Cole Meador has been accepted into the DAAD RISE Germany program. He is the first WKU student to be selected to participate in this summer research exchange program since 2012. Beginning in 2005, the DAAD RISE Germany program has funded summer research internships for promising undergraduate researchers from North American, British, and Irish universities at top German universities and research institutions.

The goal of DAAD RISE Germany is to promote student exchange to Germany in the fields of natural science, engineering, and life sciences, and to motivate undergraduate students to learn more about Germany’s research landscape and study opportunities.

While participating in the DAAD RISE Germany program this summer, Cole will be performing research at Forschungszentrum Jülich, a German national research institution. He will be conducting time series analysis of calcium imaging data from neurons in culture after they are subjected to various types of stimulation. Cole will have the opportunity to present the results of his research in Heidelburg, Germany as a part of this research internship.

Cole Meador, son of Amy and Craig Meador from Scottsville, is a rising junior studying Biochemistry and Mathematics. He conducts research on larval sea lamprey as a model for investigating the molecular mechanisms of successful spinal cord regeneration using spatial transcriptomics under the mentorship of Dr. Hilary Katz in the WKU Department of Biology. Cole is co-secretary for the WKU Chemistry Club and a member of the WKU Mahurin Honors College. He has presented his research at the WKU Student Scholar Showcase, the annual WKU Data Science Day, and will be presenting at Applied Research and Technology 2025 celebration.

Cole plans to pursue an M.D./Ph.D. and to eventually become a medical scientist specializing in neurological research related to drug and biomarker discovery pertaining to movement disorders.

“I’ve had an amazing group of mentors including Dr. Lance Hahn [WKU Department of Psychological Sciences] and Dr. Hilary Katz,” Cole said when asked about the application process. “Dr. Hahn was extremely supportive in the early stages of the application, and Dr. Katz, my research mentor, shared insights into the nuance of the project I matched into and helped me grow my computational biology abilities. Lastly, I’d like to thank Mr. Bradley Smith. Mr. Smith helped to keep me on pace and was a very helpful reviewer of my CV and motivation letters. I would recommend Mr. Smtih to anyone on campus in STEM who is attempting to apply to [any STEM] program.” Cole would also like to thank Dr. Jeremy Maddox of the WKU Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry and Dr. Lan Nguyen of the WKU Department of Mathematics for their critical contributions to his academic growth.

“I am thrilled about his acceptance into the DAAD Rise Germany Program,” said Dr. Katz when hearing about Cole’s acceptance into the program. “There really is nothing better than spending a summer doing cutting edge research, meeting new friends and colleagues, and exploring an entirely new country!”

Cole prepared his application with support from Bradley Smith from the WKU Office of Scholar Development, Dr. Lance Hahn, and Dr. Hilary Katz.

About the Office of Scholar Development: OSD mentors students applying for nationally competitive scholarships for “academic extras” such as study abroad, research, professional experience, and more. From first drafts to final submissions with multiple revisions in between, OSD helps students make more possible. By conceptualizing and revising the stories they tell in application essays and interviews, students better understand their strengths, interests, and purpose—and explore multiple possible pathways to that work.