mdpi thesis award

• Help & FAQ

PhD Thesis Award

• Garnish, Sarah (Recipient)
• Microbiology

Prize : Prize (including medals and awards)

Description

CBC Outstanding Thesis Awards for 2024

CBC congratulates Shinhye Chloe Park, Rei Ellsworth, and Clare Hotze as this years CBC Outstanding Thesis Award recipients!

Shinhye Chloe Park – First Place Read more about Chloe at this page .

Rei Ellsworth – Second Place "I've been very fortunate to grow up in the Tucson community and have an incredible experience with the University of Arizona. I've gotten to meet some really amazing people during my time in college and am grateful for all of the support of my friends and family. I came into undergrad thinking I would be going into healthcare, but during my time on and off campus have realized that I was much more interested in a research setting.

I'm excited to continue working with my lab after graduation and I'm open to any opportunities that will come my way in the future!"

Clare Hotze -Third Place "I have worked in the Tomasiak Lab for the past four years. My research mainly concerns membrane transport protein structure and function. For my senior thesis, I worked alongside a graduate student to investigate the molecular basis of substrate transport by a membrane protein in yeast that helps to  confer resistance to toxic heavy metals to the yeast cell.

Throughout this project and my time in the CBC Department, I learned a lot about biochemistry applications and techniques. I am so grateful for my time in the Tomasiak Lab and the people that mentored me along the way. After graduation, I am attending the University of Kansas Medical School, where I hope to combine my love of research with patient care."

Spring 2024 Biology Department Newsletter

Hello Department of Biology!

Welcome to the biology department newsletter., thanks to everyone who submitted news items., your contributions are greatly appreciated, chair’s note.

Dear Department of Biology Community,

I hope that the spring finds all of you doing well! In this department newsletter, you’ll see how our community of students, staff, and faculty continue to do amazing work. We hope you enjoy reading about them and we invite you to contribute to our department website and upcoming newsletters by clicking  here .

All the best,

Pamela Templer Professor and Chair

Congratulations to the Following Faculty

Congratulations to Assistant Professor Ana Fiszbein for being awarded an NSF CAREER grant and an Award to Catalyze Discovery from Hevolution . The title of Prof. Fiszbein’s NSF CAREER grant is “Splicing factors as transcriptional activators” and the Hevolution grant title is “Tracking gene boundaries in aging”.

Congratulations to Professor Kim McCall for being awarded funding from NIH for her grant titled “ The coordination of cell death and corpse clearance in Drosophila. ” Prof. McCall’s research program aims to understand the diverse mechanisms of cell death, how dead cells are efficiently removed, and the physiological effects on organisms when these processes go awry.

Congratulations to Professor Richard Primack for being invited to join the Academia Europaea , an initiative of the United Kingdom’s Royal Society and other National Academies in Europe.

Congratulations to Professors Katya Ravid and Nathanael Fillmore for being awarded an Allostatic Load and Cardio-Oncology Grant from the American Heart Association to focus on work on clonal hematopoiesis, cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Congratulations to Professor and Chair Pamela Templer who was invited to serve on the U.S. National Committee for the International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS) and being invited to serve as an Author on the U.S. Global Change Research Program’s First National Nature Assessment . Also, congratulations to Pam for being named a CAS Distinguished Professor!

Congratulations to the Following Students

Congratulations to Nyomi Inda (ECE Major, College of Engineering, graduate student in the Tay Lab) for having their abstract on “AutoMorFi: Automated Morphometric Analysis in Fiji” selected for the prestigious Engineering Community Technical Research Exhibition sponsored by Lam Research Corporation.

Congratulations to Ph.D. candidate María José Salazar-Nicholls of the Warkentin Lab for receiving the Marlene Zuk award for the best student talk in Animal Behavior at the 2024 meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology.

Congratulations to our Graduate Students who’ve received department awards so far this year!

