STARS Program

Genetics and cell biology major Sean Thompson one of eight Goldwater Scholars.

In a light-filled laboratory, Nick Negretti grows bacteria. “I love pathogens,” says Negretti, who is a graduate student in the WSU School of Molecular Biosciences. “They are so interesting. In each of us, there are more bacterial cells than human cells,” he says. “And while most bacteria are helpful, there are a few that make us […]

Keesha Matz wants to understand some of the world’s deadliest viruses. Raised in Chehalis, Washington, her love for microbiology began in a molecular genetics high school class taught by WSU alumnus Henri Weeks. “The class gave me a real feel for research, which I think is unique for a high school class,” says Matz. That […]

Travis Kent will be one of the first students to earn a doctorate through the Students Targeted toward Advanced Research Studies, or STARS.

James Bonner loves science. As a freshman, James knew he wanted to major in biochemistry, so when he was selected to be part of the new hands-on Science Education Alliance biology lab, or SEA lab, in the WSU School of Molecular Biosciences, he was thrilled. “The lab brings abstract scientific concepts into everyday learning,” said […]

Unlike a lot of high school students, Ross Rowsey, a senior in the School of Molecular Biosciences, and Kathryn Jewett, a graduate student in the Department of Veterinary and Comparative Anatomy, Pharmacology, and Physiology (now Integrative Physiology and Neuroscience), knew they wanted to go to graduate school. So when each learned about the accelerated graduate school programs in the college, they knew it would be the right course for them.