Ohio State biology majors, sophomore Raj Chimanji, and sophomore Ranjit Ganguly, along with biomedical sciences' freshman NIcholas Jarjour, have been named 2010 Beckman Scholars.

The Beckman Scholars Program is a coveted opportunity, which allows exceptional students to ramp up their undergraduate research experience in a significant way. The Beckman Scholarship selection is highly-competitive; winners join a select group of the country's most promising young researchers. They receive $16,000 while conducting independent research with a faculty mentor, plus funds for supplies and travel.

Both Raj Chimanji and Ranjit Ganguly are working on Duchenne muscular dystrophy models; Chimanji on identifying new treatment strategies for models exhibiting cardiomyopathy; Ganguly on defining the molecular mechanism of skeletal muscle's fiber-type switch.

Nicholas Jarjour will study the role of LPS modification in regulating the innate immune response of Salmonella epithelial cells.

All three will present their research results at the Ohio State Denman, and at the Beckman Scholars Research Forum in Irvine, CA.