Dean’s Award for Exceptional Achievement for Advanced Students
Graduate students in the biomedical sciences work tirelessly to master their research fields, learn advanced experimental methodologies, and tackle research projects at the forefront of knowledge. The best students make discoveries that change our conceptual understanding of basic biological mechanisms, reveal causes of human disease, or lead to changes in clinical practice. The Dean’s Award for Exceptional Achievement recognizes these outstanding students.
The recipients of the Dean’s Award for Exceptional Achievement for Advanced Students distinguish themselves during their graduate studies. All Ph.D. or M.D./Ph.D. students who joined a School of Medicine laboratory for their thesis research are eligible for the award.
Nominations from faculty mentors with primary appointments in the School of Medicine should include a letter, the candidate’s CV, and an optional additional support letter. Nomination letters should confirm eligibility and address the evaluation metrics described below.
Nominations for the 2022 award are closed, and winners will be announced in July.
Eligibility
- Must be a student in a Ph.D. program linked to the School of Medicine, which includes Biochemistry, Biomedical Informatics, Biostatistics, Cancer Biology, Cell and Developmental Biology, Chemical and Physical Biology, Epidemiology, Hearing and Speech Sciences, Human Genetics, Microbe-Host Interactions, Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Molecular Pathology and Immunology, Neuroscience, and Pharmacology. MSTP students are eligible.
- Must have a mentor with a primary appointment in the School of Medicine.
- Must have chosen a mentor and started their Ph.D. research in 2018 (typically, this refers to Ph.D. students who matriculated in graduate school in 2017).
Metrics
- Originality, significance, and rigor of dissertation research
- Excellence in research discovery as evidenced by fellowship awards, publications, and presentations at conferences
- Mastery of a discipline as evidenced by classwork, qualifying exam, and performance in committee meetings
Selection committee
Nominees will be evaluated by a committee consisting of the directors of graduate studies for each of the Ph.D.-granting programs in the School of Medicine. David Cortez, Professor of Biochemistry, will serve as chair and non-voting member of this committee for 2020. Questions can be directed to him at david.cortez@vanderbilt.edu.
Past winners
2022
- Nicholas Shealy, Microbe-Host Interactions. Advised by Dr. Mariana Byndloss.
- Tierney Baum, Cell and Developmental Biology. Advised by Vivian Gama.
- Stephanie Cajigas, Neuroscience. Advised by Erin Calipari.
- Jeanette Miller, Microbe-Host Interactions. Advised by Eric Skaar.
- Emilie Fisher, Molecular Pathology and Immunology. Advised by Jeff Rathmell.
- Yasminye Pettway, Molecular Physiology and Biophysics. Advised by Dr. Al Powers.
- Zahra Farahbakhsh, Neuroscience. Advised by Cody Siciliano.
- Emily Overway, Molecular Physiology and Biophysics. Advised by Richard O’Brien.
- Rebecca Buchanan, Neuroscience. Advised by Fiona Harrison.
2021
- Catherine Shelton, Microbe-Host Interactions. Advised by Mariana Byndloss.
- Cody Heiser, Chemical and Physical Biology. Advised by Ken Lau.
- Elaine Chen, Microbe-Host Interactions. Advised by Dr. James Crowe.
- Gabriella Robertson, Cell and Developmental Biology. Advised by Vivian Gama.
- Ivette Perez, Biochemistry. Advised by Tina Iverson.
- Jennifer Zachry, Pharmacology. Advised by Erin Calipari.
- Kritika Singh, Human Genetics. Advised by Lea Davis.
- Mary Chalkley, Cell and Developmental Biology. Advised by Rebecca Ihrie and Dr. Kevin Ess.
- Melissa Wolf, Cancer Biology. Advised by Dr. Kim Rathmell.
- Patrick Melugin, Neuroscience. Advised by Cody Siciliano.
- Wendy Bindeman, Cancer Biology. Advised by Barbara Fingleton.
2020
- Andrea Shiakolas, Microbe-Host Interactions. Advised by Ivelin Georgiev.
- Slavina Goleva, Molecular Physiology and Biophysics. Advised by Lea Davis.
- Kim Thibeault, Neuroscience. Advised by Erin Calipari.
- Paige Vega, Cell and Developmental Biology. Advised by Ken Lau.
- Jooeun Kang, Human Genetics. Advised by Douglas Ruderfer.
- Sarah Glass, Biochemistry. Advised by Fred Guengerich.
- Tiffany Richardson, Molecular Physiology and Biophysics. Advised by Al Powers.
- Anna Kasdan, Neuroscience. Advised by Reyna Gordon.
2019
- Demond Williams, Cancer Biology. Advised by Barbara Fingleton.
- Matthew Cottam, Molecular Physiology and Biophysics. Advised by Alyssa Hasty.
- Azadeh Hadadianpour, Molecular Pathology and Immunology. Advised by Dr. Scott Smith.
- Michael Doyle, Microbe-Host Interactions. Advised by Dr. James Crowe.
- Alejandra Romero-Morales, Cell and Developmental Biology. Advised by Vivian Gama.
- Manuel Castro, Biochemistry. Advised by Charles Sanders.
- Abigail Neininger, Cell and Developmental Biology. Advised by Dylan Burnette.
- Matthew Wleklinski, Pharmacology. Advised by Dr. Bjorn Knollmann.
- Sheryl Vermudez, Pharmacology. Advised by Colleen Niswender, and Jeff Conn.
- James O’Connor, Cell and Developmental Biology. Advised by Andrea Page-McCaw.
- Margaret Axelrod, Cancer Biology. Advised by Justin Balko.
2017-2018
- Sierra Palumbos, Neuroscience. Advised by David Miller.
- Wyatt McDonnell, Microbe-Host Interactions. Advised by Ivelin Georgiev and Dr. Simon Mallal.
- Sarah Milian (Graff), Molecular Physiology and Biophysics. Advised by David Jacobson.
- Natalya Ortolano, Cell and Developmental Biology. Advised by Vivian Gama.
- Megan Rasmussen, Cell and Developmental Biology. Advised by Vivian Gama.
- Jamie Robinson, Biomedical Informatics. Advised by Dr. Josh Denny.
- Corey Seacrist, Pharmacology. Advised by Ray Blind.
- Claire Strothman, Cell and Developmental Biology. Advised by Marija Zanic.
- Chloe Snider, Cell and Developmental Biology. Advised by Kathy Gould.
- Nicole Perry, Pharmacology. Advised by Vsevolod Gurevich and Tina Iverson.
- Nicole Fisher, Pharmacology. Advised by Jeff Conn and Colleen Niswender.
- Aimee Wilde, Microbe-Host Interactions. Advised by Dr. Jim Cassat.
- Jenny Aguilar, Pharmacology. Advised by Aurelio Galli.
- Katherine Konvinse, Molecular Pathology and Immunology. Advised by Dr. Elizabeth Phillips.