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School of Biological Sciences School of Biological Sciences

Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship Awarded to Molecular Biology Major Chiara Ricci-Tam

May 17, 2013

Chiara Ricci-Tam, 2013 Goldwater Scholar

Chiara Ricci-Tam, 2013 Goldwater Scholar

By Kim McDonald

Molecular biology major Chiara Ricci-Tam is one of two undergraduates at UC San Diego who this year have been named to receive a Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, the most prestigious award bestowed upon students studying the sciences. Ricci-Tam and Neil Sapra, a computational physics and applied mathematics major, will each receive $7,500 each to support their pursuit of a career in sciences, engineering and mathematics. A highly competitive national award, universities are allowed only four undergraduate nominations.

Ricci-Tam works as an undergraduate researcher under professor Joseph Pogliano, and investigates Staphylococcus aureus, the most common species of Staphylococcus that causes Staph infections, and the workings behind its resistance to antibiotics. She plans to graduate in the coming fall and pursue a Ph.D. while continuing her research. "I feel incredibly lucky and grateful to everyone who has supported me and enabled me to achieve what I have so far," she said.