2025 Dean’s Dissertation & Graduate Research Fellows
Written by Serigne Thiam, Graduate Assistant for the Graduate College
The Graduate College is pleased to announce and congratulate this year’s recipients of the Graduate Student Research Fellowship and the Dean’s Dissertation Completion Fellowship. These awards are thoughtfully designed to assist graduate students in producing profound and impactful scholarship. This year’s fellowship cohorts include nine Dean’s Dissertation Fellows and 31 Graduate Student Research Fellows. Join us in celebrating the remarkable achievements of your fellow graduate students!
Sponsored by the Graduate College—with support from the Office of Research—the fellowships provide vital financial and academic support to help students advance their research, complete major milestones, and continue shaping knowledge in their fields.
To all of this year’s recipients—congratulations! Your work exemplifies the innovation and brilliance that define graduate education at UC.
Dean’s Dissertation Completion Fellowship
The Graduate College Dean’s Dissertation Completion Fellowship supports up to ten doctoral students in their penultimate or final year of their degree program. Each award includes a $20,000 fellowship and a full one-year tuition scholarship. Eligible doctoral students are nominated by their faculty committees and sanctioned by Graduate College Dean Rose Marie Ward. Fellows will participate in several professional development activities or Graduate College-related programming during the duration of their fellowship.
Congratulations to the 2025 Dean’s Dissertation Completion Fellows!
Collin Brice, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, College of Allied Health Sciences
Taiwo Fagbohungbe, Department of Mathematical Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences
Raven Gassis, Department of Physics, College of Arts and Sciences
Truong "Jack" Luu, Department of Operations, Business Analytics, and Information Systems, Carl H. Lindner College of Business
Zachery Ziqi Ma, Department of Accounting, Carl H. Lindner College of Business
Annie McGhee, Department of Sociology, College of Arts and Sciences
Joshua Peter, Graduate Program in Molecular Genetics, Biochemistry and Microbiology, College of Medicine
Adriana Prieto Quintero, Department of Romance and Arabic Languages and Literatures, College of Arts and Sciences
Meranda Quijas, Neuroscience Graduate Program, College of Medicine
Graduate Student Research Fellowship
The award recognizes several outstanding graduate students and assists them in meeting their professional goals in research, creative activities, and other scholarly endeavors. Each award recipient will receive up to $2,000 in funding to offset research-related expenses such as travel, workshops, performances, equipment, and more. To provide better flexibility and support their projects, funds will be available to recipients until graduation.
Congratulations to the 2025 Graduate Student Research Fellows!
Olayemi Ajayi, Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences
Natalie Artman, Criminal Justice, College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services
Collin Brice, Communication Sciences and Disorders, College of Allied Health Sciences
Shengyu Cao, Viola Performance, College-Conservatory of Music
Shuo Cao, Nursing Research, College of Nursing
Chandrima Das, Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences
Praval Devkota, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering and Applied Science
Mackenzie Fourman, Cancer and Cell Biology, College of Medicine
Prakash Giri, Materials Engineering, College of Engineering and Applied Science
Quintessa Huynh, Marketing, Carl H. Lindner College of Business
Bibek Karki, Cancer and Cell Biology, College of Medicine
Nabin Khanal, Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering and Applied Science
Emilie Kreimer, Doctor of Occupational Therapy, College of Allied Health Sciences
Alexander Kuhn, Pharmacology, College of Medicine
Jacob Kurek, Cancer and Cellular Biology, College of Medicine
Melody Mayle, Aerospace Engineering, College of Engineering and Applied Science
Grace Meyer, Criminal Justice, College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services
Yuka Milton, Development, Stem Cells, and Regenerative Medicine, College of Medicine
Thiraj Mohankumar, Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering and Applied Science
Alicen Potts, Criminal Justice, College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services
Pankaj Rajdeo, Biomedical Informatics, College of Medicine
Justin Reed, English Literature and Creative Writing, College of Arts and Sciences
Amy Ross, Counselor Education and Supervision (Substance Use Cognate), College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services
Franklin Sandoval, Music Performance, Violoncello, College-Conservatory of Music
Archana Shankar, Immunology Graduate Program, College of Medicine
Jacquana Smith, Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences
Cristian Soles, Criminal Justice, College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services
Jayne Stone, English, College of Arts and Sciences
Sergey Tkachenko, Choral Conducting, College-Conservatory of Music
Stephen Wubbolding, Architecture, College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning
Sam Yeganeh, Architecture, College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning
To the Future of Research and Discovery
Both fellowships represent powerful expressions of the Graduate College and the Office of Research joint dedication to empowering graduate students at every stage of their academic path. More than just financial awards, they represent a promise—one that affirms the Graduate College’s utmost confidence in graduate students’ abilities and potential to shape the future of their fields. These awards are thoughtfully structured to create optimal conditions for students to deeply engage with their research and colleagues, hone their expertise, and build momentum towards their scholarly success.
“Through investing in our students far beyond the norm, we lay the foundation for meaningful research, scholarly leadership, and creative expression that will follow students well beyond their time at UC” said Dean Ward.
“By providing the space and resources for our students’ potential to take root and thrive, we ensure that the future of innovation and scholarly impact lives here."