Alden Macchi Award:  Alexandra Chasse

Belamarich Dissertation Writing Award: Mandy Pinheiro

Brendon R. Lutz Award: Alejandro Rondon Ortiz

Charles Terner Award: Jaice Rottenberg

Dana Wright Fellowship: Morgan Bennett-Smith

Economakis Award: E Schlatter

Marion Kramer Award: Kathryn Atherton and Jillian Ness

Outstanding Teaching Fellow in Biology Award: Chelsea Stephens

Thomas Kunz Award: Abigail Robinson

Warren-McLeod Award (Summer): Mu-Han Chen and Maria Ingersoll

Warren-McLeod Award (Year): Caroline Fleming

Congratulations to the Following Staff

Congratulations to Todd Blute for receiving the 2024 CAS Outstanding Achievement Award!

Congratulations to Barkha Shah for being awarded the CAS Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Access, and Leadership  (IDEAL) Award!

What’s New

Boston University’s Marine Program (BUMP) released their first-ever newsletter , covering news about events, faculty updates, student profiles, alumni achievements, and more.

Recent Publications

Abbonante, V, AI Karkempetzaki, C Leon, A Krishnan, N Huang, CA Di Buduo, D Cattaneo, CM Ward, S Matsuura, I Guinard, J Weber, A De Acutis, G Vozzi, A Iurlo, K Ravid and A Balduini. Newly Identified Roles for PIEZO1 Mechanosensor in Controlling Normal Megakaryocyte Development and in Primary Myelofibrosis. American Journal of Hematology , U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2024, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38165047/.

Aichelman, H, A Huzar, D Wuitchik, K Atherton, R Wright, G Dixon, E Schlatter, N Haftel and SW Davies. Symbiosis Modulates Gene Expression of Symbionts, but Not Coral Hosts, under Thermal Challenge. Wiley , 2024, onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/mec.17318.

Postdoc Dr. Hannah Aichelman published one of her dissertation chapters exploring how symbiosis modulates gene expression of algal symbionts, but not coral hosts. This work was in collaboration with several BU Marine Program students. This publication is the result of one of Hannah Eichelman’s dissertation chapters, and was a collaborative effort across BU Marine Program students, former BU undergrad and Davies Lab tech Alexa Huzar, former Davies Lab postdoc Rachel Wright, BU PhD student Katie Atherton, former Davies Lab PhD student Dan Wuitchik, and external collaborator Groves Dixon. They leveraged gene expression of coral hosts and their symbionts to test the hypothesis that coral gene expression responds more strongly to thermal stress compared to symbionts because hosts modulate symbiont environments to buffer stress.

Azorsa, F and JFA Traniello. Dietary variation, social complexity, and brain size evolution in predatory ants.

Bekendam, R and K Ravid. Mechanisms of Platelet Activation in Cancer-Associated Thrombosis: A Focus on Myeloproliferative Neoplasms. Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology , U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2023, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37457287/.

Castillo, KD, CB Bove, AM Hughes, ME Powell, JB Ries and SW Davies. Gene Expression Plasticity Facilitates Acclimatization of a Long-Lived Caribbean Coral across Divergent Reef Environments. Scientific Reports , 2024, www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-57319-0.

Previous Davies lab postdoc (and now Assistant Professor at Ursinus College) Dr. Colleen Bove led a paper exploring the acclimation capacity of long-lived corals across divergent reef environments in Belize using long term mortality, growth and gene expression data.

Elguero, J, G Liu, K Tiemeyer, S Bandyadka, H Gandevia, L Duro, Z Yan and K McCall. Defective Phagocytosis Leads to Neurodegeneration through Systemic Increased Innate Immune Signaling. Cell , 2023, doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2023.108052 .

A failure to remove dead cells in the brain of the fruit fly was found to promote elevated immune signaling and neurodegeneration.

Grupstra, CGB, M Gómez-Corrales, JE Fifer, HE Aichelman, KS Meyer-Kaiser, C Prada and SW Davies. Integrating Cryptic Diversity into Coral Evolution, Symbiosis and Conservation. Nature News , Nature Publishing Group, 2024, www.nature.com/articles/s41559-023-02319-y .

Postdoc Dr. Carsten Grupstra from the Davies lab led a perspective piece published in Nature Ecology Evolution discussing how cryptic diversity affects the study of coral adaptation to future environments and the challenges and opportunities that this diversity poses for conservation and restoration efforts.

