Adam Gatch, an Honors biochemistry student from Charleston, South Carolina, has been named a Churchill scholar.
Clemson University is the only school in the nation to have three Churchill Scholars in the last three years. 18 students throughout the United States were selected this year. At the quarterly Board of Trustees meeting on Feb. 7, Gatch was recognized by the board for his numerous achievements.
“I am very happy for the university. Not Harvard, not Princeton, not Yale but Clemson University is the only school to have a Churchill Scholar in each of the last three years. I am truly honored to be part of the upward trajectory Clemson is currently on, and I am excited to see what Clemson students continue to do in the future,” Adam Gatch told The Tiger in an interview.
The Churchill Scholarship is considered to be “the most prestigious and competitive international science, mathematics and engineering award for post-undergraduate researchers,” according to Clemson News. The program includes one year of master’s study at the University of Cambridge in England.
The Churchill Scholarship is named after Winston Churchill, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and aims to “advance science and technology on both sides of the Atlantic,” according to Clemson News. The scholarship is valued at approximately $75,000. This is for “tuition, roundtrip airfare to the United Kingdom, visa fees, a health surcharge and stipend.”
Gatch hopes to obtain a masters of philosophy degree in chemistry while working at the Centre for Misfolding Diseases, located in the department of chemistry at the University of Cambridge. The Centre for Misfolding Diseases researches “protein misfolding disorders, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases and type II diabetes,” according to their website.
“I know he will make a significant impact as he continues to grow his research at the University of Cambridge,” Clemson University President Jim Clements wrote in an Instagram post.
Gatch’s area of focus is neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzeimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, which he noted during the Board of Trustees meeting.
As a second-semester freshman, Gatch started working with Dr. Feng Ding, a Physics and Astronomy Department professor, in his biophysics research lab. The summer before his sophomore year, he conducted research at the Medical University of South Carolina after winning a $10,000 grant for the National Institutes of Health Research Experience for Undergraduates. Additionally, he won the Goldwater Scholarship in 2024.
“I have worked very hard during my time at Clemson and sacrificed a lot, so there is an element of gratification in seeing the work pay off. While the research itself is exciting, to be doing this as a Churchill Scholar is very special, and it still feels a bit surreal to be named one,” Gatch told The Tiger.
Only certain universities are allowed to nominate students, and only two can be nominated from each university. This year, there were 82 universities who nominated a total of 127 students, which is the “largest application pool in the program’s history,” according to Clemson News.
