Graduate Students Highlights
The 2022 awards, publications, service and outreach flyer can be found here.
Awards Heading link
2022 Award for Excellence in Teaching | Elizabeth Chen, Nicole Curtis, Bhagyashree Ghag, Ryan Hemphill, Jasmine Hopkins, Massie Jones, Xinyuan Liu, Arthur Makarenko, Michael Roberts, Jamal Sheriff, Jamuna Tandukar, Justin Tutt |
2022 Award for Excellence in Research | Nicole Curtis, Katherine Fowler, Nicholas Glass, Sriivatsan Govinda Rajan, Xinghang Jiang, Allison Kemph, Mia Krout, Egor Syroegin, Rui Xiong |
2022 Award for Excellence in Service | Sriivatsan Govinda Rajan, Philip Johnson |
2022 Diversity and Inclusion Award for Service | Nicole Curtis |
2022 Diversity and Inclusion Award for Mentoring | Frances Crable |
Publications Heading link

Outreach & Service Heading link
Eric Andersson | Ph.D. Students in Metabolomics" hosted by Womxn in Metabolomics (WomiX) in June 2021. Board member - BiosGSA Liaison for department recruitment events. Presented an overview of research for BIOS 532 |
Frances Crable | Biological Sciences Diversity & Inclusion Committee member |
Nicole Curtis | Volunteered at the Expanding Your Horizons (EYH) spring conference in Chicago for middle school-aged girls interested in STEM, March 2022. Invited speaker for Loyola Marymount University’s Chemistry Seminar Series: Various Ways to Pursue a Gap Year: An Overview, September 24, 2021. Served as Near-Peer Mentor for the NSF-sponsored Research Experiences for Undergrads Macromolecular Structure and Function Program organized by Dr. Jeffery, Summer 2021 |
Katie Fowler | Reviewer for Journal of Zoo & Aquarium Research. Skype-A-Scientist. Communications Committee for the International Society of Wildlife Endocrinology |
Sriivatsan Govinda Rajan | STEM mentor and volunteer for the mobile Saxena lab with the not-for-profit organization Project Exploration to increase interest in science for girls and minority students. Summer 2021 |
Philip Johnson | Graduate Employees Organization Steward. Board member- BiosGSA |
Presentations Heading link
Erik Andersson
- World Microbe Forum (June 2021), Investigation of A Novel World Microbe Forum (June 2021), Investigation of A Novel Microbiome Function Using Metabolomics (virtual presentation)
- Microbial Diversity Course Research Seminar, Marine Biological Laboratory (August 2021), Diazotrophic activity of symbiotic and aposymbiotic Astrangia poculata holobionts (in-person oral presentation)
- Ecology and Evolution Seminar Series (April 2022), Impacts of a Novel Aquaculture Water Additive on the Sablefish Microbiome (in-person oral presentation)
Zahra Batool
- Virtual poster presentation at EMBL Translational Control Conference 2021
Katherine Fowler
- Fowler KJ, Santymire RM, Brown JS. A novel field method for preserving African lion (Panthera leo) fecal samples for noninvasive hormone analysis. Oral presentation at International Society of Wildlife Endocrinology meeting; 16 August 2021; Virtual. Winner for Best Student Presentation.
- Santymire, RM, Fowler KJ, Murry M. Validating the use of dermal swabs in the marine sunfish (Mola mola). Oral presentation at International Society of Wildlife Endocrinology meeting; 16 August 2021; Virtual.
Nicholas Glass
- Glass NT, Dias de Oliveira E, Drewniak B, Matamala R, Whelan CJ, Gonzalez-Meler MA. 2021. Root litter decomposition rates and impacts of drought are regulated by ecosystem legacy. Oral presentation at 2021 ESA Annual Meeting (virtual).
Allison Kemph
- 2021 Midwest Drosophila Conference, Characterizing the composition and morphology of the germ plasm in the wasp Nasonia vitripennis, poster.
- 63rd Annual Drosophila Conference, Characterizing the composition and morphology of the germ plasm in the wasp Nasonia vitripennis, poster
Yahya Najjar
- Department of Biological Sciences Symposium Title: Understanding the Role(s) of Phenylpropanoids in the Cellular Stress Response, July 12, 2021
Jamal Sheriff
- Invited speaker, How to Become a Scientist, Argonne ACT-SO program, October 2021