Two current UChicago Biosciences students were selected to receive NSF Graduate Research Fellowship awards that reflect the excellence and broad range of research undertaken by our PhD students. The purpose of the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) is to help ensure the quality, vitality, and strength of the scientific and engineering workforce of the United States.
Genetics, Genomics and Systems Biology student Joshua Sodicoff is studying the genetic mechanism underlying cross-acclimation in autotrophs. Their mentor is David Pincus and Seppe Kuehn.
Integrative Biology student Stephanie Krueger is looking at the evolution of venom glands in teleost fishes with Andrew Gillis. She is pursuing her research at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, in a joint program with UChicago.
Two incoming UChicago Biosciences students in Ecology and Evolution and Computational Neuroscience also received NSF Graduate Research Fellowships.
Since 1952, NSF has funded over 60,000 Graduate Research Fellowships out of more than 500,000 applicants. At least 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.