Adam Gatch named Clemson’s third Churchill Scholar in three years

For the third year in a row, a Clemson University student has won a Churchill Scholarship, widely seen as the most prestigious and competitive international science, mathematics and engineering award for post-undergraduate researchers.

Adam Gatch, a biochemistry Honors student from Charleston, South Carolina, was one of only 16 students nationwide to receive the award, which covers one year of master’s study at the University of Cambridge.

Gatch’s achievement makes Clemson the only university whose students have been awarded a Churchill Scholarship in each of the last three years.  

“We are immensely proud of Adam and excited to see the incredible work he will accomplish at Cambridge,” said Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Robert H. Jones. “Celebrating a third Churchill Scholar over three consecutive years is a remarkable achievement that reflects Clemson’s dedication to fostering research and learning opportunities that empower our students to apply their talents to make a meaningful impact on the world.”

Gatch plans to pursue a Master of Philosophy in chemistry and work with Professor Tuomas Knowles at the Centre for Misfolding Diseases, a leading research center dedicated to understanding the abnormal behavior of proteins in the brain in neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

“It’s a great honor to win the Churchill Scholarship. I’m very excited to work with one of the most prominent researchers within my field in the world,” said Gatch. “The Knowles lab is a perfect fit for me, and there is no better environment for my continued growth as a young researcher.”

From the cosmos to the brain

Growing up, Gatch was fascinated by the vastness of the universe and how, no matter how much we explore, there would always be something new to discover.

He was also intrigued by how the physics of the very small could be used to explain the astronomically large. At one point, Gatch thought about the possibility of becoming an astrophysicist.

Over time, however, Gatch’s focus narrowed down from the universe to the human body.

“I’ve always been captivated by the study of life at the molecular level,” said Gatch. “It’s remarkable to learn how disease at the macroscopic level can be understood through the underlying physics and chemistry governing cells and molecules.”

Gatch’s Clemson research focuses on understanding the abnormal aggregation of disease-associated proteins and how interactions between different proteins contribute to the progression of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders.

Though Gatch is broadly interested in neuroscience, his specific interest in neurodegeneration is fueled in part by his experience witnessing a family member’s struggle with an unknown neurodegenerative disorder.

He started exploring neurodegeneration during his second semester on campus when he approached Feng Ding, a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, about joining his biophysics research lab.

Ding’s research group runs physics-based simulations on a supercomputer to track the movement of atoms within molecules, which can be used to study abnormal interactions between proteins that are relevant to neurodegenerative disease. He says it quickly became apparent that Gatch was a highly motivated and quick learner.

“From the very beginning, from learning about how to work with supercomputers and his projects with graduate students in the lab, I could see Adam had great potential,” said Ding. “Since then, Adam has started to work independently on his own research and has authored and co-authored four peer-reviewed papers, underscoring his ability to make substantive contributions to our ongoing research projects.”

In addition to his research with Ding, Gatch spent the summer before his sophomore year at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), researching how neuroimaging could be used to predict how patients with Parkinson’s disease might respond to a specific drug therapy.

This project was supported by an application Gatch wrote — and won — for a $10,000 National Institutes of Health Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Grant Supplement.

Gatch has also worked with Bioengineering Professor Jeoung Soo Lee on projects using rodent models to study nanoparticle therapeutic strategies for treating traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries and conducted clinical research through the University’s selective Clinical Undergraduate Research Experiences in Surgery (CURES) course.

His work has earned him several other scholarships, honors and awards, including a 2024 Goldwater scholarship.

Making a difference

When he’s not in the lab, Gatch volunteers at the campus food pantry, serves as a member of the College of Science Student Advisory Board and works as a tutor at the University’s Academic Success Center.

Gatch also works as an EMT for a medical transport company, a job that has strengthened his commitment to his research interests and motivations.

“Many of the patients I care for are bed-bound with an advanced, highly progressed form of neurodegenerative disease, whether it be Alzheimer’s or something more mysterious,” said Gatch. “It’s important to me to see with my own eyes how these diseases affect people, how it affects their families, and how crucial it is for me to develop through my research efforts an improved, multi-scale understanding of neurodegenerative disease and potential treatment avenues.”

Gatch hopes to blend his passion for research and patient care by working as a physician-scientist, starting with a residency in neurosurgery or neurocritical care after completing his M.D. and Ph.D. Gatch aspires to one day lead an interdisciplinary laboratory dedicated to neuroscience discovery while working in academic medicine.

“If I have learned anything from my research experience, it is that there is still so much we don’t know,” said Gatch. “There’s so much to learn and I have come to realize that my greatest passion is scientific discovery. In my career, I hope to discover new things about the brain and what goes wrong in the diseases that affect it.”

About the Churchill Scholarship

Established in honor of Sir Winston Churchill, the Churchill Scholarship program advances science and technology on both sides of the Atlantic. Only a select number of universities can nominate up to two students each year for this award.

The scholarship’s total value is about $75,000, covering tuition, roundtrip airfare to the United Kingdom, visa fees, a health surcharge and stipend. Recipients are selected on the basis of their academic and research achievement.

For the 16 Churchill Scholarships in mathematics, science, and engineering, the Foundation received 127 nominations from 82 participating institutions, making this year tied for the largest application pool in the program’s history.

Students interested in the Churchill Scholarship or other nationally competitive programs should contact the Office of Major Fellowships at 864-656-9704 or fellowships@clemson.edu.