n a world faced with uncertainty and anxiety with respect to the future health of America, and, for that matter, the world, it’s safe to say our future is dependent upon the brightest researchers science has to offer.

Put 2019 Marian Catholic High School graduate Zach Boyer, a proud native of Tamaqua, on that list.

The Ivy League third-year graduate student is one of two Yale University researchers who have been selected for the prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program, a five-year fellowship that gives them an opportunity to make groundbreaking research achievements.

The valedictorian and scholar athlete of Marian’s Class of 2019, Boyer said he is excited about the opportunity to put his love for chemistry into action, but, more so, he said, he is proud of the faith put in him by the fellowship selection team.

A son of Lori Boyer of Orwigsburg and Bill Boyer of Tamaqua, Zach will receive five years of financial support, including an annual stipend of $37,000 and a $16,000 educational allowance.

“Having my own funding means I have the autonomy to pursue my own independent ideas and research,” he said. “What’s particularly meaningful about NSF GRFP is that they are not just funding the science. They’re funding you, and they believe in you.

Career development

The son of a factory worker (his father) and a medical assistant and teacher (his mother), Zach said he learned at a young age that others had similar belief in his capabilities, but he really wasn’t sure what path his career would take. He said, “I did have it in my mind that I wanted to make the world a better place; help change the world for the better; but I wasn’t exactly sure how to do it.”

He recalled, “My career development began in Catholic school, at St. Jerome’s in Tamaqua, and two people in particular who made me focus and helped me build my discipline were Mrs. (Maryann) Mansell, principal, and Mrs. (Alice) Miller, teacher. I remember Mrs. Mansell calling me into her office and telling me ‘to whom much is given, much is expected.’ She was basically telling me I was good at school and had good study habits and that I should work toward putting them into practical applications.”

From there, Boyer said, he enrolled at Marian Catholic, where he said he came to learn “it has the best recipe for success.” He commented, “They take students who are boys and girls and build a foundation for them to become young men and women, to become leaders and critical thinkers through the experiences of academics, athletics, spirituality in faith and family. They have a relentless pursuit in demand for excellence in knowledge, athletics and faith.”

Coal region kid

Due to his academic success at Marian, Zach received numerous scholarships that allowed him to attend Villanova University for all four years at no cost to him and his family.

He also received a $25,000 travel fellowship from the Curvey Program, which allowed him to travel overseas (Ireland, United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Italy, Greece and Egypt) for almost two months, and as a junior, he won the nationally competitive Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship ($7,500 per year for two years).

“ ’Nova is a historically wealthy school and I met a lot of people who had a lot of fancy things,” he said. “Ultimately, it was a shock to me, I didn’t quite understand it, because they had a lot more opportunities in life than I did.”

As time progressed, Zach said, “I remembered about what our football coach, Coach (Stan) Dakosty, always preached to us, that is to ‘never forget where you come from.’ ”

That stayed with him to this day, he said, and to make sure it does, Zach had the coal region area code of 570 tattooed on his lower left ankle.

“What coach taught us always stuck with me,” he said. “So the 570 is symbolic. It’ll always be there as a reminder to me to give back to the community and mentors who guided me, whether it’s in time, money or whatever, because the area and Marian has been a big driver in all that I do.”

At Villanova, Zach began as a criminal justice major, also seeking a minor in chemistry, initially hoping to someday work in federal law enforcement or national security. But illnesses to his grandmother and mother, and the intrigue and puzzlement of the lack of medicines for some illnesses “changed my plans and pointed me in the direction of medicinal chemistry,” he said.

He explained, “Life throws you a lot of curves and roads, twists and turns along the way, and through my grandmother’s and mother’s illnesses, I learned there are some illnesses that lack cures. The more I thought about it, the importance of medicinal research and the absence of often necessary therapeutics and medicines, that was something impressed upon me.

“I began asking myself, ‘Is there a way for me to have a hand in creating therapeutics and medicines that can make a difference In people’s lives?’ I knew then a career in medicinal chemistry was imminent for me.”

He began the research of new medicines and later accepted an internship in medical chemistry at Johnson and Johnson. “I saw what high research really is … making and breaking bonds of molecules to cure and treat diseases to give people healthier lives,” he said.

He graduated summa cum laude in 2023 from Villanova with a bachelor of science degree in chemistry.

Off to Connecticut

Zach was accepted to the graduate schools at Yale, Columbia and MIT, and opted to attend Yale.

But before he earns his doctorate in 2 ½ to 3 years, the national fellowship came to fruition and he now works the Ellman Lab, which develops synthetic methods to access pharmaceutically relevant chemical motifs and structures. Through his research he aims to characterize asymmetric sulfur compounds, which are important in drug discovery for biomolecular recognition.

The studies, he said, are “intense and challenging,” but he believes the foundation put in place for him back in the coal region will help him to remain focus on his goals.

“I will be eternally grateful to the people who helped me along the way,” Zach said. “So, it becomes my responsibility, and my generation’s responsibility, to teach the next generation this so we continue to have the science that makes a difference. I want to use my experiences for the betterment of society.”

He said the late Ken Snerr, former assistant football coach at Marian, often challenged he and his teammates to “dare to be great.” Zach said, “He (Snerr) taught us how to put effort into everything we do, to do it with pride and to play with toughness. That’s not only true in football, but in life.

As a way of paying it forward to everyone who played a role in his educational success, Zach said he would be willing to talk to area youths about careers in science “because without somebody doing that, we won’t have the next generation of leaders, scientists and thinkers.”

Zach said his long-range goals are to someday lead a team of researchers that “make a difference,” adding, “perhaps, someday, own my own company.”

As he continues those pursuits, he said, “my dedication to mentorship and outreach is with all of the communities and schools in the coal region. I would be willing to help any one of them and I hope they take me up on this, because I would be honored to help inspire young minds.”