Drew Professor Wins 'Jeopardy!' Putting Madison In The Spotlight

MADISON, NJ —An associate professor at Drew University fulfilled a lifelong dream this week by not only competing in but also winning Jeopardy.

Barker began taking the annual qualifying online test in 2012 and received her first audition invitation in 2018, according to Drew University.

Baker continued to take — and pass — the once-a-year test after not hearing back, and was contacted again in Aug. 2021. She received an official booking text from a Jeopardy producer in April 2022, after two Zoom auditions and a lot of waiting.

“I wasn’t able to tell anyone about being selected to be on the show until the publicity photos came out. Keeping such a fun secret was excruciating,” said Barker.

On Wednesday night, when host Ken Jennings read the clue, “COVID variant names skipped nu & this 14th Greek letter,” Barker, a member of the biology department, broke into a big smile, correctly answering “What is xi?”

Barker defeated returning champion Ed Coulson and challenger Colleen Birney with that and other correct responses, winning $11,700.

“It was amazing to win on Jeopardy! All of the contestants are so strong, so while I dreamt of winning, I couldn’t believe it actually happened. It was also a great experience to watch the episode at the watch party,” said Barker in an interview with Drew officials.

Barker's win aired on the same day that the show announced that Jennings and Mayim Bialik had signed contracts to become permanent cohosts of the popular game show.

Barker's reign as champion, however, was brief, as she was defeated in her second game, which aired on Thursday.

As a researcher at Drew, Barker focuses on immunology, specifically, she is focused on understanding how PRR recognition of HIV and related viruses leads to the T cell death and immune dysfunction seen in AIDS.