Senior Prize

Established in 2007 to complement the Gerald and Sally DeNardo Lectureship, this prize is given by the Dean to recognize outstanding science research accomplishment by a graduating senior who reflects the distinctive characteristics of a Jesuit education and is pursuing a career in the health sciences.

Samantha ("Sam") Lei

Environmental Science Major
Biology, Geospatial Analysis, Public Health and Sustainability Minors
Iris Stewart-Frey, Environmental Studies and Sciences, Faculty Mentor

Sam’s research project at SCU focused on nitrate contamination in household wells, a critical issue affecting thousands of residents in agricultural regions where fertilizer runoff has led to widespread groundwater pollution. Sam’s study examined how nitrate concentrations vary seasonally and under different climate conditions, contributing new insights to an understudied gap in research on climate-sensitive water contamination in farming communities. This research has informed multiple advocacy presentations given to State Water Agencies and Advocacy Groups. Sam also designed and carried out a study to evaluate the seasonal reliability of home water testing kits, combining field sampling, laboratory analysis, and geospatial methods to provide residents with more accurate information about the safety of their drinking water.

As a research student in Professor Iris Stewart-Frey’s Water and Climate Justice Lab on campus, Sam has also coordinated field campaigns, managed relationships with community partners, and mentored other undergraduate researchers working on related projects. She co-authored a peer-reviewed publication in Water Resources Research, one of the most prominent journals in the field, and has two more manuscripts currently in preparation. In addition, Sam has presented her research twice at the American Geophysical Union annual meeting, the top international conference in the field, where her work on nitrate contamination and community-based water testing has contributed to broader scientific discussions on water quality, climate variability, and public health.

Sam was named a 2025 Udall Scholar for her leadership to public service and environmental conservation, and a 2025 Goldwater Scholar—one of the nation’s most prestigious honors for undergraduates in the sciences, mathematics, and engineering. She was also a 2024 – 2026 Clare Boothe Luce fellow, which supports advanced studies for women in STEM, and a 2025-26 Environmental Ethics Fellow with the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics where she studied contributions to the human right to water with two of her peers.

Sam is currently pursuing graduate school at George Washington University, where she is focusing on the intersection between hydrologic sciences and public health. She hopes to engage in research at the intersection of hydrology and public health to ultimately develop and apply clean drinking water programs across all underserved communities.

Thomas Mathew

Biology and History Double Major
Paul Abbyad, Chemistry & Biochemistry, Faculty Mentor

Thomas’ research project at SCU aimed to use microfluidic technology to isolate cancer cells based on one of their hallmarks, aberrant metabolism. Through his research, Thomas developed methods to isolate a middle population of cells based on glycolysis. This research could have eventual interest for isolating populations of cells of interest for T-cell therapeutics. Furthermore, this would increase the breadth of the technology, opening the door to new applications. The research project encompassed many different facets: mammalian cell culture, microfabrication of the device by soft lithography, microfluidics, fluorescence microscopy and image analysis, and mathematical modeling.

In addition to his research project, Thomas has presented at off-campus conferences, such as the Northern California Undergraduate Research Symposium (NCURS). He was awarded the General Chemistry Achievement Award and the American Chemical Society Polyed Award for performance in the Organic Chemistry series. He was also selected as a 2024 Beckman Scholar, a prestigious award for faculty-mentored student research. Thomas has contributed to a number of papers submitted for publication; he is the second author in a published paper in Lab on a Chip, the preeminent journal in microfluidics.

Thomas is currently attending medical school at USC.