Inspired by Injury, Bucknell Student Researcher Wins Goldwater Scholarship

It's an odd coincidence that a sudden blow to the head started Ian Vogel '19 on the path that led him to receiving a Goldwater Scholarship — one of the most prestigious academic awards an undergraduate student can garner, and one that's likely to give him his choice of graduate programs where he'll pursue a Ph.D. in neuroscience.

Vogel, now a neuroscience major at Bucknell, was a 15-year-old novice snowboarder when he followed his more-experienced friends off a jump and landed headfirst. He was diagnosed with a concussion, and as he spent the next few days in a darkened room as prescribed for his recovery, he began to wonder about the fragile nature of the brain.

From that moment Vogel was determined to learn more, and it was the opportunity to start exploring his questions right away that drew him to Bucknell. He received a Presidential Fellows scholarship, a merit-based award that allowed him to begin doing research alongside his professors in his first year.

"Getting the opportunity to be in a lab from day one was the most exciting thing that could happen," he said. "At another school it would have taken a year or two at least before I could do that, and it might not have been about something that's as meaningful to me."

For the past few years, Vogel has worked alongside Professor Jennie Stevenson, psychology, on a study examining the negative impact of social isolation on the biology of the brain and how a particular brain chemical might fight that effect. He calls his research with Stevenson the foundation of the Goldwater Scholarship he received March 30.

"Not only in the lab, but just as a person, every interaction I have with her makes me better in some way," Vogel said of his mentor. "When I'm struggling, she knows why, and how I can be better. There's no way I would have been a position to even apply for this award without her pushing me the whole way during my project."

The award from the Barry Goldwater Scholarship & Excellence in Education Foundation — established by Congress in honor of the longtime senator from Arizona — will provide Vogel $7,500 for his senior-year tuition. Perhaps more importantly, it is among the highest honors an undergraduate student of math, natural sciences or engineering can receive, and will put him at the head of the pack in applying to graduate schools.

Once he reaches graduate school, Vogel wants to apply the research skills he's honed at Bucknell to focus on one of the most common and devastating neurodegenerative diseases: Alzheimer's.

"What we've seen in elderly populations is that people who are alone die quicker, while people in social contact live longer and are healthier by a ton of different measures," he explained. "I'm trying to understand why and how these things occur and how you can prevent the damage, because it has real-world implications for health outcomes."

It's an effort Vogel has already begun in his work outside the classroom. For his fraternity, Tau Kappa Epsilon, he chairs the Reagan Run, a charity team relay travelling from Bucknell to Washington, D.C., that last year raised more than $65,000 for the Alzheimer's Association.

Vogel is the latest in a string of Bucknell undergraduates to earn Goldwater Scholarships. Cell biology/biochemistry major Lisa Francomacaro '18 and animal behavior major Mae Lacey '18 received the honor in 2017, following mathematics major Nathan Wagner '17 in 2016 and dual animal behavior and applied mathematical sciences major Meredith Lutz '17 in 2015. This year, the foundation also awarded honorable mentions to math major Eben Blaisdell ’19 and environmental engineering major Dalton Stewart ’19.