Güell, BA, JG McDaniel and KM Warkentin. Egg-Clutch Biomechanics Affect Escape-Hatching Behavior and Performance. OUP Academic , Oxford University Press, 2024, doi.org/10.1093/iob/obae006.

Most gliding leaf frog embryos die in snake attacks, while their congeners mostly escape, cued by egg-clutch vibrations. Using standardized physical testing and cross-species egg-transplant predation experiments, we found that egg structure and clutch vibration mechanics help explain species differences in embryo behavior and escape success.

Katchmar, A and AB Cohen. A National Benefit For Cell And Gene Therapies: A Proposed Framework. Health Affairs , 2024, www.healthaffairs.org/content/forefront/national-benefit-cell-and-gene-therapies-proposed-framework.

This article explores a novel way to mitigate the impact of high-cost cell and gene therapies on the US health care system, and was covered by InsideHealthPolicy and Bloomberg Intelligence.

Lobel, P and L Kerr Lobel. A Ten-Year Record Shows Warming inside the Belize Barrier Reef Lagoon. MDPI , Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 2024, www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/16/1/57.

Lotfollahzadeh, S, X Yang, DJW Wong, J Han, F Seta, S Ganguli, A Jose, K Ravid and V Chitalia. Venous Thrombosis Assay in a Mouse Model of Cancer. Journal of Visualized Experiments : JoVE , U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2024, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38251710/.

Smith, J, J Vizueta and JFA Traniello. Diet diversity and gustatory receptor evolution in ants.

Recent Events

Jordan Smith and Frank Azorsa presented their research at the Cold Spring Harbor on Genomics and Biology of Social Insects Conference, March 25-28, 2024.

The Emerging Scholars in Global Change event took place on March 25-26, 2024 which was funded by Boston University’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion. This event identified and established relationships with current emerging scholars in Biology from underrepresented backgrounds.

The Davies Lab collaborated with Multiverse to conduct an outreach event at a Boston Public Elementary School that involved science booths, short lectures, and music.

Photos by Sarah Davies.

Upcoming Events

Evans Center ARC Seminars, Symposia and Special Events for Spring 2024 .

Prof. Warkentin will provide an invited talk in June 2024 titled “Plasticity, modularity, and cross-sexual transfer: a nonbinary framework for sexual diversity.” The invited talk will be in the Symposium titled Increasing the visibility of LGBTQ+ scientists and building a queer-friendly community in the Animal Behavior Society Meeting in London, Ontario.

Clubs and Athletics

Out in Stem (oSTEM) empowers LGBTQIA+ graduate students in STEM fields to succeed personally, academically, and professionally by cultivating community and promoting visibility through hosting a range of social, academic, and scientific events. BU oSTEM recently elected their 2024-2025 Leadership Team, which included many Biology and MCBB students.

Past Newsletters

Spring 2023

• Campus Crime Stats
• Scholarship First Agenda
• Our Achievements
• Our Community

Our Leadership

• Board of Supervisors
• Administration

Our Commitment

• Division of Engagement, Civil Rights & Title IX

Our Campuses

• Baton Rouge
• Pennington Biomedical
• LSU Health New Orleans
• LSU Health Shreveport

Programs & Information

• Certificate Programs
• Academic Programs Abroad
• Academic Calendar
• General Catalog

Academic Offices

• Academic Affairs
• University Registrar
• International Programs

Colleges & Schools

• College of Agriculture
• College of Art & Design
• E. J. Ourso College of Business
• College of Coast & Environment
• College of Human Sciences & Education
• College of Humanities & Social Sciences
• Manship School of Mass Communication
• College of Music & Dramatic Arts
• College of Engineering
• School of Veterinary Medicine
• Roger Hadfield Ogden Honors College
• University College
• LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center
• Pinkie Gordon Lane Graduate School
• College of Science
• An Elite and Historic University
• Academic Excellence
• A Vibrant Community
• Lots of Ways to Get Involved
• Help When You Need It
• Financial Aid & Scholarships

Ready to Apply?

