There are many funding opportunities available for graduate students in the Biological Science Division. Approximately 11% of our students are supported by individual fellowships (nearly 50 in 2020-21).
Have you received a fellowship? Please let us know: Featuring current awardees helps students following in your footsteps to identify new funding opportunities.
| Student | Fellowship | Research topic | Degree program | Advisor |
| Acero Bedoya, Santiago | NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program | Understanding the role of PTPN22 in anti-tumor immunity | Cancer Biology | Thomas Gajewski |
| Alamri, Ali | National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowships | Neural Basis of Perceptual Decisions | Computational Neuroscience | |
| Anderson, Cara | Ruth L Kirschstein National Research Service Award | Hypusine as a nutrient-sensing modulator of eIF5A function in β cells | Molecular Metabolism | Raghavendra Mirmira |
| Anderson, Hope | NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program | Acquisition of effector programs in T cells | Biophysical Sciences | Samantha Riesenfeld |
| Arrelano, Nicole | Minority Hematology Graduate Award | Cancer Biology | Shannon Elf | |
| Azizi, Saara-Anne | Ruth L Kirschstein National Research Service Award | Identifying the mechanisms and biological impact of ERK lipidation in metabolic signaling | Interdisciplinary Scientist Training Program – MD/PhD | Bryan Dickinson |
| Blanc, Jennifer | Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award | Accurate and robust inference of mutational bias across complex traits and diseases | Human Genetics | Jeremy Berg |
| Bock-Hughes, Althea | Ruth L Kirschstein National Research Service Award | The Role of BNIP3 in Lipid Homeostasis in the Liver | Molecular Metabolism | Kay Macleod |
| Bogan, Emily | NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program | Molecular adaptation to environmental stressors | Evolutionary Biology | Cathy Pfister and Joseph Thornton |
| Bolonduro, Busayo | HHMI Gilliam Fellowship for Advanced Study | Mechanisms of gene regulation for immune tolerance | Genetics, Genomics and Systems Biology | Andrew Koh |
| Borregard, Megan | NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program | Regulation of effector function in tissue-resident T cells | Biophysical Sciences | Bana Jabri |
| Busch, Silas | Ruth L Kirschstein National Research Service Award | Dendritic morphology, patterns of input, and calcium signal heterogeneity in a novel subpopulation of cerebellar Purkinje cells | Neurobiology | Christian Hansel |
| Chak, Bridget | Google Fellowship Award | Population genetics, human evolution, and global health | Genetics, Genomics and Systems Biology | Luis Barreiro |
| Cooley, Rory | Ruth L Kirschstein National Research Service Award | How do cortical hierarchies mediate visual categorization | Computational Neuroscience | David Freeman |
| Correa, Edgar | Ruth L Kirschstein National Research Service Award | The conserved transcription factor UNC-30/PITX1-3 coordinates synaptogenesis and cell identity in C. elegans motor neurons | Cell and Molecular Biology | Paschalis Kratsios |
| Debrosse, Hadley | Ruth L Kirschstein National Research Service Award | X-ray fluorescence emission tomography for imaging trace gold in mouse models | Medical Physics | Patrick La Riviere |
| Deshpande, Sarita | Ruth L Kirschstein National Research Service Award | Spatiotemporal dynamics of epileptic activity | Interdisciplinary Scientist Training Program - MD/PhD Neurobiology | Wim Van Drongelen |
| Destain, Honorine | NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program | Regulation of terminal selectors in neuronal identity maintenance | Development, Regeneration and Stem Cell Biology | Paschalis Kratsios |
| Fernandez-Begne, Paula | NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program | Genetic basis of adaptation to escalating plant defenses | Ecology and Evolution | Marcus Kronforst |
| Fonseca, Renee | Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship | Polygenic scores and capture of causal genetics | Human Genetics | Andrew Dahl |
| Frith, Mary | Ruth L Kirschstein National Research Service Award | Microbiota-dependent early life programming of gastrointestinal motility | Interdisciplinary Scientist Training Program - MD/PhD Molecular Metab/Nutrit | Eugene Chang |
| Girdler, Benton | NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program | Lysosomal Membrane Dynamics | Computational Neuroscience | Yamuna Krishnan |
