Annmarie Farag and Isabella Vasquez’s research into antidepressants and nanotechnology, respectively, helped distinguish them from a crowded applicant pool.
Among the recipients of the esteemed Barry Goldwater Scholarship’s 2025 class, 18 come from Texas, two of whom are from Texas Tech University’s Honors College.
Those include Annmarie Farag, a cell & molecular biology major with a minor in chemistry, and Isabella Vasquez, who is majoring in biochemistry and minoring in forensic science. This is the first year since 2008 that two Texas Tech students have been awarded.
Farag and Vasquez had significant help along the way in the form of recognition from research mentors and reference letters, distinguishing the students from fierce national competition. The Goldwater Scholarship aims to support students seeking research careers in engineering, mathematics and the sciences.
Both Farag and Vasquez plan to pursue doctorate degrees.
An Enthusiastic Researcher
Some people who enroll in medical school don’t discover they’re a square peg in a round hole until well into their time in school.
Luckily, that wasn’t the case for Isabella Vasquez.
During her time at DeBakey High School for Health Professions, located on Houston’s Texas Medical Center Campus, Vasquez had a front-row view of the life of doctors in numerous fields through her time shadowing physicians. Those experiences made it clear medical school was not for her.
Instead, following graduation she arrived at Texas Tech ready to begin the Pre-Pharmacy pathway.
A year into her time on campus, Vasquez enrolled in the Honors College and joined the Undergraduate Research Scholars (URS) program, which provided a different outlook on her future.
“After I joined my lab, that was more when I shifted to research,” Vasquez said. “Now, I’m thinking of pursuing biomedical engineering or pharmaceutical sciences for my Ph.D.”
As she conducted more research into oncology, focused on the study, diagnosis and treatment of cancer, Vasquez learned the vast number of possibilities for addressing cancer. Through URS, she’s attended conferences such as the 2024 annual meeting for the Biomedical Engineering Society last October, which revealed even more approaches.
“There were people doing tissue engineering and stem cell therapy; some people were 3D printing artery stents for implantation,” said Vasquez. “It was really neat.”
Among the varying avenues is nanotechnology, or the application of diagnostics and drugs measuring less than 100 nanometers. Vasquez seized the subject for her Goldwater application, submitting a paper titled “Albumin-Chaperoned Semiconducting Polymer Nanoparticles with Improved NIRII Signal Brightness Enables Pan-Ovarian Tumor Imaging.”
She was led by her mentor Indrajit Srivastava, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering, and Archie Pitsilides, director of the Honors College’s Prestigious External Student Awards.
Pitsilides guided her through converting the project Vasquez had been working on for roughly 18 months into an essay. Although she had presented on the topic before, she learned a new side of the research industry as she endured the arduous task of condensing her work and tailoring the essay to its eventual readers.
Over the course of the application process, while receiving help from Pitsilides and requesting recommendation letters, Vasquez discovered how well-known and competitive the Goldwater scholarship is in STEM.
That made getting the news that she was selected an even nicer surprise.
Srivastava has served as an impactful role model through his sincerity and ability to answer almost everything Vasquez brings to him. His work as a researcher is what Vasquez intends to follow as she seeks a doctorate and aims to carve out a contributing yet self-sufficient role in the pharmaceutical industry.
Paying It Forward
Farag’s connection with one of her mentors, Arubala Reddy, dates back to before her time at Texas Tech. Reddy is an assistant professor of nutritional sciences.
A Lubbock native, Farag attended Lubbock High School and started assisting Reddy on various projects related to Alzheimer’s and metabolic syndrome in the brain during her senior year. After dedicating countless hours to neuroscience and learning to appreciate the field under Reddy’s tutelage, Farag discovered neuroscience was her future.
She was aided in this decision during a summer 2024 internship with the American Heart Association, in which Farag received the unique opportunity to devise her own project.
“That was very exciting, because not many mentors let undergraduates just do what they want,” said Farag. “Being able to create my project and follow through with it the entire summer, I think that’s what made me love neuroscience.”
One of the biggest lifts for her Goldwater application was the research essay on selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), or antidepressants.
Days ago, Farag presented her research at a conference as part of the Honors College’s Undergraduate Research Scholar program. This latest development was a substantial milestone for a project that began with a vastly different ambition her freshman year.
Her original objective was assessing the differences in genetic markers between males and females, determining serotonin levels had the widest margin. From there, she and Reddy treated subjects with SSRIs, and the research continued to build incrementally.
Every time the project uncovered new results, its scope grew, which more than compensated for the frequent days of dogged investigation.
Farag wasn’t impatient. She set goals for each time she was in the lab, focusing painstakingly on her work and not leaving until it all was accomplished.
Her discipline was bolstered by her passion for research and Reddy’s ever-comforting presence and wisdom. And those payoff moments were made extra special by what preceded it.
“How my research worked was, you didn’t know anything until you found the results,” Farag said. “So, that one day when you do find the results, it seems like everything is worth it and it’s such an amazing feeling. It’s so fulfilling to see that your work hasn’t been going to waste.”
After she completed her first draft, Farag took her essay to Pitsilides. She also had another professor not specializing in neuroscience read it to ensure the essay was digestible for outside audiences.
Farag’s gratification for completing the most laborious part of her application was immense.
“Not only for the application, but just to see my research come to fruition and have a cohesive essay about it was really amazing,” she said.
Much of Farag’s story highlights the importance of mentorship and immersive experiences, dating back to her interning at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in high school.
Though Farag grew up in Lubbock, touring Texas Tech on field trips in middle and high school, her older brother attending the university was another significant factor in attracting her to don the scarlet and black.
Pitsilides was the one to originally mention applying to Goldwater, but it was the advice of her brother, Andrew Ibrahim, who also earned the scholarship, that encouraged Farag to take the leap.
She’s proud of what she’s accomplished thus far; she’s excited about the future research she’ll conduct. But Farag’s ultimate goal is to repay the kindness shown to her by her mentors by passing it on to those who will come after her.
She’s already got a head start as a mentor in the Honors College’s Bayless Elementary Mentoring Program.
“After I get my Ph.D., I want to be able to mentor undergrads or high schoolers in neuroscience and give back what’s been given to me through the NIH,” Farag said.