Rosaforte scholars Danielle Burge ’25 and Ashlee Davis ’26.
Three Rosaforte Scholars in URI’s undergraduate Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program find that lab work can lead to personal—as well as scientific—discoveries.
In the lab, Danielle Burge ’25 made an unexpected discovery—a new career path.
The rising senior was working as an undergraduate researcher in the lab of Jaime Ross, assistant professor of biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences at URI’s George & Anne Ryan Institute for Neuroscience, when she became interested in neurodegenerative disorders.
“The work I was doing in the Ross lab got me really interested in that area of neuroscience,” says Burge. During a summer research project, she focused on the role of mitochondrial dysfunction—a breakdown in the cell’s energy supply—in Alzheimer’s disease. “It was something I had never thought about until I became invested in the projects in the lab.”
Burge was one of the inaugural recipients of the Tim Rosaforte III ’77 Endowed Scholarship in Neuroscience this past year. Named for golf journalist James “Tim” Rosaforte III ’77, the URI scholarship was established by friends of Rosaforte as he faced early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, before his death in 2022. A celebrated sportswriter, author, and broadcaster, Rosaforte was the first journalist invited to be an honorary member of the Professional Golfers’ Association of America. The scholarship, which supports undergraduate students in the Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program, is a tribute to his legacy.
Rosaforte Scholar Ashlee Davis ’26 is majoring in neuropharmacology. “I’ve wanted to be a doctor for as long as I can remember,” says Davis, who also intends to pursue an accelerated master’s at URI on her path to medical school. She is working as an undergraduate researcher in the lab of associate professor of biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences Katharina Quinlan, where she has been involved in a project on the overactive reflex response that can occur in cerebral palsy.
Davis, who earned an emergency medical technician certification as a high school senior, was initially surprised to find that working in a lab offers its own kind of adrenaline rush.
“In a way, it’s similar to being in the medical field,” says Davis. “There is always a problem to solve, and I’m definitely a problem-solver.”
In her senior year at URI, Meghan Callahan ’24, presented a research poster of a case study on Parkinson’s disease.
“Tim Rosaforte’s battle with Alzheimer’s gave me a personal connection to my research. His strength and dedication to helping others despite his own struggles reminded me how powerful resilience can be, both in our own lives and in the work we do to help others.”
—Meghan Callahan ’24
While the scholarship provides valuable financial support, it also gives less tangible—but lasting—inspiration. Meghan Callahan ’24 is a former Rosaforte Scholar who is beginning a two-year position as a project manager in a child development research lab at Rutgers University. In addition to the financial help she received from the scholarship, she was moved by Rosaforte’s story. “As an undergraduate, I worked closely with individuals affected by neurodegenerative diseases,” Callahan reflects. “Tim Rosaforte’s battle with Alzheimer’s gave me a personal connection to my research. His strength and dedication to helping others despite his own struggles reminded me how powerful resilience can be, both in our own lives and in the work we do to help others.”
Burge, too, found that the scholarship not only helped shape her academic goals but also offered a meaningful perspective. “I’ve always worked during the school year to help pay for my tuition, but the scholarship really allowed me to spend more hours on research,” she says. “In the lab, I feel like I am giving my time and energy toward something bigger than myself.”
—Nicole Maranhas
PHOTOS: NICOLE MARANHAS; COURTESY MEGHAN CALLAHAN