University of Notre Dame senior Emma Powers will study oncology at the University of Cambridge this fall as a Gates Cambridge Scholar.

Powers is an honors biochemistry major with a minor in data science. She is a Sorin Scholar through the Flatley Center for Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement (CUSE) and a past recipient of the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship and its STEM Supplemental Award, and the Barry Goldwater Scholarship.

As a Gates Cambridge Scholar, Powers will pursue a master of philosophy in medical science (oncology) under Rebecca Fitzgerald, professor of cancer prevention and director of the Early Cancer Institute at Cambridge. Specifically, she will study the molecular pathways of hereditary diffuse gastric cancer to better understand how to slow or prevent the disease.

In the long term, Powers intends to pursue a doctorate in cancer biology, with the goal of becoming a principal scientist and developing oncology therapies and advancing current treatments in the clinical trial pathway.

“We have had the pleasure of working with Emma since her sophomore year when she joined the Sorin Scholars program at CUSE,” said Emily Hunt, assistant director of scholarly development at CUSE. “Watching her develop and grow as she tirelessly pursued her mission of developing new and better cancer treatments to ultimately save lives and reduce suffering has been a great joy. We are very proud of her and look forward to seeing what she accomplishes over the coming years.”

Said Powers, “I am eternally grateful for all of the support I received at Notre Dame. My professors, advisers and peers encouraged me to be the best version of myself, and they helped me achieve dreams I never knew were possible. I would especially like to thank Emily Hunt and all of the CUSE staff for their continued guidance over these four years and in this application. Because of my time as a biochemistry major at Notre Dame, I feel well equipped and prepared to make strides in oncology research and be a force for good in the world.”

A native of Minnesota, Powers is a student manager for the Notre Dame women’s volleyball team, an industry experiences lead for the STEM Pre-Grad Club and a President’s Circle Mentee.

Since 2022, she has worked alongside Laurie Littlepage, the Campbell Family Associate Professor of Cancer Research at Notre Dame, in the Littlepage Lab, which is part of the Harper Cancer Research Institute. She has also worked as an undergraduate research fellow at the Mayo Clinic and as a genomic research assistant with Pfizer. As a study abroad student, she researched metaplastic breast cancer at the University of Galway in Ireland.

For more on this and other scholarship opportunities, visit cuse.nd.edu.