WashU juniors Omar Abdelmoity, Cedric Bruges, Noah Kabbaj and Marilee Karinshak have received the Barry Goldwater Scholarship, a prestigious award that honors students who conduct research in the natural sciences, mathematics and engineering.
Omar Abdelmoity, a biology major in Arts & Sciences and an Ervin Scholar, plans to become a physician, working at the intersection of clinical care, public policy and research to address health-care disparities. Abdelmoity, of Overland Park, Kan., is a MARC USTAR scholar studying genetic forms of Alzheimer’s disease in the Ances lab at WashU Medicine. Abdelmoity also has studied rising rates of Black youth suicide, conducting research at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute, Children’s Mercy Hospital and the D.C Department of Behavioral Health. Abdelmoity is a member of Student Union, the WashU Academic Integrity Board and a Gephardt Institute Civic Scholar. Abdelmoity was also a 2025 finalist for the Truman Scholarship.
Cedric Bruges, a biology and French major in Arts & Sciences, plans to earn an MD/PhD in immunology and cancer biology, developing superior cell and gene therapies for cancer patients. Bruges, of Des Peres, Mo., started his career in research in high school, joining the lab of John F. DiPersio, MD, PhD, the Virginia E. and Sam J. Golman Endowed Professor of Oncology at WashU Medicine. He was a member of the WashU Vagelos Fellowship and is currently investigating how CAR-T cell therapies interact with the immune system. Bruges also participates in clinical research at the St. Louis Children’s Hospital Emergency Department and is co-founder and editor-in-chief of the Washington University Journal of Undergraduate Research.
Noah Kabbaj, a biology major in Arts & Sciences and a Rodriguez Scholar, plans to earn a PhD in neuroscience and to research psychiatric disease. Kabbaj, of Tallahassee, Fla., was selected as a first-year student to join the university’s prestigious ENDURE research program and is now a MARC USTAR scholar in the lab of Jordan McCall, PhD, an associate professor of anesthesiology at WashU Medicine. In the McCall lab, he studies electroconvulsive therapy to better understand the mechanisms underlying psychiatric disorders and their treatments. Kabbaj is head of speakers for TEDx WUSTL and was a member of Lock & Chain, WashU’s oldest sophomore honorary.
Marilee Karinshak, who is majoring in environmental analysis in Arts & Sciences, aspires to earn a PhD in earth system science. She plans to conduct geospatial research to forecast large-scale climate dynamics and to develop effective strategies to improve community resilience. Karinshak, of Lawrenceville, Ga., works in the Vierstra lab studying plant responses to environmental stress. She also has analyzed long-term air pollution in Hampton Roads, Va., as a member of the competitive NASA DEVELOP program. Karinshak is a member of the WashU varsity women’s soccer team, which won the 2024 national title, and founded the Environment in Literature Club.
