Shock. Excitement. Validation.
A swirl of emotions washed over OIivia Nicholson the moment she found out she got selected to receive a Goldwater Scholarship.
“I was in absolute shock. You submit your application, and you don’t find out for three months. You’re just waiting,” Nicholson said. “For me, it validates that this is something I'm good at, that I can be successful in a career in research,” she said.
A senior majoring in biochemistry at Creighton University, Nicholson joined the INBRE program in 2022. She is one of two INBRE Scholars to receive the Goldwater Scholarship.
This summer, Nicholson is conducting research in the lab of Lynne Dieckman, PhD, at Creighton University. Their work focuses on proteins involved in DNA replication and packaging as it relates to gene expression and how errors in this process can lead to disease.
“I've always liked science. My parents, who are both veterinarians, always encouraged me to ask questions,” Nicholson said.
Growing up in Dexter, Iowa, a small town 33 miles west of Des Moines, Nicholson was one of 54 students in her high school graduating class.
When she started college, Nicholson enrolled as a pre-med major, something she said she was “not necessarily pumped about it, but it was the only science-related field I knew of at the time.”
Then she joined Dr. Dieckman’s research lab and a light bulb went off.
“It was like ‘this is for me,’ and I immediately dropped my pre-med major and have focused on a research career ever since.”
Nicholson said she loves the trial-and-error process of research.
“The biggest thing I've learned and had to deal with is perseverance and overcoming failure,” she said, adding that “most people entering a science track are academically gifted, so failure is not easy and hard to overcome."
Nicholson said she credits her mentors who helped her learn how to maintain a positive mindset while dealing with setbacks in the lab.
“Olivia joined my lab when she was just a first-semester freshman in college and has been an incredibly valuable member of my research program over the last three years,” said Dr. Dieckman, an associate professor and associate chair of the department of chemistry and biochemistry at Creighton University.
“She is one of the most mature, professional, independent and productive research students I’ve ever had the pleasure of mentoring. She works on a complex research project and was the first person in my lab to visualize single molecules of proteins binding to one another, which requires instrumentation that is typically only used at research-intensive institutions. Olivia’s work in the lab has single-handedly changed the trajectory of my research program, and I am thrilled to see where her unique talents and determination takes her in the future,” Dr. Dieckman said.