Eight current UChicago Biosciences students have been selected to receive NSF Graduate Research Fellowship awards, demonstrating the excellence and range of research undertaken by our PhD students.
Biophysics student Maya Igarashi investigates the physical properties of heat shock condensates with molecular geneticist David Pincus and PME's Allison Squires.
Jocelyn Hsu, a Cancer Biology student, researches the mechanism of enhanced anti-tumor T cell capabilities with James LaBelle.
Sylvia Durian and Samantha Johnson, Computational Neuroscience students, were also honored. Durian focuses on research in predicting neural coding in retinal activity with Stephanie Palmer. Johnson studies motor skill acquisition with Nicholas Hatsopoulos.
Ecology and Evolution students Ben Epley, Brandon Grandison, Emma Stanfield, and Madeleine Tanda have all also received the award. Epley researches protein mutations with Joseph Thornton. Grandison works with Luis Bettencourt on complex biological networks and collective behavior. Stanfield researches host-microbiome interactions in kelp with Cathy Pfister. Tanda studies functional diversity in coastal habitats with J. Timothy Wootton.
Since 1952, NSF has funded over 60,000 Graduate Research Fellowships out of more than 500,000 applicants. Currently, 42 Fellows have gone on to become Nobel laureates, and more than 450 have become members of the National Academy of Sciences. In addition, the Graduate Research Fellowship Program has a high rate of doctorate degree completion, with more than 70 percent of students completing their doctorates within 11 years. The NSF GRFP recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported STEM disciplines who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees at accredited US institutions. The five-year fellowship includes three years of financial support including an annual stipend of $37,000 and a cost of education allowance of $16,000 to the institution.