UNLV undergraduate biology major Archana "Archie" Nelliot, 20, recently won a prestigious national scholarship.
And she says she owes it to the fruit flies she's been studying.
The India-born Las Vegas resident is the only Nevada student and one of only 310 recipients nationwide to win a 2005 Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship for her undergraduate research in the natural sciences out of 1,113 nominated applicants.
Nelliot, a junior at UNLV, said she thinks she won the $7,500 award because of her ongoing research work with UNLV biology professor Deborah Hoshizaki. Nelliot has been working in Hoshizaki's laboratory since her freshman year, examining tissue disassociation in fruit flies in order to better understand the phenomenon in humans.
"They are the coolest animals on the face of the planet," Nelliot said of the flies.
As fruit flies develop, their tissue particles break apart or disassociate themselves from each other, Nelliot said.
Similar disassociation happens in humans when cancer metastasizes and as wounds heal.
The flies have similar genes and processes as humans but are much easier to study in a controlled environment, Nelliot said. This allows researchers to be able to identify genes and hormones that either help or hinder tissue disassociation, she said.
Considered the premier undergraduate research award in its field, the Goldwater scholarships often pave a student's way into some of the world's most respected post-graduate fellowship programs, including the Rhodes Scholarship and the Marshall Award.
The federal award was named in honor of the late senator from Arizona in 1986.
Nelliot said she is hoping the scholarship will help her earn a spot in a joint doctorate and medical school program.
Nelliot said she is fascinated with cell and molecular biology and is aiming for a career in biomedical research.
"It's a field that will continue to develop no matter how much we know about science," Nelliot said.
She said she's particularly enthralled with the process of human development from two single-celled organisms coming together to form an embryo to the eventual development of a fully-formed adult.
"Life is interesting ... there has to be so much that has to happen to make it work," Nelliot said. "It seems almost impossible and yet it happens."
Despite her undergraduate work, Nelliot said she was still "shocked" to receive the competitive scholarship.
Her professor, however, wasn't surprised.
"Archie is an extraordinately talented young lady. and it has been great fun working with her since her freshman year," Hoshizaki said in a statement.
"She is an outstanding student with a brilliant future, and this award is a tribute to both her hard work and dedication to research."
archive