Meenakshi Ambati Awarded Goldwater Scholarship

The department is proud to announce that Meenakshi Ambati has been selected as a 2025 Barry Goldwater Scholar. The Goldwater Scholarship is awarded to students demonstrating strong potential in research careers in the natural sciences, mathematics, and engineering. Meenakshi Ambati is a rising senior majoring in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology with a certificate in Global Health Studies. As a Hahn Scholar, she is performing research in Professor Ruslan Medzhitov’s lab on the evolution of gut-derived immune cells and organs and regulation of mast cell degranulation pertaining to food allergy. Her research has also encompassed inflammasome biology, drug repurposing, and sex-related differences in cataract progression, which was recently recognized with the Barry Goldwater Scholarship. At Yale, she serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Yale Undergraduate Research Journal, volunteers at the HAVEN Free Clinic, and performed research on corporate sustainability. She enjoys making pottery, playing piano, painting landscapes, and encouraging scientific curiosity and engagement among young students.