By Lorena Infante Lara
The Office of the Dean of Basic Sciences is proud to announce the 2023 recipients of the Dean’s Award for Exceptional Achievement in Graduate Studies. This year, 10 graduate students were recognized for their high academic and scientific achievement and for the originality, significance, and rigor of their dissertation research.
The awardees were selected by a committee made up of the directors of graduate studies for each of the Ph.D.-granting programs in the School of Medicine and was chaired by Kathy Gould, professor of cell and developmental biology and holder of the Louise B. McGavock Chair. Each awardee will receive $5,000 in stipend support for the next two years or until they receive their Ph.D.’s, whichever happens first. This year, funds were provided by the Richard McEwen German, Jr. and Marjorie Wolff German endowment.
“Congratulations to this year’s dean’s award recipients. It’s a pleasure to recognize our biomedical sciences graduate students for their exceptional work,” said John Kuriyan, dean of Basic Sciences and holder of the Mary Geddes Stahlman Chair. “I also would like to thank Kathy Gould and the evaluation committee who selected the recipients from a large pool of worthy candidates.”
The awardees, their programs, and their mentors are:
- Brooke Christensen, Neuroscience. Advised by Erin Calipari.
- Steven Wall, Microbe-Host Interactions. Advised by Ivelin Georgiev.
- Matthew O’Neill, Human Genetics. Advised by Dr. Dan Roden.
- Jenny Tran, Biochemistry. Advised by Breann Brown.
- Tara Mack, Human Genetics. Advised by Dr. Alexander Bick and Lea Davis.
- Marianne Casilio, Hearing and Speech Sciences. Advised by Stephen Wilson (University of Queensland).
- Marina Hanna, Neuroscience. Advised by Vivian Gama.
- Allison Lake, Human Genetics. Advised by Lea Davis.
- Margret Fye, Cell and Developmental Biology. Advised by Irina Kaverina.
- Kirsty Erickson, Neuroscience. Advised by Cody Siciliano.
All students in Ph.D. programs tied to the School of Medicine are eligible for nomination, including students working on the Ph.D. portion of the Medical Scientist Training Program, the School of Medicine’s M.D./Ph.D. program.
Recipients are selected based on research excellence, which is evidenced by fellowship awards, publications, and presentations at conferences. The awardees demonstrate a mastery of their disciplines through a track record of high achievement in their classes and of strong performances in their qualifying exams and committee meetings.