Junior, 'Energized' by Research, Wins Goldwater Scholarship
Posted on April 10, 2013
Patrick Joseph Short
Patrick Joseph Short, a junior at UNC, has been awarded a 2013 Goldwater Scholarship. Sophomore Anna-Lisa Doebley and junior Vishwajith Sridharan received honorable mentions.
Short is the 40th Goldwater Scholar from Carolina since the program began in 1989. The scholarship provides up to $7,500 per year for educational expenses to sophomores and juniors who intend to pursue careers in mathematics, the natural sciences or engineering.
Short, of Raleigh, is a Morehead-Cain Scholar majoring in applied mathematics and quantitative biology major. He is involved in multiple research studies at Carolina. One of his projects in the DeSimone Lab looks at nanoparticle delivery of therapeutics for autoimmune diseases. In another research group, he’s working on a sensitivity analysis of a mathematical model of the mitotic spindle. The goal of the project is to integrate model data with wet lab data to explore material properties of chromosomal DNA.
A third study examines biological networks, and specifically gene-gene networks, using high throughput sequencing data. The genesis for this study was a 10-week summer internship in the Cook Lab in the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology at Oxford University.
“Working full time in the lab and often coming in on weekends to get extra work done, I became totally energized by the work,” Short said. “My previous doubts about whether or not I would flourish in the research environment were gone, and I began to absorb primary literature, ask questions and investigate with a new-found vigor, fascinated by the potential for discovery at the intersection of mathematics and biology.”
Short plans to pursue medical and doctoral degrees in genetics and conduct clinical research in the genetic basis of disease and personalized medicine. “As sequencing becomes continually cheaper and faster, personalized medicine will allow for more effective treatment in nearly all aspects of human health from cancers to immunology to preventive care,” he said.
Short has been inducted to Phi Beta Kappa and also is a member of the UNC men’s crew team. He was named a 2012 First Team Academic All-American by the American Collegiate Rowing Association.
The Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program of Springfield, Va., announced 271 recipients nationwide from a pool of 1,107 nominees. Congress established the program in 1986 to honor the late Barry M. Goldwater of Arizona, who served in the U.S. Senate for 30 years.
“Patrick is poised for a successful career in genetic medicine,” said Jason Reed, associate professor of biology and head of UNC’s Goldwater selection committee. “He has impressive intellect and communication ability, and here at UNC, he has developed both his computational and experimental skills. He has also spent time in three other countries learning languages and about other cultures.”
A graduate of Sanderson High School, Short was named a Presidential Scholar in 2009, an honor given to 141 high school seniors nationwide by the White House.
Doebley, a biology major of Middleton, Wis., and Sridharan, a chemistry major of McLean, Va., plan to pursue doctoral or medical degrees. Doebley hopes to research treatments for neurodegenerative disorders. Sridharan would like to study translational biophysics in oncology and teach at a university.
More online…
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April 2013 news report - Junior Tapped to Receive Goldwater Scholarship
April 2012 news report - Two From UNC Win Goldwater Scholarships
April 2011 news report - Three Students Win Goldwater Scholarships
April 2010 news report - Two From Carolina Win Goldwater Scholarships
April 2009 news report - Junior Studying Environmental Justice Wins Udall Scholarship
April 2010 news report - Truman Scholar Named, to Study Media and Politics
April 2010 news report
