Julia Coric, a rising senior studying chemistry in WashU Arts & Sciences, has been selected as an Astronaut Scholar for the 2026-27 school year. She is among 79 students from 54 universities selected for the prestigious award.
The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation offers scholars the opportunity to attend an innovators symposium and gala in Houston; present at the Astronaut Scholar technical conference; and participate in mentoring and professional development programs. Students also receive a scholarship of up to $15,000. The scholarship is open to juniors and seniors interested in pursuing research in science, technology, engineering and math disciplines.
Coric is an undergraduate researcher in Alexander Knights’ lab at WashU Medicine, where she studies cellular signaling pathways involved in osteoarthritis, a painful and debilitating joint disease. Coric is investigating how extracellular physical forces impact similar signaling logic in musculoskeletal tissue. Coric also conducted an independent research project on mammalian intestinal development at the Yale School of Medicine. Her findings surprised experts in the lab and reminded Coric there is always more to learn. After graduation, she plans to earn an MD/PhD.
“Regardless of expertise or experience, scientists are continuously probing the unknown and discovering new biochemical insights within living systems that are constantly dynamic and evolving,” Coric wrote in her personal statement. “I realized that as a scientist, I will never be ‘finished’ studying any field I enter. There will always be more to find, and that endless frontier has become my motivation to pursue research.”
Coric is a member of the WashU women’s track-and-field team, the Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity and Bear Cubs Running Club.
