12th Annual Graduate Student Recognition Celebration

Thursday, April 8, 2010
3:00 p.m. — 6:00 p.m.
Alumni Hall in the George Watts Hill Alumni Center

Research displays begin at 3:00 p.m.
Awards ceremony starts at 4:00 p.m.
A reception follows

Graduate student recognition includes winners of:

For more information contact Elizabeth Carnes (ecarnes@email.unc.edu)

Congratulations to UNC-Chapel Hill Graduate and Professional Students for Outstanding Achievements in Research, Academics, Community Service and Leadership During the 2009-2010 Academic Year

2010 GEAB Impact Award Winners for Research Benefitting the State of North Carolina

  • Devin Barrett, Chemistry, Engineering Organs
  • Valerie Cooley, Public Policy, The Effects of Local Sanctions
  • Jennifer Costanza, Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Managing the Longleaf Pine Ecosystem
  • Jennifer Marie Gierisch, Health Behavior and Health Education, Promoting Regular Mammography Screening
  • Kathryn E. Hamilton, Cell and Molecular Physiology, Suppressing Colorectal Tumors
  • Penelope Hatch, Speech and Hearing Sciences, Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Literacy and Adolescents with Intellectual Disability
  • Andrew C. Hemmert, Biochemistry and Biophysics, Protecting our Soldiers from Chemical Weapons
  • Maiysha D. Jones, Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Using Bacteria to Clean Contaminated Soil
  • Kathryn Remmes Martin, Health Behavior and Health Education, Communities and Health Related Quality of Life
  • Elizabeth R. Matthews, Environment and Ecology, Piedmont Alluvial Vegetation
  • Timothy P. Morrissey, Geography, North Carolina Growth: Where Will the Water Come From?
  • Stephen D. Richardson, Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Cleaning Up Contaminated Soil Using Bioremediation
  • Alexis M. Silver, Sociology,Transitions to Adulthood: Immigrant and Second Generation Youth
  • Nathaniel A. Sowa, Neurobiology, Trying to Ease Your Pain
  • Melanie B. Weed, Toxicology, Understanding Obesity Mechanisms
  • Timothy Joseph Williams, History, Intellectual Manhood at UNC, 1795-1861

Boka W. Hadzija Award for Distinguished University Service by a Graduate or Professional Student

  • Theresa Elizabeth McReynolds – Anthropology
  • Theresa McReynolds is a student in the Anthropology Department and has held numerous leadership roles in the Graduate and Professional Student Federation as well as representing her graduate student peers by serving on numerous university committees. Nationally she has held leadership roles in the Southeastern Archaeological Society.
  • Yet perhaps her most impressive contributions come from work she does for teachers and children across the state aimed to bring archeology to the general public. Her various contributions include organizing “Archeology Days,” an event at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences for 8,000 visitors; developing a program called “History from Things” for 4th-8th grade teachers which includes inquiry-based lesson plans and an archeology kit for hands on classroom use; online archaeology workshops for North Carolina teachers enabling them to learn about the topic while not uprooting them from their environment; and developing video lessons and teacher workshops to accompany a museum exhibit called “Ancient Carolinians” which opened at Morehead Planetarium in 2008 and has since traveled to science museums throughout the state.
  • Theresa is also the recipient of an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship as well as a 2009 Southeastern Archaeological Conference Public Outreach Grant.

Dean's Award for Significant Contributions to Graduate Education

  • Carol and Edward Smithwick

Linda Dykstra Distinguished Dissertation Awards

  • Richard Benson, Germanic Languages and Literatures, 2010 Linda Dykstra Distinguished Dissertation Award - Humanities & Fine Arts
  • Shu Wen Ng, Health Policy and Management, 2010 Linda Dykstra Distinguished Dissertation Award - Social Sciences
  • Nathaniel Sowa, Neurobiology, 2010 Linda Dykstra Distinguished Dissertation Award - Biological & Life Sciences
  • Liangjun Zhang, Computer Science, 2010 Linda Dykstra Distinguished Dissertation Award - Mathematics, Physical Sciences & Engineering

2010 University Research Day Awards

Best Graduate Student Poster in the Physical Sciences

1st Place
Elizabeth O'Bryan, Chemistry, “Progress towards the Total Synthesis of Spirofungin A”
2nd Place
Mark Mans, Chemistry, “Synthesis and Structural Revision of the Proposed Structure of Briarellin J”

