2026 Barry Goldwater Scholarship
Maren Ritterbuck, E’27, bioengineering and biochemistry, received the Barry Goldwater Scholarship, one of the nation’s most prestigious, merit-based awards for undergraduate students who plan to pursue research careers in natural sciences, engineering, and mathematics.
Ritterbuck is a fourth-year bioengineering and biochemistry student passionate about conducting research exploring how the musculoskeletal system moves, adapts, and heals. Inspired by her experiences in sports and emergency response work, she conducts research in the Shefelbine lab focused on how physical forces impact cartilage and bone regeneration. Through previous research at Boston University and as an AJC Merit Scholar, Ritterbuck has contributed to projects focused on osteoarthritis therapies, bone regeneration and advanced imaging techniques. She has presented her work at various national conferences and plans to pursue a PhD in biomechanics. On campus, she has co-founded the Pre-MD/PhD Association, served as an undergraduate Research and Fellowship ambassador, and played an active role in the center for student involvement.
Three Northeastern students named Goldwater Scholars
How do bacterial biofilms — communities of bacteria that develop an extracellular matrix around themselves — allow chronic infections to flourish? What can the reproductive system of a worm teach us about the human body? Does an axolotl’s ability to sense and respond to physical stimuli matter in skeletal regeneration?
These are the questions asked by three Northeastern students in the research they’ve pursued over the course of their undergraduate careers. This work has led to Numair Elahi, Maren Ritterbuck and Sophia Guerra, becoming three of the 454 students who received this year’s Barry Goldwater Scholarship. This prestigious award supports undergraduate students in science, engineering and mathematics who have the potential for promising research careers.
These students, all of whom will graduate next year, were selected from a pool of over 5,000 college sophomores and juniors majoring in science, engineering and mathematics-related areas.
Ritterbuck, a fourth-year bioengineering and biochemistry double major, is also interested in muscle movements, specifically, how the body moves and recovers from injury. Her work includes research on axolotls and how bone generation in these aquatic salamanders is impacted by their ability to sense mechanical forces.
Ritterbuck completed this research as an AJC Merit Research Scholar, a program that funds student work in the laboratory of a faculty member working in science, technology, engineering or mathematics, and worked in professor Sandra Shefelbine’s lab.
Ritterbuck’s past research examined how mechanical function is linked to biochemical composition change in the degenerating cartilage associated with osteoarthritis. This work contributed to the development of a promising tool that can help diagnose degenerative joint disease. It sparked an interest, like Guerra, in how cells convert outside stimuli into internal signals that influence the structure of musculoskeletal structures. She is currently studying the role this process plays in regeneration to determine if cells need to sense mechanical forces like stress or tension for proper bone regeneration.
“This has the possibility of informing therapies for fracture healing and other musculoskeletal injuries,” she told NGN.
Ritterbuck hopes to go on to obtain a Ph.D. in biomechanics and research techniques that could lead to regenerative therapies. She said applying for the Goldwater Scholarship made her think about her research journey and the impact of her work and inspired her to apply for larger graduate fellowships to help her continue her academic career.
“It has been very rewarding to see how all the hard work I have put in, alongside my mentors, has culminated into the award,” she said. “Being selected as a Goldwater Scholar marks the start of what I hope will be a long career in science working on projects that help people around me….(It) has strengthened my confidence in both myself and my research abilities, empowering me to set ambitious goals for the next stages of my scientific career.”
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