Regan Kopesky named Goldwater Scholar

Regan Kopesky, a Central Michigan University junior from Gaines, MI, has been awarded a prestigious Goldwater Scholarship. Kopesky is an Honors Program student pursuing majors in biology and biochemistry. 

“Growing up in a rural area meant that opportunities for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) involvement were often limited,” Kopesky said. However, her curiosity and determination continuously motivated her to seek out activities for learning and hands-on research experiences.

“In 2022, I participated in a summer fellowship. I spent 400 hours over 10 weeks conducting cell culture, aseptic technique, protein purification, and even learning cryogenic electron microscopy to explore plasma membrane-bound organelles following CHMP1B protein over-expression,” she said.

Kopesky is currently working with her research advisor, Xantha Karp, on a C. elegans project that aims to identify how animals develop normally after diapause. Her aim is to identify RNA-binding proteins that are required for alg-1(null) mutants to develop normally after dauer diapause. Experimental trials in the Karp lab are complex and can take over seven months to complete, she said, but she feels up to the challenge.

“Successful experiments are satisfying to every scientist, but the adaptation and complex thinking that comes with failure has proven just as important to my learning,” she said. 

Kopesky worked with Karp and Maureen Harke, director of the CMU National Scholarship Program, during the Goldwater competition. The Goldwater Foundation supports college sophomores and juniors who demonstrate strong potential to join the next generation of STEM researchers. Kopesky was selected from a competitive pool of 1,353 applicants from 446 institutions to receive this award. 

Kopesky is grateful for the transformative impact of her undergraduate research experiences and the mentorship she received, but she also recognizes the value of her background. 

"Being from a rural, working-class family has influenced my work ethic as well as shaped me into the capable and strong-willed woman that I am today," she said. “And Dr. Xantha Karp and Dr. Himal Roka are great mentors!” 

“I am incredibly grateful for all the experiences I have had at CMU,” she said. “I really owe my success and financial freedom to excel in research to the Honors program and my parents. My Centralis Scholarship has been a life-changer.”