Preston Kellenberger, a biochemistry major, was named Outstanding Senior at CAFNR’s 2025 Celebration of Excellence awards ceremony, held Thursday, April 17.

Kellenberger works as a lab assistant for Peter Cornish, associate professor of biochemistry, where he developed a novel approach to probe unwinding of viral mRNA, leading to first authorship on a publication, with two more articles in the process of publication. He has presented his work at multiple national conferences, is a two-time recipient of the Mizzou Forward Undergraduate Research Training Grant and the CAFNR Undergraduate Research Internship. Kellenberger also presented his research to the Mizzou Biophysics Supergroup, an honor typically reserved for senior researchers.

Kellenberger is also a member of the Omicron Delta Kappa secret society and is the founder of the non-profit “A Beat of Change,” which provides practice drums for students in schools that cannot afford them. He organized students from across Mizzou’s campus to help; the organization has provided more than 150 drums to 15 schools across Missouri.

“I have evaluated over 1,000 graduate students over the past 15 years,” said Cornish, who is also the director of graduate admissions for the Department of Biochemistry and the Life Sciences Fellowship Program. “Without hesitation, I rank Preston as the most exceptional undergraduate I have encountered. His intelligence, discipline and passion for scientific discovery position him as a future leader in biochemistry. He will undoubtedly make significant contributions to the field.”