Overview
The UF Medical Guild Graduate Research Award Endowment provides critical support for graduate students in the University of Florida College of Medicine Biomedical Sciences PhD Program. The fund recognizes excellence in research, scientific communication, and academic advancement.
— Established: October 2020
— Fully funded at: $200,000
— Estimated annual support: $8,000 in perpetuity
April 2026 Research Symposium Award Winners:
Gold Award Winner:
- Jane His-Bell of BioChemistry and Molecular Biology: “The Structural Characterization of Antibody-Capsid Interactions Guide the Engineering of AAV9 Gene Therapy Vectors” Mentor: Dr. Robert McKenna
Silver Award Winners:
- Christiano Marconi of Cancer Biology,“SARS-CoV-2 mRNA Vaccines Sensitize Tumors to Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors” Mentor: Dr. Elias Sayor
- Melissa Munzen of Immunology and Microbiology,“Inhibition of RhoA Prevents Cryptococcus neoformans Capsule Glucuronoxylomannan-Stimulated Brain Endothelial Barrier Disruption” Mentor: Dr. Luis Martinez
- Sophia Eikenberry of Physiology and Cell Biology,”Harnessing the Power of Circadian Biology in Cardiovascular Disease” Mentor: Dr. Michelle Gumz
Bronze Award Winners:
- Logan Bell of Moleculer Genetics and Genomics “The contribution of RNA GGGAGA repeat to Alzheimer’s disease” Mentor: Dr. Lien Nguyen
- Sarah E. Sniffen of Neuroscience,”Neural circuit mechanisms directing emotional responses to odors” Mentor: Dr. Dan Wesson
- Qingchen (Jeremy) Yuan of Pharmacology and Therapeutics,”Clonal hematopoiesis-related loss of Dnmt3a deregulates trained immunity to impede cancer control“ Mentor: Dr. Olga Gurynova