Carleton selects third class of Paglia Post-Baccalaureate Research Fellows
Funded by Cathy James Paglia ’74 and her husband Louis Paglia, the program provides two-year research opportunities for three STEM graduates.
Carleton seniors Anna Bridgeman, Benjamin Hafner and Jed Villanueva have been named as the Class of 2022 Paglia Post-Baccalaureate Research Fellows.
Now in its third year, the Paglia Post-Baccalaureate Research Fellowship was established by Carleton alum Cathy James Paglia ’74 and her husband Louis Paglia in order to provide two-year research opportunities at U.S. Research One (R1) institutions for three STEM graduates.
This year’s fellows will join top scientific researchers at those R1 institutions. Under the mentorship of these distinguished scientists, the fellows will have opportunities to advance their skills and strengthen their commitment to a career in research. During their fellowship years, the fellows will have access to the intellectual life of the university, as well as infrastructural and other support for scientific research.
Meet the Class of 2022 Paglia Post-Baccalaureate Research Fellows:
Anna Bridgeman ’22
Anna Bridgeman, a major in biology with a minor in biochemistry, will join the Lydia Finley lab at the Sloan-Kettering Institute through an affiliation with Cornell University’s Weill Medical College in New York City. Under the mentorship of Dr. Finley, Bridgeman will investigate factors in cellular differentiation related to tumor suppression. At Carleton, she participated in Dr. Rou-Jia Sung’s research group and served as both a prefect and a teaching assistant in biology. Two years with the Finley lab will offer Bridgeman the experience of working at the forefront of metabolic oncology research and prepare her for top-ranked M.D. and Ph.D. programs.
Benjamin Hafner ’22
Ben Hafner, a major in mathematics, will join the Shull Research Group at Northwestern University’s McCormick School of Engineering. Hafner has engaged in research with Helen Minsky in the physics department, completed an “inventor” internship at 3M, tutored and graded in math and served as co-president of the Carleton Robotics Club. Under the mentorship of Professor Shull, Hafner will study fracture mechanics in epoxy resin, a material essential to the fiberglass composites used in many industrial and other applications. His post-baccalaureate research at Northwestern will build on his liberal arts experience with more specialized exposure to the field of engineering to prepare him to enter a top-ranked Ph.D. program.
Jed Villanueva ’22
Jed Villanueva, a cognitive science major and music minor, will join Assal Habibi’s Brain & Music Lab at the University of Southern California. Villanueva has engaged in research at Carleton with Julia Strand and Kathie Galotti, served as a FOCUS mentor and the student departmental advisor for cognitive science and been a teaching assistant for a lab course in the discipline. Under the mentorship of Professor Habibi, Villanueva will design and implement studies on music-evoked emotion and musical development. His two years of post-baccalaureate research will prepare him to enter a top-ranked Ph.D. program in musical psychology.
The James-Paglia family has a long history of supporting Carleton initiatives, including construction of Carleton’s new integrated science facility, Evelyn M. Anderson Hall. Cathy, Louis and the Robert and Ardis James Foundation established a $20 million matching fund to make the project possible.
Erica Helgerud ’20 is the news and social media manager for Carleton College.