Selected Beckman Scholars must:

• Provide a headshot within 3 days of selection notification
• Consent to have their transcript released to the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation
• Remain in good academic standing
• Complete the Honors College Research Skills Workshops Certificate Program
• Conduct an honors thesis and participate in the Thesis Pitch Competition
• Present at the Georgia State Undergraduate Research Conference
• Meet with the Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships to discuss the feasibility of submitting at least one national fellowship or scholarship application
• Demonstrate a strong commitment to exemplary scientific and academic ethics as set forth in Arnold O. Beckman’s Rules for Success

• Applications are due by March 10, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time.
• Finalists will be notified and invited to an interview preparation workshop in late March/early April.
• Finalist interviews will be conducted in early- to mid-April.
• Selected Beckman Scholars will be announced in late April/early May.

The Beckman Scholars Program at Georgia State will uphold the principles and values set forth in the Arnold & Mabel Beckman Foundation Justice, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policy.

Read the full policy here.

The Beckman Scholars Program selection committee looks at the student applicant’s overall GPA, including transfer credits.  

No. Only students majoring in biomedical sciences, biology, chemistry, or neuroscience are eligible to apply. 

No. Eligible student applicants must be enrolled at Georgia State and ready to start as a Beckman Scholar in Summer 2024.  

Yes. Students who intend to conduct research as part of their medical career are eligible. However, the onus is on student applicants to provide convincing proof of their intent to conduct research. 

Yes. You may apply again if you meet eligibility criteria, including the stated graduation date requirement.  

Sarah Brosnan is a professor of psychology, neuroscience and philosophy. Her research explores the behavioral, cognitive and hormonal mechanisms underlying decision-making across a variety of species, particularly non-human primates, and how these decisions are influenced by ecology and the social environment.

Cynthia Nau Cornelissen is a Distinguished University Professor, associate director of the Institute for Biomedical Sciences and the director of the Center for Translational Immunology. Her research is interested in characterizing virulence factors that enable the sexually-transmitted pathogen, N. gonorrhoeae, to cause infection.

Daniel Cox is a professor of biology and neuroscience. Research in the Cox Lab is focused on dissecting the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the specification and modulation of neural connectivity with an emphasis on the control of dendrite development and circuitry driving nociceptive pain in Drosophila in the context of both health and neurological disease.

Dr. Du is a Distinguished University Professor in the Institute for Biomedical Sciences. Her research mainly focuses on the rational design and development of effective and safe vaccines and therapeutic agents to prevent and treat infection caused by coronaviruses and flaviviruses, and understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms of these viruses.

Giovanni Gadda is a Distinguished University Professor of chemistry. His research group investigates mechanistic enzymology of redox enzymes, with a specific interest in flavin-dependent enzymes and how enzymes can influence the energetics of reaction intermediates and transition states.

Jordan Hamm is an assistant professor of neuroscience, and his lab conducts basic research on mammalian cortical circuits with paradigms and approaches designed to provide deeper insight into neuropsychiatric diseases, such as schizophrenia.

Sang-Moo Kang is a professor in the Institute of Biomedical Sciences. His research is focused on designing and developing effective vaccines against viral diseases, better understanding vaccine-induced protective immune mechanisms and studying pathogen-induced inflammation and developing anti-inflammatory therapeutics.

Angela Mabb is an assistant professor of neuroscience, and her research uses and develops molecular biology methods and tools to explore cell signaling pathways involved in nervous system function and disease.

Anne Murphy is professor of biology, gerontology and neuroscience. Her research focuses on the impact of sex and age on pain and opiate responsiveness as well as the impact of early life experience on adult pain and stress responsiveness.

Marise Parent is a professor of neuroscience and psychology. Her lab uses a rodent model to explore the brain mechanisms through which memory controls eating behavior and how obesity disrupts these neural controls and increases the risk and severity of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Erin Tone is an associate professor of psychology, and her research investigates the ways in which anxious people behave in social situations and the cognitive, emotional, and neural processes that contribute to both their adaptive and their maladaptive interactions.

Desiree Wanders is an assistant professor of nutrition and neuroscience. The Wanders lab uses rodent and cell culture models to study dietary and pharmacologic interventions for obesity-related metabolic dysfunction.