Breanna Demestichas (she/her), a student in the Molecular Biology, Cellular Biology and Biochemistry program, studies the regulation of the tumor-immune microenvironment during breast cancer metastasis. Her mentor is Sendurai Mani, PhD.

Alice Lin (she/her), a student in the Neuroscience graduate program, studies the relationship between neural metabolism and neural activity using animals models of a rare genetic disorder known as SLC13A5 epilepsy with mentor Judy Liu, MD, PhD.

Noe Mercado (he/him) is a student in the Pathobiology graduate program, where he is examining the role of human cytomegalovirus in brain cancer malignancy and progression to develop novel targeted therapeutic approaches with his mentor, Sean Lawler, PhD. This is Noe's second year as a Blavatnik Family Fellow.

Kimberly Meza (she/her), a student in the Pathobiology graduate program, studies the oncogenic and therapeutic resistance mechanisms of PIM in renal cell carcinoma with Sheldon Holder, MD, PhD. 

Nicole Moody (they/them), a student in the Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology graduate program, studies the evolution and neurobiology of complex social interactions, focusing specifically on territorial interactions in free-living woodpeckers, with mentor Matthew Fuxjager, PhD.

David Peede (he/him), a student in the Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology program, studies the impact of genetic admixture (exchange of genes between populations) in human evolution with mentor Emilia Huerta-Sanchez, PhD. 

Erin Skeens (she/her), a student in Molecular Biology, Cellular Biology and Biochemistry, is investigating the allosteric mechanisms and regulation of CRISPR-Cas9 and MIF, respectively, to improve therapeutic options with mentor George Lisi, PhD. 

Nigel Anderson is studying in the Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology program with Professor Matt Fuxjager to understand the role of the brain in shaping the evolution of novel and elaborate animal behaviors.

Kelsey Babcock is a scholar in the Neuroscience program working to understand the decline in new brain cell formation that occurs in Alzheimer’s disease to identify targets to prevent this diminution and improve the learning and memory deficits associated with the disease with Professors Ashley Webb and Alexander Fleischmann.

Jennifer Cui is analyzing the structure and function of proteins involved in inflammation and cell signaling with Professor George Lisi in the Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry program.

Audrey Dalgarno is working with Professor Nicola Neretti to identify changes to the spatial arrangement of DNA within the nucleus that occur with cellular senescence, an irreversible state of cell cycle arrest which contributes to aging, with the goal of extending human health and lifespans in the Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry program.

Isaac Kim, a student in the Computational Biology program, is working to develop a prognostic model for Burkitt lymphoma in emerging nations by using cutting-edge sequencing and machine learning techniques with Professor Jeff Bailey.

Noe Mercado is examining the role of human cytomegalovirus (CMV) in brain cancer malignancy and progression to develop novel targeted therapeutic approaches with Professor Sean Lawler in the Pathobiology program.

Gabriel Monteiro da Silva, a student in the Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry program, is working with Professor Brenda Rubenstein to develop computer simulations to study how changes within the structural arrangements of cancer-causing proteins can lead to drug resistance and increased potential for harm, with the ultimate goal of guiding the design of next-generation therapeutics.

Mattia Pizzagalli, a scholar in the Pathobiology program, is working with Professor Nikos Tapinos to investigate how changes in gene expression in individuals with glioblastoma, an incurable, aggressive type of brain tumor, may impact cancer progression and serve as potential therapeutic targets.