Biomedical Engineering student awarded Astronaut Scholarship

June 4, 2026 — Biomedical Engineering undergraduate student Ahmed Sharara has been awarded a 2026-27 Astronaut Scholarship.

The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, an initiative of the Mercury 7 astronauts to promote studies in math, science and engineering. The prestigious award provides up to $15,000 in tuition support, mentorship from academic and industry executives and exclusive professional development opportunities.

Astronaut Scholarships are uniquely awarded to students at universities with historic ties to the U.S. space program. Donald “Deke” Slayton, one of the Mercury 7 founders, graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1949 with a degree in aeronautical engineering. As a result of this legacy, the University remains an original partner of the foundation, with 45 University of Minnesota students having been named Astronaut Scholars since 1995.

Ahmed Sharara

Ahmed Sharara is a biomedical engineering major from Arden Hills, Minn. 

During his first semester, joined the Regenerative Medicine lab led by Professor Bhairab Singh in his first semester. He started out by helping discover new cryoprotective agents that could improve the preservation of donor hearts and engineered tissues. 

Since then, he has continued to work in the Singh Lab, planning and executing a project to investigate the mechanisms of maturation in stem cell derived-cardiomyocytes, and developing an automated tool to more quickly and accurately perform fluorescent image analysis. 

Among his accomplishments is an innovative protocol of maturing engineered heart tissue for which he has been awarded a patent. Ahmed has also worked on joint research projects with Professors John Bischof and Brenda Ogle and recently published the results of a study of the evolution of sarcomeric disorganization over time in the development of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. 

He is currently expanding on this work to determine how mechanical forces drive sarcomeric disorganization in disease states.

On campus, he co-founded MEDIC, an organization empowering students to design medical devices through competitive teamwork and volunteers in the Emergency Department at M Health Fairview Masonic Children’s Hospital.

This spring, Ahmed was recognized as a Goldwater Scholar, a prestigious, nationally competitive scholarship awarded annually to outstanding sophomores and juniors who intend to pursue research-oriented careers in mathematics, the natural sciences and engineering.

He plans to earn a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering and eventually direct his own university research laboratory.