| Glauninger, Hendrik | Ruth L Kirschstein National Research Service Award | Understanding mRNA Condensation and Its Role in Translational Control during Stress | Interdisciplinary Scientist Training Program - MD/PhD Biophysical Sciences | Allan Drummond |
| Greaney, Marie | Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award | Characterizing motor control and variability at the single-cell level in larval Drosophila | Neurobiology | Ellie Heckscher |
| Hamilton, Ashley | NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program | Evolutionary Biology | Sean Hoban | |
| Henderson, Jake | Ruth L Kirschstein National Research Service Award | How temporal transcription factors regulate guidance cues and dendrite morphogenesis in Drosophila somatosensory circuits | Development, Regeneration and Stem Cell Biology | Elizabeth Heckscher |
| Hieromnimon, Hanna | Microsoft Research Fellowship | Biophysical Sciences | Samantha Riesenfeld | |
| Hollinger, Maile | Ruth L Kirschstein National Research Service Award | Inhibition of Th2 responses by secreted components of a common farm bacterium | Immunology | Anne Sperling |
| Hung, Anthony | Ruth L Kirschstein National Research Service Award | Determining the genetic basis of responses to biomechanical strain in an in vitro model of osteoarthritis | Interdisciplinary Scientist Training Program – MD/PhD | Yoav Gilad |
| Hunter, Laura | NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program | Comparative functional morphology across extinct and extant hominoids | Integrative Biology | Zeray Alemseged |
| Jadick, Giavanna | NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program | Quantitative phase-contrast x-ray computed tomography for soft tissue imaging | Medical Physics | Patrick La Riviere |
| Jotte, Matthew | Ruth L Kirschstein National Research Service Award | Defining the pathogenesis of Del(7q) in hematopoietic stem cells | Interdisciplinary Scientist Training Program – MD/PhD Cancer Biology | Megan McNerney |
| Keplinger, Amanda | NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program | Nuclear import of nucleic acid binding proteins | Cell and Molecular Biology | Alexander Ruthenberg |
| Lake, Joash | Ruth L Kirschstein National Research Service Award | Exploring the role and mechanisms of action of UC puchitis-associated pathobionts (PAP) to gain insights into the etiophathogenesis of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases | Immunology | Eugene Chang |
| Lin, Kyle | Ruth L Kirschstein National Research Service Award | Investigating Biomolecular Condensates and Heat Shock Proteins in Cellular Responses to Sublethal Heat Shock and Fever | Interdisciplinary Scientist Training Program - MD/PhD Biophysical Sciences | David Drummond and Allison Squires |
| Lutz, Olivia | Ruth L Kirschstein National Research Service Award | Spatiotemporal models of neural coding in the vestibular periphery | Computational Neuroscience | Ruth Ann Eatock |
| MacDonald, Margo | Ruth L Kirschstein National Research Service Award | Neutrophil extracellular traps and the intersection of the immune and biophysical microenvironments | Biophysical Sciences | Melody Swartz and Margaret Gardel |
| Martin, Hannah | NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program | Adaptations for fast synaptic transmission at vestibular hair cells | Neurobiology | Ruth Anne Eatock |
| Martinez, Tanner | Ruth L Kirschstein National Research Service Award | Establishing CUX1 as a determinant of Hematopoietic Stem cell heterogeneity | Interdisciplinary Scientist Training Program - MD/PhD Immunology | Megan McNerney |
| McDonough, Matthew | HHMI Gilliam Fellowship for Advanced Study | Co-transcriptional turnover of incorrectly spliced mRNA transcripts | Cell and Molecular Biology | Jonathan Staley |
| McIntire, Erik | Ruth L Kirschstein National Research Service Award | Single-Cell RNA Sequencing of Cardiac Organoids to Determine the Genetic Basis for Cell-Specific Responses to Anticancer Drugs | Human Genetics | Yoav Gilad |
| Molina, Andrew | Ruth L Kirschstein National Research Service Award | Uncovering the mechanism of potassium channel folding and assembly with implications for the molecular basis of cardiac arrhythmia | Interdisciplinary Scientist Training Program - MD/PhD Biophysical Sciences | Tobin Sosnick and Benoit Roux |
| Paletta, Mia | NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program | Motor preparation and respiratory-vocal coordination in songbirds | Computational Neuroscience | Daniel Margoliash |
| Patton, Jaeda | NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program | Accessibility of novel phenotypes in ancestral protein sequence space | Genetics, Genomics and Systems Biology | Joseph Thornton |