Best Graduate Student Poster in the Biological Sciences

1st Place
Mehmet Karaca, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, “The Tyr-267 site within the activation function domain of androgen receptor regulates subcellular localization”
2nd Place
Anh Nguyen, Biochemistry and Biophysics, “DOT1L regulates dystrophin expression and is critical for cardiac function”
3rd Place
Raju Prasad, Environmental Sciences and Engineering, “Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles Cause Genotoxicity in Human Lung Epithelial Cells”

Best Graduate Student Poster in the Humanities

1st Place
Elizabeth Greene, Classics/Classical Archaeology, “New Approaches to Archaeological Footwear: The Roman Shoes from Vindolanda”

Best Graduate Student Poster in the Social Sciences

1st Place
Dana Hanson-Baldauf, School of Information and Library Science, “Exploring the Everyday Life Information Practices, Needs, and Challenges of Young Adults with Intellectual Disabilities”
2nd Place
Virginia Guidry, Epidemiology, “Conducting a Participatory Study of Respiratory Health in Schools Near Industrial Hog Operations”

Best Graduate Student Oral Presentation in the Physical Sciences

1st Place
Stephen Richardson, Environmental Sciences and Engineering, “Effects of Chemical Oxidation on Microbial Activity in PAH-Contaminated Soil From a Manufactured Gas Plant Site”
2nd Place
Longhua Zhao, Mathematics, “A fully 3D experimental and theoretical study of flow patterns and Lagrangian trajectories generated by spinning bent rods in viscous fluids”

Best Graduate Student Oral Presentation in the Biological Sciences

1st Place
Pamela Reynolds, Biology, “Cascading effects of frightened herbivores on grateful seaweeds”
2nd Place
Michael Kerber, Cell and Molecular Physiology, “A novel system of intracellular transport in filopodia”

Best Graduate Student Oral Presentation in the Social Sciences

1st Place
Elizabeth Jensen, Maternal and Child Health, “Participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) and Breastfeeding: National, Regional, and State Level Analyses”
2nd Place
Carrie Pettus-Davis, Social Work, “‘Support Matters’: A Randomized-Controlled Pilot Trial of a Social Support Network Intervention for Recently Released Prisoners with Substance Use Disorders”

Honorary Societies

Frank Porter Graham Graduate and Professional Student Honor Society 2010 Inductees

  • Benjamin A. Aiken (Medicine)
  • Shereen Azam Alavian (Medicine)
  • Rebecca Glover Andrews (Dentistry)
  • Tierra Burrell (Medicine)
  • Craig Douglass Cannon (Kenan-Flagler Business School)
  • Meredith Boundy Costa (Social Work)
  • Fortune Egbulefu (Medicine)
  • Carlie Ewen (Social Work)
  • Joy A. Jones (Dramatic Art)
  • Megan C. Kassabaum (Anthropology)
  • Sarah Mehta (Public Health)
  • Mathew Anthony Murphy (Dramatic Art)
  • Jackie Ogechi Nneji (Medicine)
  • Flor De Liz Perez (Dramatic Art)
  • Tricia M. Wright (Genetics)

Order of the Golden Fleece Honor Society 2010 Inductees

  • Ryan Scott Kingsbury (Environment Sciences & Engineering)
  • Hannah E. Pollet (Maternal & Child Health)
  • Stephanie Poole (Kenan-Flagler Business School)
  • Lorene Atkins Temming (Medicine)

Order of the Old Well Honor Society 2010 Inductees

  • Tricia M. Wright (Genetics)
  • Craig Douglass Cannon (Kenan-Flagler Business School)
  • Tierra Burrell (Medicine)
  • Mathew Anthony Murphy (Dramatic Art)
  • Jackie Ogechi Nneji (Medicine)

Prestigious External Fellowship Winners

Anthropology

  • Ashley Carse, Wenner-Gren Foundation Dissertation Fieldwork Grant
  • Georgina Drew, Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowship; NSF Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant
  • Daniel Holbrow, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Doctoral Fellowship
  • EuyRyung Jun, NSF Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant
  • Kristina Killgrove, P.E.O. Scholarship; NSF Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant; Wenner-Gren Foundation Dissertation Fieldwork Grant
  • Courtney Lewis, NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program
  • David Lowry, NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program
  • Erica Scott, SSRC-Mellon Mays Predoctoral Research Grant
  • Sara Simon, NSF Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant
  • Joseph Wiltberger, SSRC International Dissertation Research Fellowship; NSF Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant
  • Elena Yehia, Wenner-Gren Foundation Dissertation Fieldwork Grants; UNESCO's Keizo Obuchi Fellowship

Art

  • Molly Medakovich, Kress Foundation History of Art Travel Fellowship
  • Emily Olson, Jacob K. Javits Fellowship

