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Chance Bowman ’23, who studied biochemistry at ���϶ij�, has been named a . 

The doctoral fellowship, one of the most competitive in the U.S., provides up to five years of funding for promising graduate students in science and technology. A doctoral student in bioengineering at both University of California San Francisco and University of California Berkeley, is among just 19 fellows selected from across the U.S. for the 2025 cohort.

Given the current funding landscape, “it’s a huge weight off my shoulders to have funding of my own,” says the alum, who plans to combine his longstanding interest in stem cell biology with mathematical modeling, work Bowman hopes will expand the biological tools available to tackle the most complex problems in medicine and beyond.

Bowman will undertake a joint mentorship with researchers at UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco, an unusual arrangement he may have otherwise been unable to access, he says. “I think that it’s opened up the opportunity to do some really exciting science.”

Early in his undergraduate career, Bowman had planned to study medicine. That changed as he became involved with scientific research as part of a scholarship to East Tennessee State University, where he studied for a year before transferring to ���϶ij�, and later in the , where he was first exposed to biomedically oriented research.

Working in the lab was a “phenomenal” experience, thanks to the mentorship style of , dean of the and Rodgers Professor of Chemistry, and , who encouraged him to be guided by curiosity and explore open-ended questions.

“You’re getting answers in terms of your predictive power” and developing better research skills in the process, Bowman says. “That was intellectually super-exciting and also allowed me to branch out and do different things.”

Over time, he says, he realized that research was a better fit for him than medicine, and would still allow him to address medically relevant problems.

Working in the Kull Lab as a structural biologist, Bowman researched bacteria that cause serious and sometimes deadly diseases, seeking to understand how certain proteins work, knowledge that could ultimately be used to treat the illnesses. First, he focused on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, aka MRSA, a common infection caused by a staph bacteria that’s become resistant to multiple antibiotics. Later, with the support of Kull and Midgett, he turned his attention to Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), a major cause of diarrhea in developing countries. 

Kull says teaching and mentoring Chance Bowman has been “a true pleasure.”

“He is intellectually curious, driven, and exceptionally capable,” Kull says. “What sets him apart is his deep dedication to science and the thoughtfulness he brings to his work. His passion for research, combined with his creativity and scientific rigor, makes him exceptionally deserving of this honor.”

“Chance was one of the most scientifically curious students I have worked with, and I expect that we will hear more from him in the future,” Midgett adds.

During his time at ���϶ij�, Bowman was awarded a Goldwater Fellowship, which supports college students who show promise of becoming research leaders in the natural sciences, engineering, and mathematics. He completed internships in translational stem cell biology at Harvard Stem Cell Institute and oncology-focused biochemistry at Calico Life Sciences. He was also a founding member of the ���϶ij� Undergraduate Biology Society and served as a peer mentor for incoming first-year students.

Bowman, who grew up in the rural community of Gray, Tenn., has dedicated himself to helping students from underserved communities pursue opportunities in higher education, and getting people of all backgrounds involved in scientific research. 

He tutored first-generation low-income students at ETSU and is currently working with other alumni of his high school to help students there learn about scientific research and career opportunities and navigate the college admissions process.

Fannie and John Hertz, an Austrian immigrant who founded the Hertz rental car company and the Yellow Cab taxi company, .

“The Hertz Fellowship identifies doctoral students with the extraordinary creativity and principled leadership necessary to tackle problems others can’t solve,” according to the Hertz Foundation. 

Past Hertz Fellow recipients include Kimberly Budil, director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; Kathleen Fisher, deputy office director for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Information Innovation Office; Nobel laureate John Mather, a NASA astrophysicist; and Nathan Myhrvold, former chief technology officer at Microsoft.