Cream Ridge resident, University of Richmond student receives national Goldwater scholarship for biology research focused on frogs

April 12, 2017

Andrew Levorse, of Cream Ridge, New Jersey, was awarded the prestigious Barry Goldwater Scholarship for his research on frog diseases and immunity. Levorse, a junior, is majoring in biology with a minor in chemistry. He is on a pre-vet track at University of Richmond.

“It's inspiring to be awarded this scholarship as a pre-vet student,” Levorse said. “Receiving this scholarship shows that regardless of your specific passions, integrating various disciplines, such as wildlife physiology and epidemiology, is not an impossible task.”

Levorse’s research focuses on frog’s different immunity mechanisms in response to disease and how these interactions affect disease susceptibility in frog populations.

“Frogs are indicators of an environment’s health, so understanding what diseases affect frogs helps us understand other environmental stressors,” Levorse explained. “Frogs are an important part of the ecosystem, so anything we can learn about threats to them is important.”

After graduating from UR, Levorse plans to pursue a degree in veterinary medicine with a focus on wildlife health. He hopes to combine medicine and research to develop scientific understanding and incorporate it into methods for treating wildlife.

The Barry Goldwater Scholarship, created in honor of the late Arizona senator, is awarded to undergraduate students with excellent academic records to encourage the pursuit of careers in mathematics, natural sciences and engineering.

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