Biochemistry and Biophysics

  • Charles Davis, NRSA Fellowship (F31) NIH- National Institute on Aging
  • Bryan Der, NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program
  • Justin Low, NRSA Fellowship (F30) - For MD/PhD Students - NIH - National Institute on Drug Abuse
  • Oana Lungu, American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship
  • Srinivas Ramachandran, American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship
  • Peter Thompson, NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program

Biological and Biomedical Sciences

  • Lyudmila Kotlyanskaya, National Institutes of Health (NIH) Graduate Partnership Program
  • Matthew Kutys, National Institutes of Health (NIH) Graduate Partnership Program

Biology

  • Mukta Chakraborty, NSF Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant
  • Eric Earley, NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program
  • Cristina Ledon-Rettig, NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program
  • Nathan Putman, American Museum of Natural History - Lerner-Gray Grant
  • Anne White, Canadian Institutes of Health Research Doctoral Research Award

Biomedical Engineering

  • Matthew Berginski, NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program
  • Josie Bodle, NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program
  • Ryan Gessner, NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program; World Congress Molecular Imaging Travel Award
  • Shaun Gittard, American Ceramics Society Graduate Excellence in Materials Science Award
  • Meghan Hegarty, NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program
  • Rex Jeffries, NRSA Fellowships for Minority Students (F31) NIH- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
  • Suzy Vasa, NRSA Fellowships for Students with Disabilities (F31) NIH- National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research
  • Amy West, NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program

Biostatistics

  • Natnaree Aimyong, Royal Thai Government Fellowship
  • Naomi Brownstein, NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program

Business Administration

  • Peter Gallo, Aspen Institute Research Fellowship; Organizational Behavior Teaching Society Doctoral Institute Scholarship
  • Edward Owens, 2009 Deloitte Foundation Doctoral Fellowship

Human Movement Science

  • Johna Register Mihalik, National Athletic Trainers' Association Research and Education Foundation Graduate Scholarship

Information and Library Science

  • Stacy Harris, Association of Research Libraries - Initiative to Recruit a Diverse Workforce Diversity Scholarship
  • Neeri Rao, Spectrum Scholarship
  • Chirag Shah, SIG USE Interdisciplinary Travel Award

Journalism and Mass Communication

  • Behzod Mamadiev, Edmund S. Muskie/FREEDOM Support Act Graduate Fellowship
  • David Remund, Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication - Page Legacy Scholar
  • Luisa Ryan, Rotary World Peace Fellowship
  • Erica Yamauchi, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication - Susanne A. Roschwalb Grant for International Study and Research

Marine Sciences

  • Patrick Gibson, PADI Foundation Grant

Maternal and Child Health

  • Fernanda Queiros, Capes-Fulbright Program for Non-U.S. Students

Mathematics

  • Adam Gouge, Phi Kappa Phi Graduate Fellowship

Microbiology and Immunology

  • Meagan Bolles, American Society for Virology Student Travel Award
  • Cathy Cruz, NRSA Fellowship (F31) NIH- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
  • Allison Totura, American Society for Virology Student Travel Award

Music

  • Kimberly Francis, American Association of University Women International Fellowship
  • William Gibbons, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation/American Council of Learned Societies Dissertation Completion Grant
  • Karolin Schmitt, ERP Scholarship (German Ministry of Economy and Technology and German National Academic Foundation)

Neurobiology

  • Leon Coleman, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism - Alcohol and Development of the Prefrontal Cortex
  • Jacqueline deMarchena, NRSA Fellowship (F30) NIH - National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
  • Meghan Morgan-Smith, NRSA Fellowship (F30) NIH - National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
  • Michael Salling, NRSA Fellowship (F30) NIH - National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
  • Nathaniel Sowa, NRSA Fellowship (F30) NIH - National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
  • Buddy Whitman, American Psychological Association-Diversity Program in Neuroscience Predoctoral Fellowship

Nursing

  • JaHyun Kang, The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) Travel Award
  • Jeongok Logan, NRSA Fellowship (F31) NIH- National Institute of Nursing Research

