Two third-year University of Virginia students are receiving Goldwater Scholarships.
Nicholas Cormas, a neuroscience and health equity major, and Anisha Jarang, a materials science and engineering major, both scholars through the Jefferson Scholars Foundation, are among 454 recipients of this year’s prestigious award. Goldwater Scholars receive up to $7,500 toward the cost of attendance during their final year at the University.
“To compete for a Goldwater Scholarship, students are nominated by the University of Virginia and supported through advising from the Office of Citizen Scholar Development, home to fellowships and undergraduate research,” wrote Andrus G. Ashoo, who directs the Office of Citizen Scholar Development. “Goldwater Scholarships are arguably the most well-known and important STEM award that a student can receive prior to his or her fourth year. Nicholas and Anisha have demonstrated that they are serious about STEM research through their hard work and character.”
Nicholas Cormas
Cormas, of North Huntington, Pennsylvania, works on several projects spanning basic science and clinical research. In the laboratory of neuroscience professor John Lukens, he is studying the molecular mechanisms that drive brain inflammation in diseases such as multiple sclerosis.
“During neurological disease, your brain’s resident immune cells can respond to pathology in beneficial or harmful manners,” he said. “Our lab, and my research, aims to clarify what governs these immune responses.”
Additionally, in the laboratory of Xudong Li, a professor in the School of Medicine, he performs clinical spine surgery research, working on several projects exploring postoperative outcomes.
“I recently published a database study that illustrated differences in patient complication profiles after receiving either one of two competing operations for compressive nerve root disease, with the hope that these findings will guide surgical decision-making by spine surgeons,” he said.
Cormas plans to attend a combined medical and doctoral program, to practice surgery and conduct neuroimmunology research. (Photo by Lathan Goumas, University Communications)
Cormas plans to pursue a combined medical and doctoral program, with the long-term goal of practicing surgery and leading ongoing translational neuroimmunology research.
Lukens, the Harrison Distinguished Teaching Associate Professor in the Department of Neuroscience, praised Cormas for his motivation and productivity.
“Nicholas is on a completely different level, and that is not an exaggeration,” he wrote in a letter of recommendation. “The amount of publication-quality data that Nicholas has generated in his three years in the lab as an undergraduate researcher has been absolutely astounding.”
Lukens cited Cormas’s ability to pick up new techniques and scientific concepts, coupled with his work ethic and positive attitude. He said these traits have enabled Cormas to reach a high level of independence in the lab.
For Cormas, joining the Goldwater Scholars’ cohort is a chance to be part of a national community of scholars, past and present.
Cormas is the founder and president of Charlottesville Access Project, a UVA student organization that works with the Virginia Department of Health and local community organizations to improve public accessibility of medical, legal, financial and social resources. He also works with the UVA School of Medicine’s Homeless Health Outreach executive board as student liaison to the International Street Medicine Institute Student Coalition. This summer, he plans to continue his research at the University of California, San Francisco, as one of 50 national scholars in the Summer Research Training Program.
“I initially viewed science as a rigid, extremely methodical discipline,” Cormas said. “While there’s certainly a place for strict methodology when running a specific lab procedure, I’ve come to enjoy the parts of science that involve an ‘outside-the-box’ approach.”
Anisha Jarang
Jarang, of St. Louis, a materials science and engineering major in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, researches polymers and gold nanoparticles. She has pursued a variety of soft-matter research, from computationally designing a DNA nanodevice to working on sustainable bioplastics.
“My experiences in soft matter have built upon and reinforced each other, setting me up with the skills to innovate materials across boundaries,” Jarang said. “My research crosses so many different disciplines, and I truly believe so many of our modern materials challenges can, and should, be solved through interdisciplinary collaborations and developments.”
She plans to pursue a doctorate in materials science and engineering after her undergraduate work.
Jarang plans to pursue a doctorate in materials science and engineering after her undergraduate work. (Photo by Lathan Goumas, University Communications)
“Materials science is so cool because it is about fundamental nanoscale structure-property-performance relationships that can be applied in so many fields, from sustainable materials to medical applications to next-generation electronics,” she said.
UVA engineering professor Jerry Floro describes Jarang as “a great citizen of the University.”
“I have taught her in three courses, and she has always impressed me with her curiosity, engagement and a clear desire to learn and develop as a scientist who appears to be uncoupled to any obsession with GPA,” he said.
Her accomplishments expand beyond the classroom.
Jarang chairs Materials Advantage, a national student organization that offers access to four leading materials-related professional societies. She also works with the Department of Materials Science and Engineering to bring academic, social and professional development opportunities to the major, the department and the chapter. She is also a member of the Outdoors Club.
In the summer of 2025, she was a research intern in Germany, working to develop bio-based, biodegradable plastics with improved thermal and mechanical properties.
