Honors graduate Macy Vollbrecht has made an impact in both academics and athletics, most recently earning a prestigious scholarship to study at the University of Cambridge, pursuing a PhD at Stanford University, and receiving national recognition as a Division I All-American First Team athlete in ultimate frisbee. She graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor of Science in genetics, cell biology, and development in 2020.
Vollbrecht discovered her passion for research in high school and knew early on that she wanted to pursue it in college. She specifically chose to attend the University of Minnesota for its access to world-renowned faculty and hands-on research opportunities. She got to experience these opportunities first hand when studying plant gene editing in The Voytas Lab.
“My favorite part of research is the creative problem solving,” she said. “It’s often a cycle of developing a model based on literature, designing experiments to test the model, and then repeating this process, refining your model iteratively.”
Though Vollbrecht didn’t start in the University Honors Program, she applied as a post-freshman admit and joined in her sophomore year, drawn by the opportunity to complete a senior Honors thesis.
“Writing the honors thesis was an excellent introduction to scientific writing,” she said. “That experience helped solidify my interest in graduate school and in a scientific research career.”
Vollbrecht’s Honors advisor encouraged her to connect with the Office of National and International Scholarships (ONIS) to explore funding opportunities for her research. After meeting with Dr. Timothy Jones, the director of ONIS, she applied for the Astronaut Scholarship, which provides up to $15,000 toward college expenses. She was selected as a recipient during her junior year.
“Dr. Jones was such a pivotal mentor,” she said. “His advice and encouragement gave me the confidence to apply for research opportunities that I found extremely exciting. The Astronaut Scholarship was one of these, which included a reception and 1-day science conference in D.C. where I got to meet the other Scholars and learn about their research.”
During her junior year, Vollbrecht began giving serious thought to her plans after graduation. With her sights set on graduate school, she once again sought guidance from Dr. Jones, who encouraged her to apply for the Churchill Scholarship, an award that funds one year of graduate study at Cambridge University. Each year, approximately fifteen of these highly competitive scholarships are granted nationwide.
She was initially named an alternate. At the same time, she had been accepted into a PhD program at Stanford University. When a selected scholarship recipient declined the award, Vollbrecht was offered the scholarship and chose to enroll at Cambridge University, deferring her PhD offer for a year.
“At Cambridge, I got to complete a 1-year master’s degree solely doing research,” she said. “That immersive experience, which included writing my master’s thesis, not only helped me grow scientifically but also helped to hone my research interests ahead of the PhD.”
The rigorous academic and research environment helped her refine her focus. Now Vollbrecht is pursuing a PhD at Stanford University, where her research focuses on plant developmental genetics.
“I study how plant leaves pattern themselves with stomata. These critical cellular structures allow plants to exchange gases like carbon dioxide and water vapor with the atmosphere. Therefore, the number of stomata that a plant makes has a huge impact on the plant’s total photosynthetic capacity and drought tolerance,” she said. “Understanding how plants can adapt to their environment is particularly important now as the climate is changing rapidly.”
Alongside her academic success, Vollbrecht continued to compete at an elite level in ultimate frisbee. In 2024, she was named runner-up for the Division I Women’s Player of the Year and recognized on the Division I Women’s All-American First Team. The Ultiworld staff praised her “ever-so-elusive takeover quality” and “exemplary and versatile performance” throughout her season with Stanford University.
Although she grew up playing soccer and running cross country, she discovered ultimate frisbee during college and quickly embraced the competitive challenge.
“Not only did it bring balance to my life, frisbee also provided an amazing community of fun and incredibly driven people,” she said.
One of the reasons she chose Stanford University was its proximity to lots of ultimate frisbee. She competed on the Stanford team for three years, a commitment that helped keep her grounded amid the demands of research.
“Part of what makes research fun and exciting is that there are infinite potentially interesting and useful experiments that you can dream up,” she said. “While exciting, that feeling can sometimes get overwhelming, so I’ve appreciated that some days I can say ‘I only have so many hours before I need to go to practice and run around.’”
Though she is still considering her next steps, she is confident that her experiences have prepared her for whatever comes next.
“I feel grateful for phenomenal mentors over the years who have imparted that there are many paths one can take to have an interesting and rewarding research career,” she said. “I’m still figuring mine out, and I plan to do what I’ve done before: seek out opportunities that excite me!”