• Undergraduate Admissions
• Honors College
• Graduate School Admissions
• Professional Schools
• Request More Information
• Plan a Visit
• Estimated Cost

• Student Affairs
• Center for Advising & Counseling
• Disability Services
• Student Health Center
• Student Financial Management Center
• Campus Safety
• Code of Student Conduct
• Campus Life
• Residential Life
• University Recreation
• Campus Dining
• Events Calendar
• Orientation
• Center for Freshman Year
• Campus Bookstore
• Center for Academic Success
• Geaux Communicate
• Olinde Career Center
• Office of Retention & Student Success
• Student Engagement & Impact

Get Involved

• How to Do LSU
• Organizations
• Student Government
• Research & Economic Development
• Industry & Business
• LSU Innovation
• LSU Discover
• GeauxGrants

Initiatives

• Artificial Intelligence
• Cybersecurity
• Energy Innovation

Communications

• Latest News
• Working for Louisiana
• Research Highlights
• Research Magazine
• LSU Science Café

Online Degrees

• Discover LSU Online
• Master's Degrees
• Graduate Certificates
• Bachelor's Degrees
• Associate Degrees

More Information

• Online Certificates / MicroCreds®
• Professional Development
• Online Distance Learning
• Pre-College Programs

LSU Recognizes 2024 Distinguished Dissertation Awardees

May 07, 2024

Each year, the LSU Alumni Association and the LSU Pinkie Gordon Lane Graduate School recognize two LSU doctoral students whose research and writing demonstrate superior scholarship.

LSU Alumni Association 2024 Distinguished Dissertation Award in Science, Engineering and Technology

The LSU Alumni Association 2024 Distinguished Dissertation Award in Science, Engineering and Technology is awarded to Dimitrios Kranas from Thessaloniki, Greece, who joined LSU and the Hearne Institute of Theoretical Physics under the mentorship of Associate Professor of Physics Ivan Agullo in 2018.

The LSU Alumni Association 2024 Distinguished Dissertation Award in Science, Engineering and Technology is awarded to Dimitrios Kranas from Thessaloniki, Greece, who joined LSU and the Hearne Institute of Theoretical Physics under the mentorship of Associate Professor of Physics Ivan Agullo in 2018. His dissertation, “Entanglement in the Hawking Effect: From Astrophysical to Optical Black Holes,” opens a promising window for the observability of the quantum origin of the Hawking effect in the lab using different input quantum states of light. Kranas received his Ph.D. in physics from the LSU College of Science in August of last year and now works as a postdoctoral researcher at Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris, France.

“It was in the lively ambiance of the enchanting city of Thessaloniki in northern Greece I first developed a passion for solving riddles and understanding the mysteries of nature,” Kranas said. “This led me to pursue a degree in physics and delve deeper into theoretical physics.”

Kranas investigates the confluence of field theory, general relativity and quantum information.

“At the heart of theoretical physics lies the tantalizing challenge of reconciling Einstein’s theory of relativity with the enigmatic realm of quantum mechanics,” Kranas said. “My scholarly pursuits are centered on unraveling this intricate connection, with a specific focus on investigating the quantum properties of matter in the presence of gravitational influences, such as particle creation in the vicinity of black holes and during the cosmic expansion.”

The runner up for the award this year is Michael McGee from Livermore, California, whose dissertation, “Tissue Resident Regulatory T Cells and Immunopathology during Influenza Infections,” was developed under the mentorship of Associate Professor of Pathobiological Sciences Weishan Huang. McGee has received three degrees in animal sciences and pathobiological sciences from LSU and currently works as a postdoctoral researcher in the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine. There, he works to identify new targets for disease prevention and therapeutic intervention during respiratory viral infections in both humans and animals.

“My research focuses on how the immune system balances the need to clear a virus versus preventing damage to healthy tissue during influenza infection,” McGee said. “As we have seen for many years with flu, and more recently during the COVID-19 pandemic, both uncontrolled viral replication and an exaggerated pro-inflammatory immune response can be major drivers of morbidity and mortality.”

