Finn Watson BA ’26, a biochemistry and molecular biology major, is the recipient of a 2025 Barry Goldwater Scholarship, one of the nation’s most prestigious scholarships for undergraduates who show exceptional promise as researchers in the natural sciences, mathematics, and engineering. Watson is the 22nd Lewis & Clark student to receive the award since 2006.
We caught up with Watson shortly after the award was announced.
Congratulations! What was your reaction when you found out you had received the Goldwater?
I was shocked. But I was also on spring break when I got the news, so I had a bit of a delayed reaction. When I got back, people started congratulating me, and I was like, “Oh, this is kind of a big deal.”
What first sparked your interest in biochemistry and molecular biology?
I think I’ve always had an interest in it from even middle school. When I was around 13 or 14, I read a very cool book by Richard Preston, The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story, about the origins and incidents involving viral hemorrhagic fevers. I thought I could do research and be a scientist as a career. Then I got to L&C, and I met all the professors here. The research is so wonderful … I needed to be involved.
What’s your research focus?
I do evolutionary biology research with spider venoms. Using a family that includes brown recluse spiders, we’re asking why they have so many different forms of one venom toxin and what drove that diversification. This is a toxin that’s important to us medically since it’s why you get big wounds when a brown recluse bites you. Understanding the evolution of that toxin is our main driving force.
How has your L&C experience shaped you as a scientist and a scholar?
I think L&C is a really good place to do scientific research, even though we’re not a big R1 school. We have the sort of interdisciplinary focus where you can interact with people from other departments. We approach problems from a holistic standpoint, which I think is really, really important when you’re doing science.
We tend to kind of put ourselves in boxes of like, “This is my subject, and that’s all I look at.” L&C sort of forces you to broaden your horizons beyond that. I think that’s really helped, and my writing especially would not be as good as it is today without taking a classics course, an English course, a Words course, and all that.
How have your professors supported your journey?
Greta Binford [professor of biology] has been amazing. I had her my first year in a Numbers (First-Year Seminar) course. I went to her office to say “Hey, your research seems kind of cool … how can I get involved?” She immediately helped me get involved and provided opportunities for summer research, independent studies, theses, etc. She always pushes for taking more ownership, developing your own projects, and finding your space in the lab.
And the rest of the biology department has been a really amazing mentorship environment, too. Lindy Gewin [lab coordinator/instructor] has been super helpful, and Sharon Torigoe [assistant professor of biology] is amazing. Everyone has been really eager to help out and teach you to the best of their abilities.
What are your career plans?
I think getting a PhD and going into academia is my long-term goal. With the current state of funding everything in the sciences, that’s a little bit up in the air, so we’ll need to see where that ends up. I really love Minnesota. There’s a lab at the University of Minnesota that does mammal + snake venom coevolution research.
When you’re not in the lab or studying, what do you enjoy doing to recharge?
I live right next to a bunch of hiking trails up on Marquam Hill just south of downtown, so when it’s sunny I take the dog out for little hikes, which is wonderful. I also enjoy going to see theatre in the city. I love going to Rocky Horror at the Clinton Street Theater.
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Academic Awards and Fellowships
