Tag: honors college

Elizabeth Caldwell, senior genetics major, has been selected as a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship, one of the most prestigious and selective major fellowships available to American college students.

The Rhodes Scholarship, a fully funded postgraduate award which enables talented young people from around the world to study at the University of Oxford, is recognized worldwide as the oldest and most well-known scholarship for academic excellence. Rhode scholars are chosen based on those who demonstrate academic excellence, the energy to use their talents to the fullest, and attributes such as truth, courage, kindness, devotion to duty, moral force of character and instincts to lead.

Elizabeth, who researches rare diseases and advocates for the disability community, was recently announced as Clemson’s 5th Truman Scholar, a federally funded scholarship granted to U.S. undergraduate students for demonstrated leadership potential, academic excellence and a commitment to public service.

Elizabeth is also part of the National Scholars Program, Clemson’s most selective university-wide merit scholarship program. National Scholars are selected through a rigorous process that identifies students with the highest levels of intellectual vision and community engagement.

“A brilliant scientist and determined advocate, Elizabeth’s remarkable accomplishments are eclipsed only by her steadfast and inspirational commitment to making our campus, community, and society more welcoming and accessible,” said Sarah Winslow, inaugural dean of the Clemson University Honors College.

Elizabeth is actively engaged on campus and in the community. She is part of associate professor Michael Sehorn’s lab, which explores DNA repair pathways, serves as the only undergraduate student on Clemson’s Accessibility Commission, and founded Tigers 4 Accessibility, Clemson’s first and only student organization dedicated to creating a more inclusive and accessible campus culture and physical environment.

In addition, Elizabeth acts as a volunteer at the Clemson Free Clinic, a local medical center that provides health care to the area’s low-income population, where she created a Mobility Aid Program that raised $3,000 to offset medical equipment costs for patients.

Elizabeth is one of approximately 800 students nominated nationwide for the Rhodes Scholarship, competing for 32 spots. She is one of 15 finalists from the district representing South Carolina, Georgia and North Carolina. She interviews for the award on November 15 and 16.

If chosen, Elizabeth plans to pursue a master’s program focused on genomic medicine, followed by a master’s degree in global health and epidemiology.

Read more in the Clemson News article.

Senior biochemistry major Harmon Vison has been on both sides of the medical field. Around a year old, he was diagnosed with a genetic disorder called Hemihypertrophy, which gave him the inspiration to study biochemistry and eventually go on to medical school.

Hemihypertrophy is a condition in which one side of the body or a part of one side of the body is larger than the other. Throughout his young life, Harmon went through numerous surgeries with Dr. Gurpur Shashidhar Pai to treat his condition.

“Visiting Dr. Pai and having multiple surgeries has influenced my future career goals. With the goal of attending medical school, I believed that Biochemistry was the right major to achieve these goals.”

Clemson has acted a second home for Harmon his entire life, growing up spending weekends in Clemson tailgating and watching football games and other athletic events. It was his dream university to attend.

“Both of my parents are Clemson grads and Clemson was actually where they met. So I enjoy joking around with friends that if it wasn’t for Clemson, I wouldn’t exist. The family aspect of Clemson has stood out since day one and words cannot describe how thankful I am for that.”

On campus, Harmon is a part of the Honors College and is involved in intramural sports – football and basketball. Throughout high school, Harmon was always involved in a sport and has enjoyed keeping up with physical activities here at Clemson.

When he is not playing a sport, Harmon loves to hunt and fish with family and friends. Offshore fishing has always been a passion of his and he says his love for the blue water will continue in the years to come.

Academically, you will likely find Harmon studying for the MCAT or participating in a summer internship. This past summer, Harmon had the opportunity to intern with Swann and Tolbert Medicine. Swann and Tolbert Medicine practices “concierge” care, which is a membership-based healthcare that pairs exclusive, personalized care with accessibility and convenience.

“Dr. Swann and his fellow coworkers were able to provide me with a very valuable experience and demonstrated proper patient care. This internship provided me with multiple skills while also setting high goals in regards to future patient care.”

After graduation, he plans to take a gap year before entering medical school in pursuit of becoming an anesthesiologist. It has been my lifelong dream to be able to return the same care that was provided to him and to support other patients in need.

“After undergoing multiple surgeries throughout my life, I have seen both sides of the medical field. I was able to build a strong connection with my personal anesthesiologist due to his bedside manner and was truly able to be at ease before a big surgical procedure.”

Harmon is thrilled that he chose Clemson and our biochemistry program, saying it has lived up to all expectations. Harmon says the bonds that have been built will last a lifetime and the preparation for medical school has been top-notch.

“I am forever grateful for Clemson’s Biochemistry program.”

Before her thyroid cancer diagnosis at 13, Brittany Avin McKelvey, Ph.D. knew she wanted to pursue a career in science. The diagnosis just inspired her more.

“Even prior to my cancer diagnosis, I knew I wanted to go into science,” says McKelvey. “After my diagnosis I knew I wanted to specifically go into research and study cancer.”

