For the third year in a row, two Fordham students have been awarded the Goldwater Scholarship, the most prestigious national award for undergraduates pursuing STEM research.
As 2026 Goldwater Scholars, Fordham juniors Liana Cutter and Jenna Cain will each receive up to $7,500 and join a network of more than 11,000 scholars recognized over the past 40 years—some of whom have gone on to become NSF Graduate Research Fellows, Marshall Scholars, and Rhodes Scholars.
Cutter and Cain were selected for their significant record as undergraduate researchers. Both have published papers in national research journals and between them, they have given 7 presentations at national and regional conferences. Just last month, they both presented papers at the American Chemical Society’s spring meeting in Atlanta.
Lorna Ronald, PhD, director of the Office of Fellowship Advising, said that with two students again earning Goldwater Scholarships, Fordham is demonstrating that its STEM students are receiving the support they need to excel in research.
“These students are working at the level of the strongest undergraduate researchers across the U.S.” she said.
Developing New Cancer Drugs
Cutter, a biochemistry major, came to Fordham hoping to gain lab experience unavailable to her in her native Costa Rica. In her first semester, she began working in the lab of biochemistry professor Ipsita Banerjee, PhD, where she designs peptide drugs that will selectively target cancer tumors.
She has also undertaken research assistantships at Mount Sinai Hospital and the Human Epilepsy Project. Each opportunity has given her a unique perspective on how drugs are conceived (through Banerjee’s lab), tested (through clinical trials at Mount Sinai), and assessed in the long term (at the Epilepsy Project).
The journey has prepared her for the MD/PhD that she plans to pursue after graduation.
“Dr. Banerjee took a chance on me when I had zero experience and had never even seen a pipette before. She saw in me a desire to learn,” she said. “I’m very grateful to her and to all my other mentors who gave me the chance to start my career exactly the way I envisioned.”
Designing Novel Experiments
Cain, an engineering physics major, knew she wanted to be a researcher before she even enrolled at Fordham. The summer before her senior year at the Ursuline School in New Rochelle, she was invited to shadow Fordham student Sophie Epstein, then a rising junior working in the lab of chemistry professor Nicholas Sawyer, PhD.
“She helped me fall in love with research that summer, and when I say fall in love, I don’t mean that lightly. I was like, ‘This is what I’m gonna do for the rest of my life,’” she said.
The experience inspired her to enroll at Fordham. In her first year, she took charge of a new project in the Sawyer Lab, where she worked on creating a collection of more than 80 amino acids that can be integrated into peptides. This allows researchers to explore ways to design powerful peptide drugs to treat diseases from cancer to diabetes.
Last summer, she also participated in a selective NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) at the University of Michigan. Her research there focused on developing a process for connecting thermophotovoltaic cells. The cells are similar to those in solar panels, which convert light into electricity, except they convert heat into electricity.
It’s an area that she’s eager to pursue further upon graduation, bolstered by skills she learned at Fordham: how to ask the right questions, write grant proposals, and effectively communicate research to a wider audience.
“As a researcher, you get to be a professional learner,” she said. “It’s up to you to ask the questions and figure out how to design experiments to begin answering them.” ”
The Goldwater Foundation is a federally endowed, independent agency established in 1986. The scholarship program honoring Senator Barry Goldwater was designed to identify, encourage, and financially support outstanding undergraduates interested in pursuing research careers in the sciences, engineering, and mathematics.
