Two Colorado State University undergraduates have earned one of the country’s top scholarship awards dedicated to fostering the next generation of research leaders in natural sciences, engineering and mathematics.
Isabella Hamner and Kylee Pham are among the 454 students from across the country to earn scholarships from the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation in 2026. The two second-year biomedical sciences majors were selected from a pool of more than 5,000 applicants.
Since 2019, CSU has produced 19 Goldwater scholars; this year, CSU was tied with the Air Force Academy for the most in the state.
Established by Congress in 1986, the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation operates an educational scholarship program designed to provide opportunities for outstanding U.S. students with excellent academic records and demonstrated interest in, and potential for, research careers in the natural sciences, mathematics and engineering.
Meet this year’s Goldwater Scholars from CSU.
Isabella Hamner
Hamner intends to pursue both a Ph.D. and D.V.M. because her career goal is to conduct comprehensive research in animal health and disease. She is interested in how disease presents clinically, how it progresses and how it affects behavior, physiology and well-being.
“The D.V.M. provides clinical grounding for the research questions I hope to explore: Which diseases matter most to the animals we serve?” Hamner wrote in her application. “How can we better protect our animals from emerging diseases? What barriers keep vaccines, diagnostics or immunotherapies from reaching the barn, ranch or clinic?”
She plans to pursue a career in veterinary medicine and research that is on the front lines of managing public health for the safety of animals and humans. Hamner is especially motivated by the increased need for professionals who understand the complex intersection of animal health, human health and the environment. Her long-term goal is to contribute to research that strengthens disease response, improves immunological therapies and advances our ability to prevent outbreaks before they emerge.
Hamner credits Assistant Professor Carleigh Fedorka with inspiring her.
“Thanks to her, I have a foothold in the research community and have found my voice and identity as a researcher,” she said. “She has pushed me to ask harder questions, trust my observations and believe my voice belongs in research spaces. Dr. Fedorka’s mentorship has not only opened doors into the research world but has helped me walk through them with curiosity and a drive to contribute something meaningful to research.”
Kylee Pham
Pham plans to pursue a Ph.D. in microbiology, specifically virology, to study vector-borne infectious diseases like mosquito-borne viruses. She is enrolled in CSU’s Vector-Borne Diseases certificate program and is pursuing a minor in bioinformatics, since processing and analyzing data helps her identify more trends to apply to experimental and biological concepts. Pham is also minoring in chemistry, to support the drug development portion of her research career.
Her research has primarily been focused on dengue virus, and data from one of her projects indicates that lipids called ceramides play an antiviral role against dengue virus. Pham credits her principal investigator and mentor, Professor Rushika Perera of the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, with encouraging her to apply for the Goldwater Scholarship.
Pham is a first-generation American and college student whose parents were Vietnamese immigrants.
“Being immigrants who had no education in a new country was difficult for my family, and they worked demanding jobs before finding more stability,” Pham said. “However, because of their financial hardships and the inaccessibility to education both of my parents had growing up, they have prioritized education throughout my entire childhood. My parents ensured that I always had assistance if I was struggling on a subject and access to extracurricular activities even if it meant that we would be a little tight on money that month. … I attribute a lot of my educational achievements and my passion for learning to my parents.”
More information about the scholarship is available by contacting the Office for Scholarship and Fellowship Advising.