Doctors found a tumor sitting on the nerve feeding of her vocal cord and removed the thyroid and 30 lymph nodes. After the surgery and radiation, she became cancer-free and ready to fight the disease in a different way.

Graduating in 2015, McKelvey double majored in genetics and biochemistry with a minor in science and technology in society. While she was an undergraduate, McKelvey conducted research in the Smith lab for all four years studying C. neoformans to obtain her departmental honors. She also was a part of both the Honors College and the National Scholars Program.

McKelvey spent summers studying abroad at the University of Cambridge and participating in research internships at Emory University and Vanderbilt University.

In addition, she was president of Clemson’s Colleges Against Cancer and organized the Relay for Life event. McKelvey was awarded the Norris Medal as the best-all-around graduating senior in 2015 and was named a Goldwater Scholar, which is considered the most prestigious national scholarship award for undergraduates in the natural sciences, mathematics and engineering.

“After Clemson, I went to Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and obtained my Ph.D. in molecular biology and genetics in their Biochemistry, Cellular, and Molecular Biology program.”

At Johns Hopkins, she researched thyroid cancer, the same cancer she was diagnosed with as a young teen. Here she also authored seven publications, a textbook chapter and multiple international presentations.

Now living in Fayetteville, NC with her new baby girl and her husband, who is on active duty in the army, McKelvey works in science policy and research.

“I am the Director of Regulatory Affairs at Friends of Cancer Research, a non-profit advocacy organization based in Washington, DC that drives collaboration among partners from every healthcare sector to power advances in science, policy, and regulation that speed life-saving treatments to patients.”

She has been at Friends for 3.5 years, previously in the role of science policy and a policy intern at the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network before that. In her current role, she supports the development and implementation of the organization’s research and policy agenda by generating scientific evidence and policies to advance progress in oncology care and collaborating with diverse stakeholders (pharmaceutical companies, academics, clinicians, patients).

“Some of my current projects revolve around validating the use of ctDNA as an endpoint in clinical trials, using real-world data from patient health records to understand treatment efficacy, aligning AI/ML tools for biomarker assessment on patient biopsies.”

Though she didn’t recognize science policy as a career opportunity until graduate school, it was a perfect marriage of her enjoyment of science and thinking critically about science coupled with her passion for advocacy and helping patients with cancer. McKelvey uses her scientific background and the education she learned while an undergrad at Clemson daily to evaluate trends in technology and novel research that will help propel treatment for cancer.

“I work with scientists to take groundbreaking advances and apply them to drug and diagnostic development and policy surrounding development to help get treatments to patients faster.”

McKelvey is active in the cancer community, leading a support group for teens with thyroid cancer and active with the National Cancer Institute as a member of its Council of Research Advocates. She also enjoys coming back to campus to discuss her career path with undergraduate and graduate students and volunteering with the National Scholars Program and the Honors College.

In 2023 McKelvey was named one of Clemson University’s Roaring 10. Each year, the Clemson Young Alumni Council recognizes ten outstanding individuals for their impact in business, leadership, community, educational and/or philanthropic endeavors. The honor is given to those individuals who exemplify Clemson University’s core values of honesty, integrity, and respect.

Looking to the future, McKelvey hopes to continue to work in science and regulatory policy to help patients with cancer.

Senior biochemistry student Ryan Mehlem was part of a group that won the Pay it Forward competition, sponsored by South Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives.

The Pay it Forward competition challenges students at Clemson University, South Carolina State University or the University of South Carolina to propose solutions to pressing social and economic problems in rural areas. Students work as teams to create a solution to a long-standing issue, presented as a research paper and video.

Other students in the winning group include Mercy Crapps and Natalia Nortz, both biological sciences majors. The group received $1,000 for their design for a mobile STEM academy toolkit that provides resources, volunteer support and community outreach to students in rural South Carolina schools. The STEM education toolkit helps teachers provide their students with an experiential learning approach that can complement textbook learning or computer simulations in the classroom.

“I remember from my middle school experience, I was able to do some molecular biology practices and techniques which was exciting and interesting,” said Mehlem. “And now I work with those in my own research, pretty much every day.”

When building their STEM education project proposal, the team’s research focused mostly on middle schools, talking to staff at several rural schools throughout the state before developing their initiative.

The trio plans to start with fewer than 10 schools before refining their toolkit and expanding to other locations.

Genetics and sociology double major, Katie Barfield, is one of the twelve Clemson University students that have been named a 2024 Dixon Global Policy Scholar.

Created through an endowment from the active Clemson family members, the Dixon family, the Dixon Global Policy Scholars program is a selective and intensive program for high-achieving Honors College students with a demonstrated interest in major national or global issues.

During summer of 2024, the scholars will take specialized courses on global perspectives on politics, economics, philosophy and public policy and participate in an intensive study abroad experience in France and Germany, where they will visit European institutions, important historic sites and museums, and meet with key policymakers, diplomats, academics and journalists.

Congratulations, Katie!

Read more in the Clemson News article.