Josephine A. Roberts LSU Alumni Association 2024 Distinguished Dissertation Award in Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

The Josephine A. Roberts LSU Alumni Association 2024 Distinguished Dissertation Award in Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences is awarded to Aaron Wood from Arlington, Texas, who besides his academic pursuits has worked as both an actor and director for the LSU School of Theatre and Theatre Baton Rouge.

The Josephine A. Roberts LSU Alumni Association 2024 Distinguished Dissertation Award in Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences is awarded to Aaron Wood from Arlington, Texas, who besides his academic pursuits has worked as both an actor and director for the LSU School of Theatre and Theatre Baton Rouge. His dissertation, “Proud of Your Boy: Toxic Masculinity, Boyhood and the American Musical,” traces the cultural historiography of the phrase “boys will be boys”—especially, the pattern of white male excusal the phrase embodies through passive acceptance of white boy violence. He does this through a survey of onstage depictions of boyhood in musical theatre. Wood received his Ph.D. in theater from the LSU School of Theatre in December of last year under the mentorship of Associate Professor of Theatre History Shannon Walsh.

“My dissertation looks to the musicals Newsies , West Side Story , Heathers , and Dear Evan Hansen as case studies for the generational idea of manhood as aggressive, competitive and violent and the harmful impact of white patriarchal ideals on white masculinity itself,” Wood said. “I hope that by dismantling the structures that perpetuate toxic boyhood and advocating for a more inclusive and compassionate vision of manhood, we may see a paradigmatic shift towards a more sustainable, healthy image of ideal masculinity.”

The runner up for the award this year is Jessica Stroope from Manhattan, Kansas, who received her Ph.D. in kinesiology in 2023 with Professor Alex Garn, interim director of the LSU School of Kinesiology, as her advisor. Her dissertation, “Active Transportation, Context and Community Participation: Engaged Citizens and Destination-Based Walking and Biking” investigates how biking and walking for transportation relates to behaviors of community participation, such as attending community meetings, contacting elected officials, or working together with neighbors to solve a problem. Stroope currently serves as a research associate and physical activity specialist for the Healthy Communities program in the LSU AgCenter under the direction of Associate Professor of Nutrition and Food Sciences Denise Holston. There, Stroope works with extension agents and community coalitions across Louisiana to improve walkability and increase access to physical activity opportunities, particularly in rural areas.

“Understanding how behaviors of walking and biking for transportation relate to community involvement is important for policy and local decision-making,” Stroope said.

Abbi Rocha Laymoun

LSU Media Relations

LSU Office of Research & Economic Development

POPULAR SEARCHES:

Video Modal

• StudentInfo

UNM NanoFab

Internal Users

• Donate to CHTM
• Mission Statement
• CHTM's History & Future
• Affiliations and Partnerships
• Map/Directions
• Areas of Research
• Research Groups
• Contracts and Grants
• Publications
• Theses & Dissertations
• K-12 Outreach
• Undergraduate
• Interdisciplinary Programs
• Education Grants
• Education & Workforce Development
• Impact Analysis
• Patents Licensed
• About UNM Engineering
• Programs & Degrees

Recent News

OSE PHD, Dr. Xuefeng Li - Wins The Outstanding Interdisciplinary Graduate Programs Award May 10, 2024

Dr. Ali Rastegari - 2024 OSE Best Dissertation Award Winner May 10, 2024

2024 OSE Spring and Summer Graduates May 10, 2024

QU Reach Accepting 2024 Applications January 23, 2024

News Archives

Dr. ali rastegari - 2024 ose best dissertation award winner.

May 10, 2024 - Doris Willaims

Departmental News

Posted: May 10, 2024

Dr. Ali Rastegari is a recent Ph.D. graduate of the Optical Science and Engineering (OSE) Program and did his work in the research group of Prof. Jean Claude Diels.  Dr. Rastegari’s dissertation, “Filaments and their application to air lasing, spectroscopy, and guided discharge,” received distinction.

