Biochemistry alum Adam Gatch ’25 has received a Fulbright research award to study abroad in Munich, Germany at Ludwig Maximilian University. The Fulbright U.S. Student Program offers unparalleled opportunities to pursue graduate study, conduct research or teach.
Adam has respectfully declined the Germany Fulbright offer after earning a Churchill scholarship earlier in the spring, which allows students to undertake a one-year master’s program in STEM fields at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. The Churchill Scholarship is seen as the most prestigious and competitive international science, mathematics and engineering award for post-undergraduate researchers.
Adam’s proposed project at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich would have explored how early-stage medin aggregates interact with amyloid-beta in the brain, advancing a novel line of inquiry in Alzheimer’s research.
At Clemson, Adam conducted extensive biophysics research in the lab of Dr. Feng Ding, exploring molecular mechanisms of neurodegenerative disease. Gatch also volunteered at the campus food pantry, worked as a tutor and gained clinical experience as an emergency medical technician (EMT). He plans to one day lead an interdisciplinary laboratory dedicated to neuroscience discovery while working in academic medicine.
Fascinated by the vastness of the universe, as a child senior biochemistry major Adam Gatch was intrigued by how the physics of the very small could be used to explain the astronomically large.
“I’ve always been captivated by the study of life at the molecular level,” said Gatch. “It’s remarkable to learn how disease at the macroscopic level can be understood through the underlying physics and chemistry governing cells and molecules.”
Adam has been awarded the 2025 Churchill Scholarship, which allows students to undertake a one-year master’s program in STEM fields at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.
With the scholarship, Adam plans to pursue a master of philosophy in chemistry and work with professor Tuomas Knowles at the University of Cambridge’s Centre for Misfolding Diseases, a leading research center dedicated to understanding the abnormal behavior of proteins in the brain in neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
Adam’s research on campus is began when he approached Dr. Feng Ding from the Department of Physics and Astronomy about joining his biophysics research lab. Adam’s research has mainly focused on understanding the abnormal aggregation of disease-associated proteins and how interactions between different proteins contribute to the progression of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders.
Adam has also researched Parkinson’s Disease when he spent the summer before his sophomore year at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), researching how neuroimaging could be used to predict how patients suffering from the disease might respond to a specific drug therapy, a project that was supported by an application Gatch wrote — and won — for a $10,000 National Institutes of Health Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Grant Supplement.
His work has earned him several other scholarships, honors and awards, including a 2024 Goldwater scholarship.
Aside from academics, Adam volunteers at the campus food pantry, serves as a member of the College of Science Student Advisory Board, acts as a tutor at the University’s Academic Success Center, and works as an EMT.
“It’s a great honor to win the Churchill Scholarship. I’m very excited to work with one of the most prominent researchers within my field in the world,” said Gatch. “The Knowles lab is a perfect fit for me, and there is no better environment for my continued growth as a young researcher.”
The Churchill Scholarship is seen as the most prestigious and competitive international science, mathematics and engineering award for post-undergraduate researchers. Adam was one of only 16 students nationwide to receive the award and his award makes Clemson the only university whose students have been awarded a Churchill Scholarship in each of the last three years.
