We proudly announce the recipients of the 2025 graduate and undergraduate student summer fellowships. These distinguished fellowships are made possible by some very generous donors and are offered on a competitive basis to the most highly qualified students.

Please join us in congratulating them on their accomplishments and demonstrated academic promise. 

Claire M. Berg Graduate Fellowship in Genetics
Emily Fuller
Kaylah Samuelson
Katherine Fleck

Richard C. Crain, Jr. Memorial Fellowship
Antonio Rua
Morgan Wagner 

Cross-Disciplinary Fellowship in MCB and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Michael Samuelvich

Dr. Edward A. and Dr. Lamia H. Khairallah Graduate Fellowship
Jing Jin (Pharm)
Liam Caran (Pharm)
Nilesh Malavia (Pharm)

Jean Lucas-Lenard Special Summer Fellowship in Molecular Cell Biology
John Briseno
Helena Heyer-Gray
Julia Jerolamon
Derek Svendsen
Caroline Viera da Silva
Sarah Pasqualetti

Jean Lucas-Lenard Special Summer Fellowship in Biochemistry
Josh Berthiamue
Lee Dollar
Tristan Evans
Brenden Griffith
Russ Hanson

Philip I. Marcus Graduate Student Fellowship in Virology
Samantha Peterson
Josh Calabrese

Pfizer Summer Fellowship in Molecular and Cell Biology
Camille Pearce
Danielle Arsenault

Antonio H. & Marjorie J. Romano Graduate Educa on Fellowship
Derrick Kamp
Steven Klimetz
Alexander Poulter

Todd M. Schuster Award in Molecular and Cell Biology
Rilee Harris
Muhammad Faisal

Biohaven Pharmaceuticals Fellowship
Ryan Drennan
Michael Griffith
Michelle Lin
Shania Kalladanthyil
Daniel Phillips

Summer 2025 Doctoral Dissertation Fellowships were awarded to Joseph Iovine, Michael Griffith, Heather Jamieson, Leslie Russell Hanson, and Giancarlo Montovano. Congratulations!

Kristen Ramsey, Assistant Professor, Molecular and Cell Biology at UConn appeared on Jeopardy this week. Kristen faced off against returning champion Bryce Wargin and Conner Huey on Tuesday night's episode of "Jeopardy!" Abigail Weiss, staff writer at CTInsider writes, " Ramsey maintained second place behind Wargin throughout the game. They both guessed the correct answer to the Final Jeopardy question, "Three mighty city-states roughly forming an equilateral triangle were Venice, Florence and 'this one' where the Viscontis and Sforzas ruled."

Over the past few months, Kat Milligan-McClellan, a Native Alaskan assistant professor in molecular and cell biology at the University of Connecticut, has been applying for National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation grants for her research. Her work is mostly focused on the diversity, communities and exclusion in some communities of microbiota, which are the microorganisms of a particular site, habitat or geological period. She also studies the idea that “academia wasn’t built for people who are underrepresented in science,” and how it affects the way scientists research.  See full story in the Daily Campus

Submissions are now being accepted for the 11th Annual Undergraduate Research Colloquium in Molecular and Cell Biology. Graduating senior MCB or Biophysics majors are encouraged to present their research project as a short 15 minute talk. Graduating Biology majors whose project is supervised by an MCB faculty member are also invited to present their work. There will be two sessions:

SESSION I:
Tuesday, April 15, 2025
3:30 - 4:30 PM | BPB 130

SESSION II:
Friday, April 18, 2025
12:30 - 1:30 PM | BPB 131

The top three MCB presentations will be selected for participation in the All-Biology Symposium and will be eligible for multiple awards.

If you would like to participate, please e-mail the following information by Friday, March 28
to mcboffice@uconn.edu with
MCB Research Colloquium in the subject line.

Student Name:
Major:
Email:
Thesis/presentation Title:
Thesis Research Adviser:
Honors Adviser (if applicable):
Short bio and current research interests:
Availability: **Please provide time slots during which you have classes or labs that would conflict with your ability to participate. Even if you have no conflicts, please indicate this**

MCB Undergraduate student Sihlelelwe Dlamini has been awarded a Lt. Paul Drotch Undergraduate Biology Memorial Scholarship for 2024-2025. This award is available to students each year as a result of the thoughtfulness and generosity of Mr. Peter and Mrs. Hinda Drotch and their family, who established this award in memory of Mr. Drotch’s brother. Congratulations to Sihlelelwe!

MCB and School of Nursing present a special seminar: Addressing Ageism in Healthcare. Friday, February 14, 2025.

UConn Molecular and Cell Biology Department and the School of Nursing are hosting a special seminar.

The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) leadership team will be presenting a lunchtime seminar on Addressing Ageism in Healthcare

Ageism in healthcare is the systematic and unjust treatment of individuals based on their age, particularly older individuals, within healthcare settings. It manifests in various forms and can have significant negative impacts on the health and well-being of older persons. The challenge is that an innate bias based on age is a long-ingrained part of our culture. Many miss the signs of societal, interpersonal, and especially self-directed ageism. Bringing to the forefront specific examples and context is an important first step to address this pervasive and important issue that affects us all as we age.

Presenters:
Marilyn R. Gugliucci
MA, PhD, FAGHE, FGSA, AGSF, FNAOME
GSA President
Professor & Director, Geriatrics Education & Research
University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine, Maine

James C. Appleby
BSPharm, MPH, ScD (Hon)
Chief Executive Officer
Gerontological Society of America

Please RSVP here by Feb. 12

New paid summer research internships at UConn and UConn Health with the undergraduate Education in Aging & Geroscience Research (EAGR) Program.

To learn more about becoming an EAGR Scholar, enrolling in geroscience coursework, and applying for funded summer research in labs at UConn and UConn Health, visit https://education-aging-geroscience.research.uconn.edu/ or contact kenneth.campellone@uconn.edu 

Sophomores & Juniors Apply Now! Deadline February 7, 2025

(see article about the EAGR program in UConn Today)