| Phillips, Jp | NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship | Multi-material decomposition of dual-energy CT | Medical Physics | Aaron Esser-Kahn |
| Praljak, Niksa | NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program | Biophysical Sciences | Rama Ranganathan | |
| Rhoda, Daniel | NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program | Geometric morphometric methods & evolvability across macroevolutionary timescales | Committee on Evolutionary Biology | Kenneth Angielczyk & David Jablonski |
| Salazar, Rio | HHMI Gilliam Fellowship for Advanced Study | Cell and Molecular Biology | Robert Carrillo | |
| Sepich, Caraline | Ruth L Kirschstein National Research Service Award | Investigating METTL5-regulated translational changes in hepatocellular carcinoma | Interdisciplinary Scientist Training Program - MD/PhD | Chuan He |
| Shangguan, Julia | NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program | Myosin10 binding interactions | Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics | Tobin Sosnick |
| Sheehan, Colin | Ruth L Kirschstein National Research Service Award | Role of PDK1 in pancreatic cancer cell fitness under tumor nutrient stress | Cancer Biology | Alexander Muir |
| Sheets, Drew | Ruth L Kirschstein National Research Service Award | The neural basis of stereognosis and its application to neuroprosthetics | Computational Neuroscience | Silman Bensmaia |
| Shelchkova, Natalya | Ruth L Kirschstein National Research Service Award | The role of thalamus in cortical function and tactile perception | Computational Neuroscience | Sliman Bensmaia |
| Tuzlak, Leila | NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program | T6SS in gut Bacteroidales | Microbiology | Laurie Comstock |
| Valbuena, Fernando | HHMI Gilliam Fellowship for Advanced Study | Generating enhanced variants of fluorescent proteins via directed evolution and optimizing high-resolution microscopy techniques | Cell and Molecular Biology | Benjamin Glick |
| Warioba, Chisondi | NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program | fMRI and DTI analysis of functional connectivity loss related to cerebral arterial occlusion | Medical Physics | Timothy Carroll |
| Washington, Tatjana | NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program | How climate change affects wildlife’s physiological and behavioral stress responses and environmental justice policy | Evolutionary Biology | Ran Blekhman |
| Watson, Raven | Minority Hematology Graduate Award | Hematopoietic malignancies | Genetics, Genomics and Systems Biology | Megan McNerney |
| Wheeler Fox, Gabriella | NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program | Role of Inhibitory Interneurons in Motor Learning | Computational Neuroscience | Jason Maclean |
| Wilkinson, Emma | Ruth L Kirschstein National Research Service Award | Elucidating the role of mRNA m6A methylation in tumorigenesis | Cancer Biology | Yu-Ying He |
| Wong, Caitlin | Ruth L Kirschstein National Research Service Award | Investigating the adaptive role of heat-induced biomolecular condensates in translational regulation | Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics | Allan Drummond |
| Wright, Nathaniel | Ruth L Kirschstein National Research Service Award | The role of BRWD1 to establish epigenetic states for germinal center initiation, maintenance, and exit | Interdisciplinary Scientist Training Program - MD/PhD Biophysical Sciences | Marcus Clark |
| Chakraverti-Wuerthwein, Milena | Fannie and John Hertz Foundation Fellowship | Microbial community dynamics | Biophysical Sciences | Stefano Allesina |
| Wuerthwein Chakraverti, Milena | NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program | Microbial community dynamics | Biophysical Sciences | Stefano Allesina |
| Zhang, Ruiling (Renee) | Ruth L Kirschstein National Research Service Award | Uncovering DIP-α signaling pathways underlying circuit assembly | Development, Regeneration and Stem Cell Biology | Robert Carrillo |
| Zhu, Allen | Ruth L Kirschstein National Research Service Award | The Effects of ERK2-Induced Phosphorylation of METTL3 on N6-methyladenosine (m6A) mRNA Methylation in Melanoma | Interdisciplinary Scientist Training Program - Cancer Biology | Chuan He |
| Zhu, Ou | Ruth L Kirschstein National Research Service Award | Neuronal encoding of rapid categorical decisions across primate oculomotor networks | Interdisciplinary Scientist Training Program - Computational Neuroscience | David Freedman |