molecular and cellular biology major, plans to earn both a medical degree and a Ph.D. to study eye disease as an ophthalmologist. Her most recent laboratory experience was with Elia Duh at the Wilmer Eye Institute. She has also done lab work on pulmonary hypertension, which led to her co-authorship on two papers. She is a chemistry lab teaching assistant, publicity chair for Circle K and member of Beta Beta Beta.

A junior neuroscience and anthropology double major, Kevin Chen intends to earn a medical degree and a Ph.D., exploring the emerging field of neuroimmunology at a research university. He is currently working in the laboratory of Lee I. Martin at the School of Medicine, where he is studying the molecular mechanisms of neurodegenerative disease. He co-authored a 2005 paper published in Journal of Neuroscience and is co-author of another paper currently in review. He belongs to Nu Rho Psi, the neuroscience honor society, and plays the flute and piccolo in the JHU Band, for which he serves as business manager. He also volunteers in the Child Life/Therapeutic Recreation Department at the Kennedy-Krieger Institute.

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