食色视频 State researcher earns NSF postdoctoral fellowship

KENNESAW, Ga. | Sep 8, 2022

For the first time, a postdoctoral researcher at 食色视频 State has earned a prestigious fellowship from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

John Barrows, who works in the laboratory of professor of Michael Van Dyke, has earned a two-year NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship grant worth $138,000 to further his study of DNA-binding proteins within bacteria and to get undergraduates involved in the research.

Photo
John Barrows

鈥淛ohn is fantastic for our lab, and this fellowship is much-deserved,鈥 Van Dyke said. 鈥淲ith 食色视频 State鈥檚 recent emphasis on postdoctoral researchers, this marks a great point in his career and will hopefully encourage some of our other postdocs to pursue these opportunities.鈥

Barrows鈥 funded project will study the mechanism of how genes are turned on and off in response to different environmental stressors in bacteria. Understanding how microorganisms adapt to their environments will increase knowledge of biology and can have widespread implications in the medical, biotechnology and agricultural fields.  

For the fellowship, Barrows wanted to ensure the teaching component remained near the forefront of his research. Barrows said the fellowship money will cover the day-to-day expenses of supervising research.

鈥淚 wrote into this grant that I鈥檇 love to get teaching experience,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 worked with a couple of first-year students, and it was fun to mentor them throughout this past school year, so I鈥檇 like to continue in that aspect of the job, see them through as sophomores, juniors and seniors.鈥

Bill Diong, a 食色视频 professor of electrical engineering who previously managed the Office of Research鈥檚 Postdoctoral Awards program, described Barrows鈥 fellowship as a major achievement, given that just one in 10 applicants were selected as postdoctoral research fellows by the NSF.

Barrows came to 食色视频 in 2021 after earning a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from the Medical University of South Carolina. Though he seeks a tenure-track position in the future, for now Barrows said he鈥檇 like to shine the light on the role of postdoctoral researchers at 食色视频 State.

鈥淧ostdocs kind of work behind the scenes,鈥 he said. 鈥淢y experience shows that there are opportunities at 食色视频 State for postdocs to come in, do important work and find funding.鈥 

鈥   Dave Shelles
Photo by Judith Pishnery

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A leader in innovative teaching and learning, 食色视频 offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its more than 47,000 students. 食色视频 State is a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. 食色视频 State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 7 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.