Prospective Students

• Getting Started
• Find a Degree or Program
• Academic Support
• Scholarships | Assistantships
• Activities and Events

Current Students

• Apply to a Degree Program
• See an Advisor
• Career Development

Advising and Support

• Mentoring and Internships
• Engineering Student Services
• Middle School Programs
• High School Programs
• Residential Programs
• Research Experiences for Teachers
• Special Events

Alumni and Supporters

• News and & Events
• Special Projects and Funds
• Ways to Give
• Connect / Share Your News
• Contact our Staff

Partnerships

• Research Partnerships
• Global Initiatives
• Sponsor a Student Project
• Hire an Intern
• Economic Development Partnerships

Faculty and Staff

• Faculty Directory
• New Faculty Members
• Staff Directory
• School Organization
• Faculty Awards and Honors
• Employment Opportunities

© The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, NM 87131 New Mexico's Flagship University

• Accessibility
• Contact UNM

• Student Support
• StudentInfo

Optical Science & Engineering

• News & Events

Dr. Ali Rastegari - 2024 OSE Best Dissertation Award Winner

Departmental News

Posted: May 10, 2024

Dr. Ali Rastegari is a recent Ph.D. graduate of the Optical Science and Engineering (OSE) Program and did his work in the research group of Prof. Jean Claude Diels.  Dr. Rastegari’s dissertation, “Filaments and their application to air lasing, spectroscopy, and guided discharge,” received distinction.

© The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, NM 87131, (505) 277-0111 New Mexico's Flagship University

• UNM on Facebook
• UNM on Instagram
• UNM on Twitter
• UNM on YouTube

more at social.unm.edu

• Accessibility
• Contact UNM
• Consumer Information
• New Mexico Higher Education Dashboard

Information

• Author Services

Initiatives

You are accessing a machine-readable page. In order to be human-readable, please install an RSS reader.

All articles published by MDPI are made immediately available worldwide under an open access license. No special permission is required to reuse all or part of the article published by MDPI, including figures and tables. For articles published under an open access Creative Common CC BY license, any part of the article may be reused without permission provided that the original article is clearly cited. For more information, please refer to https://www.mdpi.com/openaccess .

Feature papers represent the most advanced research with significant potential for high impact in the field. A Feature Paper should be a substantial original Article that involves several techniques or approaches, provides an outlook for future research directions and describes possible research applications.

Feature papers are submitted upon individual invitation or recommendation by the scientific editors and must receive positive feedback from the reviewers.

Editor’s Choice articles are based on recommendations by the scientific editors of MDPI journals from around the world. Editors select a small number of articles recently published in the journal that they believe will be particularly interesting to readers, or important in the respective research area. The aim is to provide a snapshot of some of the most exciting work published in the various research areas of the journal.

Original Submission Date Received: .

• Active Journals
• Find a Journal
• Proceedings Series
• For Authors
• For Reviewers
• For Editors
• For Librarians
• For Publishers
• For Societies
• For Conference Organizers
• Open Access Policy
• Institutional Open Access Program
• Special Issues Guidelines
• Editorial Process
• Research and Publication Ethics
• Article Processing Charges
• Testimonials
• Preprints.org
• SciProfiles
• Encyclopedia

Find support for a specific problem in the support section of our website.

Please let us know what you think of our products and services.

Visit our dedicated information section to learn more about MDPI.

16 March 2023 Cancers 2022 Best Ph.D. Thesis Award—Winner Announced

We are delighted to announce one of the winners of the Cancers 2022 Best Ph.D. Thesis Award— Dr. João Pedro da Silva Machado Lobo , from the University of Porto, Portugal, for his thesis entitled “Uncovering Novel Prognostic and Predictive Epigenetic Biomarkers in Malignant Testicular Germ Cell Tumors”.

We have received a large number of excellent essays from Ph.D. students and postdocs. We would like to thank the award committee for their excellent work in the hard task of selecting winners from such excellent candidates, as well as everyone who participated in this award and helped make it a huge success!

The winners will receive CHF 800, a certificate, and a chance to publish a paper free of charge after peer review in Cancers (ISSN: 2072-6694) before the end of 2023.

Further Information

Mdpi initiatives, follow mdpi.

Subscribe to receive issue release notifications and newsletters from MDPI journals