The National Science Foundation has awarded Barry grad Qiwen Su with a 2020 Graduate Research Fellowship, a prestigious prize that recognizes and supports graduate students pursuing NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and math disciplines.
Qiwen earned her BS in Chemistry, with a specialization in Biochemistry and a minor in Biology, in 2017. During her time at Barry, she conducted research with Department of Chemistry faculty members Dr. John Boulos and Dr. Tamara Hamilton and impressively co-authored a publication in each research area. Upon learning that she had received the competitive award, Qiwen didn’t delay sharing the news with Dr. Hamilton, whom she counts among her many Barry mentors. “I appreciate your continuous optimism, constant encouragement and support throughout my career, even after I graduated from Barry,” she wrote in an email. Qiwen is the second Barry grad in the past three years to receive an NSF Fellowship. Diana Cordero, another mentee of Dr. Hamilton’s, who is studying at MIT, was the first.
An exceptional leader in the Barry community, Qiwen was recognized with the Dr. George J. Wanko Award for Outstanding Junior, the National Engaged Leader Award, the National Excellence in Leadership Award, and the President’s Award for Outstanding Senior. Upon graduating from Barry, she conducted research assistantships at Argonne National Lab and Pacific Northwest National Lab, where she co-authored a research manuscript.
Currently, Qiwen is pursuing her PhD in Chemistry at Boston College, where she develops and executes experiments aimed at testing activation of gene expression in bacterial cells using CRISPR-dCas9. Besides conducting research, she is involved in leading efforts to increase public scientific literacy in genome sciences and diversifying the scientific workforce.
Congratulations to Qiwen Su and to all Barry University faculty and staff who supported her throughout her studies! View the complete list of 2020 Fellowship recipients here.