Two CAFNR undergraduate students have received the Goldwater Scholarship, one of the most prestigious national scholarships in natural sciences, engineering and mathematics in the United States.

Juniors Carissa Bersche and Rachel Weber, who are both pursuing a biochemistry degree, are among the 441 recipients coming from a pool of more than 5,000 college sophomores and juniors.

Bersche and Weber are both pursuing the Honors Certificate at Mizzou.

“We had 15 excellent undergraduate researchers apply for the Goldwater Scholarship this year, which is a testament to the enthusiasm and quality of the undergraduate research community at Mizzou,” said Nina Wilson-Keenan, who coordinates the Goldwater Scholarship for the Office of Global and National Fellowships and advised all the applicants. “I’m inspired by the work our nominees did over winter break to revise their applications and make them reflect their best visions for their research careers.”

Bersche was able to begin research during her freshman year at Mizzou thanks to the Freshman Research in Plants Program, which connected her with Antje Heese, an associate professor of biochemistry. Bersche has remained active in Heese’s lab throughout her time as a Tiger.

Bersche studies the genetic interaction of vesicular trafficking proteins on growth and development — and immune response — in the model plant Arabidopsis, which is a small flowering plant often used as a model organism in plant biology. The Goldwater Scholarship will allow her to continue to build her research portfolio.

An abundance of research opportunities brought Weber to Mizzou. She’s taken advantage of several of those opportunities. Weber started her research endeavors through the Freshman Research in Plants Program. She was then named a Cherng Summer Scholar through the Honors College where she was able to continue her research journey.

Through the Freshman Research in Plants Program, Weber was connected with Jaime Barros-Rios, an assistant professor of plant molecular biology, and continued to work with him as a Cherng Summer Scholar. The work focuses on lignin, a functional unit of the plant cell wall that is important for a plant’s growth and development to provide structure, help respond to stress and facilitate water transport.

The Goldwater Scholarship will allow Weber to continue to explore her interests, which include plant metabolic research with applications in the renewable fuels industry.

To read more about Bersche and Weber’s accomplishments, visit Show Me Mizzou.