The Goldwater Scholarship is an ongoing partnership between UWorld, the US Department of Defense National Defense Education Program (NDEP), and the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation.  It is a prestigious and competitive national science prize that chooses winners from a pool of approximately 5000 applicants. In 2026, they awarded 454 sophomores and juniors in the USA.  Guyette is the only UVM student to receive the award this year.  She is the fifteenth UVM student to have won the award since the program began in 1989.

Guyette grew up in Swanton, Vermont, near the Canadian border. She chose UVM in part because she had fond memories of a chemistry camp she attended as a child, held on the UVM campus. She participated in science fairs at her high school, presenting her research on diverse topics ranging from microplastics to eyewitness testimony, but it wasn’t until her high school AP Biology class that she discovered her love of genetics. “I was thinking I wanted to do something in the field of genetic engineering, and I was scrolling through the UVM majors and found the Molecular Genetics major, and that just seemed really interesting,” said Guyette.

Guyette was awarded a UVM Green and Gold scholarship, and she says she chose to stay near her home in part because she wanted to remain close to her two younger sisters who are still living at home. But she is now grateful that she decided to attend UVM because she’s had such an overwhelmingly positive experience. 

“MMG is such a small department, so I feel like I have a really great relationship with all the professors and the advisors. They've been able to introduce me to opportunities and classes that they know will benefit me as a person, which has made me feel really seen, and has given me a truly nurturing environment, which is something that I feel other schools and other programs might not have.” 

The Goldwater Scholarship was established to honor Senator Barry Goldwater. It was designed to identify, encourage, and financially support outstanding undergraduates interested in pursuing research careers in the sciences, engineering, and mathematics. 

“The Department of War’s continued partnership with the Goldwater Foundation ensures we are supporting the development of scientific talent essential to maintaining our Nation’s competitive advantage,” said Dr. Jagadeesh Pamulapati, Principal Director for Science and Technology Foundations, who oversees the NDEP program.

“The Goldwater Scholarship recognizes students who have the curiosity, discipline, and vision to become the next generation of research leaders,” said Dr. Chandra S. Pemmasani, founder and CEO of UWorld. “UWorld is proud to support these scholars as they pursue discoveries that will advance science, strengthen healthcare, and benefit society.”

Goldwater Scholars have gone on to win an impressive array of prestigious awards, becoming National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellows, NSF Graduate Research Fellows, Hertz Fellows, DOE Computational Science Graduate Fellows, Astronaut Scholars, Churchill Scholars, Marshall Scholars, and Rhodes Scholars.

Receiving the Goldwater Scholarship recognizes Guyette’s current research successes at UVM, where she works in the Chatterjee Lab. Guyette admits that she didn't really know what research entailed when she began her degree, but she was intrigued that all the faculty members had their own labs.  She is in the Honors College, and as part of its first-year curriculum, she was tasked with interviewing a research supervisor or PI. She interviewed Dr. Nimrat Chatterjee because Guyette was interested in cancer research. 

“Dr Chatterjee’s work looked really interesting, even though I didn't understand it at all at the time. When I interviewed her, I learned more about her life, her career path, and her research. I clicked with her, both on a personal and a professional level -- which I think is really important -- and I thought her research was super fascinating. So, I reached out shortly after that interview, and then joined her lab in the beginning of my sophomore year,” explains Guyette.“The Chatterjee Lab focuses on the translesion synthesis pathway, which is a DNA damage bypass mechanism. When the cell encounters lots of damage, normally it's supposed to die. But translesion synthesis allows the cell to bypass this damage in a mutagenic fashion to prevent cell death. Because of this, it has lots of implications in cancer formation and resistance. We’re looking at how inhibition of this pathway and furthering our understanding of its role in the cell can be exploited to better cancer therapeutics. One project I’ve worked on so far has looked at how the inhibition of a critical protein in this pathway, REV1, affects the cell cycle. Another has used colorectal cancer models to observe if inhibition of REV1 could sensitize resistant cells to the currently used chemotherapies oxaliplatin and 5-fluorouracil. This past summer, I was awarded funding through the FOUR office (UVM’s Office of Fellowships, Opportunities, & Undergraduate Research), so I got to be on campus over the summer, and that kickstarted my own research projects.” 

When asked how it felt to win the Goldwater scholarship Guyette beams, “I was so happy and proud knowing that all the hard work that I put into the application and my efforts in the lab paid off. It’s super, super rewarding. Something that I believe is going to stay in my mind forever is when I told my mentor the happy news. She started jumping up and down, and her and the rest of the lab were so excited for me. Knowing that I have that support from my lab family, who is always looking out for me, is super, super great. They've put so much effort and time into teaching me and answering my questions. Dr. Chatterjee has been so instrumental to the entire process. I didn't even know about the Goldwater, and she encouraged me to apply for it. So that was amazing. And just having her support through all of my research career, I wouldn't be who I am today without her. And my professors Kari Hodge and Rebecca Guy, they’ve both been amazing.”

Goldwater Campus Representative, Rory Waterman, expressed his admiration for Guyette’s honor, “We are very excited for Madison, her achievement, and how it represented her potential. While Madison is exceptional, her success is not. When UVM students focus on their academic passions, regardless of the field or discipline they are in, they achieve great things.”

Even though she loves research and has spent lots of time in the lab, Guyette has also pursued her other interests while at UVM. She does peer mentoring, supplemental instruction which are review sessions led by students for students in challenging courses, undergrad TA-ing. She is also the President of the Microbiology and Molecular Genetics club.  The club has hosted Undergraduate research panels for students.

Guyette’s advice to incoming students who may feel intimidated about pursuing a career in STEM fields is: “Don’t be intimidated, the sky really is the limit!” Her younger sister, who is a high school senior, was recently accepted to UVM and is interested in BioChem, so she may have begun a family tradition. After she graduates, Guyette is interested in getting her PhD., continuing to focus on cancer and DNA repair research.

Linda Prokopy, dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) expresses the pride of the entire college around Guyette’s achievement, "I am delighted that Madison deepened her passion for cancer science here at UVM, and I am thrilled that she wants to continue and expand her research in this field – it gives me great hope for our future!"

Congratulations Madison Guyette!