Nutrition

  • Jenica Abram, American Dietetic Association Foundation - Lydia J. Roberts Memorial Scholarship in Public Health Nutrition
  • Carolina Batis Ruvalcaba, CONACYT (Mexican National Council for Science and Technology) Scholarship
  • Laurie Bennie, American Dietetic Association Foundation - Colgate Palmolive Fellowship
  • Rachael Bryan, American Dietetic Association Foundation - Mead Johnson Nutritionals Scholarship
  • David Cavallo, American Dietetic Association Foundation’s 2009 Commission on Dietetic Registration Scholarship
  • Alison Gustafson, CDC Public Health Research Dissertation Award (R36)
  • May May Leung, American Association of University Women (AAUW) Dissertation Fellowship; American Dietetic Association Foundation-Geraldine M. Piper Memorial Scholarship
  • Bethany Mack, Fostoria Community Hospital Foundation - G.H.W. Bruggemann Scholarship
  • Jill McClain, CDC Public Health Research Dissertation Award (R36)
  • Amy Paxton, North Carolina Dietetic Association, Inc. - Nancy Williams Didactic Program in Dietetics Scholarship
  • Meghan Slining, American Society for Nutrition - Wrigley Research Institute Predoctoral Fellowship; Young Investigator Award, 6th World Congress on Developmental Origins of Health and Disease Conference - the International Society for Developmental Origins of Health and Disease
  • Elizabeth Widen, American Dietetic Association Foundation - Dora E. Colver Scholarship
  • Jessica Wilcox, American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship; American Society for Nutrition - Cargill Predoctoral Fellowship
  • Daisy Zamora, NRSA Fellowships for Minority Students (F31) NIH - National Institute of General Medical Sciences

Occupational Science

  • Lauren Brock, Association of Schools of Allied Health Professionals (ASAHP) Scholarship of Excellence Award

Pathology

  • Jessica Cardenas, International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis Young Investigator Award
  • Olguitza Guzman, American Association for Cancer Research - Minority Scholar in Cancer Research Award
  • Troy McEachron, NRSA Fellowship (F31) NIH-National Cancer Institute

Pharmaceutical Sciences

  • James Byrne, National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship
  • Mary Carroll, American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education (AFPE) Pre-Doctoral Fellowship
  • Melanie Nicol, Rho Chi-AFPE First Year Graduate School Scholarship
  • Will Proctor, PhRMA Foundation Pre-doctoral Fellowship
  • Tammy Shen, NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program
  • Elizabeth Vasievich, PhRMA Foundation Pre-doctoral Fellowship
  • Deidre Washington, PhRMA Foundation Pre-doctoral Fellowship

Pharmacology

  • John Bauman, American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship
  • Jarrod Johnson, NRSA Fellowship (F31) NIH- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
  • Adam Kimple, NRSA Fellowship(F31) NIH-National Institute of Mental Health
  • Tiffany Ricks, NRSA Fellowship (F31) NIH-National Institute of Mental Health
  • Sarah Rogan, NRSA Fellowship (F30) NIH-National Institute of Mental Health
  • Daniel Urban, American Heart Predoctoral Fellowship
  • Christopher Welch, NRSA Fellowship(F30) - For MD/PhD Students - National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
  • Eric Zimmerman, American Heart Predoctoral Fellowship

Philosophy

  • Seth Bordner, Best Graduate Student Paper/Travel Grant, American Philosophical Association Eastern Division; Best Graduate Student Paper/Travel Grant, American Philosophical Association Central Division
  • Patrick Connolly, Folger Library Fellowship
  • Adam Cureton, Dolores Zohrab Liebmann Fellowship
  • Daniel Layman, Institute for Humane Studies Fellowship
  • Eric Mandelbaum, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation/American Council of Learned Societies Dissertation Completion Grant
  • David Ripley, ARCHÉ Fellowship, University of St. Andrews, UK; ARCHÉ Conference Travel Grant

Physics & Astronomy

  • Matthew Buckner, Department of Energy/NNSA Stewardship Science Graduate Fellowship
  • Amy Colon, NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program
  • Amanda Moffett, NASA - Harriett G. Jenkins Predoctoral Fellowship; North Carolina Space Grant Graduate Research Fellowship; Sigma XI Grants-in-Aid of Research Grant
  • Justin Moore, North Carolina Space Grant Graduate Research Fellowship
  • Emily Ray, NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program
  • Magdalena Sandor, Amelia Earhart Fellowship Program; North Carolina Space Grant Graduate Research Fellowship
  • Brantley West, NSF East Asia and Pacific Summer Institute

Political Science

  • Lauren Biddle, Organization of American States Graduate Scholarship
  • Hollie Mann, American Association of University Women International Fellowship
  • Sara Niedzwiecki, Fulbright Fellowship for Non-U.S. Students
  • Alexander Parets, American Political Science Association Minority Fellowship
  • Sarah Shair-Rosenfield, David L. Boren (NSEP) Fellowship
  • Patrick Wohlfarth, NSF Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant
  • Reed Wood, NSF Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant

Psychology

  • Christopher Cameron, NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program
  • Ilana Dew, NRSA Fellowship (F31) NIA- National Institute on Aging
  • Melanie Fischer, Fulbright Fellowship for Non-U.S. Students
  • Joseph Franklin, NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program; The International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies - Student Research Award; Travel Award from the Society for Psychophysiological Research
  • Nisha Gottfredson, NRSA Fellowship (F31) NIH- National Institute on Drug Abuse
  • Steven Holochwost, NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program; Sigma XI Grants-in-Aid of Research Grant; American Psychological Association of Graduate Students (APAGS) Basic Psychological Science Research Grant; Psi Chi International Honor Society in Psychology Graduate Research Grant
  • Joshua Jones, NRSA Fellowship (F31) NIH- National Institute on Drug Abuse
  • Emily Lowery, NRSA Fellowship (F31) NIH- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
  • Angela Lyons, NRSA Fellowship (F31) NIH- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
  • Matthew McMurray, NRSA Fellowship (F31) NIH- National Institute on Drug Abuse
  • Laurence Miller, NRSA Fellowship (F31) NIH- National Institute on Drug Abuse
  • Diana Rancourt, NRSA Fellowship NIMH- National Institute of Mental Health
  • Sonya Sterba, NRSA Fellowship (F31) NIH- National Institute of Mental Health
  • Emma Sterrett, American Psychological Association Minority Fellowship
  • Alison Wagner, NRSA Fellowship (F31) NIH- National Institute on Drug Abuse

Public Policy

  • Tyler Felgenhauer, Resources for the Future (RFF) - Joseph L. Fisher Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship
  • Shana Judge, Society of Family Planning Grant

Religious Studies

  • John Duffy, Louisville Institute Dissertation Fellowship
  • Brannon Ingram, SSRC International Dissertation Research Fellowship
  • Jason Staples, Jacob K. Javits Fellowship

Romance Languages

  • Mercedes Baillargeon, SSRC Canada Fellowship
  • Katie Boyle, Mellon Summer Institute in Italian Paleography
  • Holly Hamilton, The Ministry of International Relations of Québec, The International Association Québec Studies, and the American Council for Québec Studies Research Grant

Social Work

  • Sharon Bowen, Foundation for the Carolinas - Cole Foundation Graduate Scholarship
  • Carmen Crosby, Counsel on Social Work Education - Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Minority Clinical Training Fellowship
  • Carrie Davis, Samuel H. Kress Fellowship through the W. F. Albright Institute of Archaeology in Jerusalem; Shaver-Hitchings Scholarship; Fahs Beck Scholar in Research and Experimentation
  • Margaret McWilliams, James O. Duncan Scholarship
  • Darshan Mundada, Rotary World Peace Fellowship
  • Sharon Parker, Counsel on Social Work Education NIMH Minority Research Fellowship
  • Tasanee Walsh, Counsel on Social Work Education NIMH Minority Research Fellowship
  • Tiffany Washington, Council of Nephrology Social Workers (CNSW) of the National Kidney Foundation Educational Travel Stipend

Speech and Hearing Sciences

  • Angela Bonino, NRSA Fellowship (F31) NIH- National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
  • Jessica Klusek, National Fragile X Foundation - William and Enid Rosen Research Summer Student Fellowship

Statistics and Operations Research

  • Robert Erhardt, Society of Actuaries Doctoral Stipend Award
  • Seo Young Park, Institute of Mathematical Statistics Laha Travel Award of 2009

Toxicology

  • Emily Askew, Department of Defense Prostate Cancer Predoctoral Training Award
  • Elizabeth Godin, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Study Group Travel Award, 2009, Research Society on Alcoholism
  • Katherine Horvath, American Thoracic Society Travel Award, 2009 Annual Meeting
  • Terra Irons, American College of Toxicology Travel Award, 2009
  • Christina Lamb, NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program
  • Katie Paul, PhRMA Foundation Pre-doctoral Fellowship; Society of Toxicology Colgate-Palmolive Grant for Student Research Training in Alternative Methods; Society of Toxicology Graduate Student Travel Award, 2009 Annual Meeting
  • David Szabo, Graduate Student Travel Award, 11th Annual Workshop on Brominated Flame Retardants; Graduate Student Travel Award, 2009 National Environmental Public Health Conference; Society of Toxicology Colgate-Palmolive Grant for Student Research Training in Alternative Methods
  • Melanie Weed, Society of Toxicology Regional Chapter Travel Award; 2009 Annual SOT Meeting; Society of Toxicology Student Advisory Council Travel Award; 2009 Annual SOT Meeting