Alabama Student Beats Cancer, Earns Top Science Fellowship

Six years ago, Victoria Amari almost gave up on her dream of becoming a biomedical engineer because she couldn't balance full-time retail work with her classes at the University of Mississippi. Today, she's a cancer survivor and winner of the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, one of the nation's most competitive graduate awards.

Amari grew up in Hayden, Alabama, as one of five children and started working at 15 to help support her family. She became the first person in her family to attend college when she enrolled at Ole Miss in 2020, drawn by a high school campus visit where she met biomedical engineering professor Dwight Waddell.

But juggling full-time work as a retail store manager while taking engineering classes proved overwhelming. Her grades dropped, and she went to Waddell ready to change her major.

Instead of accepting her decision, Waddell gave her a job in the biomedical engineering department. "I thought, if she can run a store and be a student, she can handle being our student worker," he said.

The change transformed everything. Amari's grades improved, and she met professor Nikki Reinemann, who welcomed her into her research lab despite Amari's fears she wasn't qualified enough.

Amari thrived, co-authoring two research papers as an undergraduate and helping launch a mentorship program for biomedical engineering students. She graduated in 2025 with her professors cheering from the audience at her first-generation student ceremony.

Then came another challenge. Shortly after graduation, doctors diagnosed Amari with a rare form of breast cancer.

She fought through treatment and continued her education, starting her doctoral program while recovering. Now she's researching how cells sense and respond to their environment, work that could help scientists better understand cancer, heart disease, and Alzheimer's.

Why This Inspires

Amari's story captures something powerful about the combination of personal determination and mentors who see potential where others might see obstacles. Waddell didn't just offer sympathy when Amari struggled; he created an opportunity that changed her trajectory.

The fellowship will fund three years of her doctoral research and provide a living stipend, allowing her to focus fully on her work for the first time in her academic career. "She has the drive, perspective and ability to make a lasting impact as a scientist," Reinemann said.

From working retail to surviving cancer to earning national recognition for her research, Amari proves that the path to scientific achievement doesn't always follow a straight line. Sometimes it takes professors willing to take chances and students brave enough to keep asking for opportunities even when they feel unqualified.

"Students like Victoria are a gift," Waddell said, watching his former student worker become an award-winning researcher who will help unlock mysteries of human disease.