STAFF REPORT
Glasgow News 1
A Glasgow native is earning one of the nation’s top honors for emerging researchers.
Western Kentucky University graduate Emma Bunch, who graduated in December 2025 with a degree in mathematics, has been selected for the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, a highly competitive award that supports outstanding graduate students in science, technology, engineering and math fields, according to a university press release.
“This fellowship is a dream come true, as I have wanted to conduct cancer therapeutics research since I was nine years old,” Bunch said. “I am so thankful not only for the financial security that comes with the fellowship but also to be able to pursue the exact work I am called to in my home state.”
“Growing up in rural Kentucky has been a huge blessing. Its tradition, heritage, and people have made me who I am, and I hope to develop life-changing therapeutics for cancers and give back to rural communities like my hometown of Glasgow,” she added.
Before transferring to WKU to be closer to home and her community, Bunch began her undergraduate studies at Harvard. At WKU, she channeled her interest in research and service into both scholarship and entrepreneurship. With support from CREATE, the Central Region Ecosystem for Arts, Technology and Entrepreneurship at the WKU Innovation Campus, she founded Curelytics, a sophisticated app that uses artificial intelligence and quantum computing to help patients navigate clinical trials.
On campus, Bunch conducted research with Dr. Tilak Bhattacharya and Dr. Molly Dunkum on Möbius transformations, hyperbolic geometry and their potential connection with quantum computation. That work became her Honors Thesis, which recently earned the Mahurin Honors College Thesis of the Year award.
Bunch credits mentors, professors, friends and family in Glasgow and at WKU with helping her reach this point, saying she is grateful for the support she has received at every step.
Program fellows receive a three-year annual stipend of $37,000 and a $16,000 educational allowance that goes to the scholar’s graduate institution, according to the program information.
This year, 2,599 fellowships were awarded nationwide, and 1,470 applicants were named honorable mentions. Bunch, the daughter of Joy and Steve Bunch, plans to pursue a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering at the University of Kentucky, where she will focus on advancing immunotherapy systems aimed at improving cancer treatment.
Key Facts
• Glasgow native and WKU graduate Emma Bunch has been awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship.
• The fellowship provides a three-year annual stipend of $37,000 plus a $16,000 educational allowance to the graduate institution.
• Bunch graduated from Western Kentucky University in December 2025 with a degree in mathematics.
• She will pursue a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering at the University of Kentucky, focusing on advancing immunotherapy systems.
• The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program supports outstanding graduate students in STEM fields.
• Bunch previously studied at Harvard before transferring to WKU, where she founded Curelytics, an app to help patients navigate clinical trials.
• Her undergraduate research in mathematics earned the Mahurin Honors College Thesis of the Year award.
• Bunch says she hopes to develop life-changing cancer therapeutics and give back to rural communities like Glasgow.
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