The Guild provides awards, endowments, and scholarships to both medical students and biomedical graduate students in the College of Medicine. Although the awards have changed over the decades, our support to acknowledge the best and the brightest students remains steadfast. Click here to read about our endowed funds.
The Thomas and Emily Maren Award
Medical Students ($2,000)
The Thomas and Emily Maren Award was originally established by Emily Sabah-Maren in 1999 as a scholarship for medical students to honor Dr. Thomas Maren, Graduate Research Professor Emeritus and founding chair of the Pharmacology and Therapeutics Department. It reflects the Marens’ desire to promote quality medical student education and healthcare for the underserved. In 2019, this became an award to the Equal Access Clinic Network to support the student-run clinics that care for our community’s medically underserved.
Biomedical Science Students
The Medical Guild Graduate Research Symposium Award was established in 1975 and endowed in 2020. During this competition, a senior level graduate student from each of the biomedical science areas of concentration presents his or her research. A panel of biomedical science faculty members determines the ranking of the gold, silver, and bronze awards and how the approximately $8,000 award money will be distributed.
The Thomas C. Rowe, PhD Advancement to Candidacy Award sponsored by the UF Medical Guild was established in 2012. In 2025, to recognize Dr. Rowe for his collaboration and partnership with the Medical Guild for the past 10+ years it was endowed and subsequently named for Dr. Rowe. This award of $3,000 is divided among four third-year biomedical science students who have completed their qualifying examinations over the current academic year, and have excelled in academic and research performance. A panel of biomedical science faculty members determines the selections. If less than $3,000 is awarded, the Interdisciplinary Program Director has discretion to apply the remaining funds toward increasing the Medical Guild Research Symposium Award.
2024-2025 Medical Guild Research Symposium Award Winners
Gold Award Winner:
Mitchell Gulkis from Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (Mentors: Dr. Robert Mckenna and Dr. Linda Bloom) “Structural and biophysical investigations of human bufavirus 1: an emerging pathogen”
Silver Award Winners:
Martin Schonk from Physiology and Functional genomics (Mentor: Dr. Andrew Judge) “Complement component c5-signaling mediates pancreatic cancer-induced muscle pathologies. ”
Siddhi Chitre from Cancer biology (Mentor: Dr. Christian Jobin) “Investigating host-bacterial communication following campylobacter jejuni infection”
Mackenzie Bolen from Neuroscience (Mentor: Dr. Malú Gámez Tansey) “Investigating the gut-blood axis in Parkinson’s Disease risk and progression”
Bronze Award Winners:
Yagmur Keser from Immunology and microbiologym (Mentor: Dr. Megan Stanifer) “Differential regulation and function of type iii interferons in human epithelial cells”
Seth Hale from Molecular Cell Biology (Mentor: Dr. Daiqing Liao)“Effects of hdac degradation by proteolysis targeting chimeras”
Emma Shea from Genetics (Mentor: Dr. Eric Wang) “Transcript turnover influences biomarker rescue following antisense oligonucleotide treatment in myotonic dystrophy type 1 mice”023-2024 Medical Guild Research Symposium Award Winners
2024-2025 Medical Guild Research Symposium Award Winners
Gold Award Winner:
Natalie Johnson from the Pharmacology and Therapeutics Concentration (Mentor: Dr. Dan Wesson) “Sniffing is initiated by dopamine’s actions on ventral striatum neurons.”
Silver Award Winners:
Phillip Mackie from the Neuroscience Concentration (Mentor: Dr. Habibeh Khoshbouei) “Enteric macrophages shape synucleinopathy progression via a C1q-dependent mechanism”
Michael Dougherty from the Cancer Biology Concentration (Mentor: Dr. Christian Jobin) “Genome-scale CRISPR/Cas9 screening reveals the role of PSMD4 in colibactin-mediated cell cycle arrest”
Amy Peiper from the Immunology and Microbiology Concentration (Mentor: Dr. Stephanie Karst) “Maternal regulation of neonatal bile acid metabolism determines heightened neonatal vulnerabilty to norovirus diarrhea”
Bronze Award Winners:
Tara Hawkinson from the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Concentration (Mentor: Dr. Ramon Sun) “Interrogating N-linked protein glycosylation metabolium in mouse and human models of Alzheimer’s Disease”
Bryan Alava from the Physiology and Functional Genomics Concentration (Mentor: Dr. Karyn Esser) “Skeletal muscle weakness as a peripheral symptom of tauopathy”
Gabriela Regard-Kushner from the Molecular Cell Biology Concentration (Mentor: Dr. Bernadett Papp) “Characterization of GGT^ in breast cancer: implications as a biomarker, impact on tumor progression and cell line viability”
Baylea Davenport from the Genetics Concentration (Mentor: Dr. Helen Jones) “Mitigation of placental insufficiency and fetal growth restriction through IGF1 gene therapy in a guinea pig model”
2022-2023 Medical Guild Research Symposium Award Winners
Gold Award
Rachel Newsome (Cancer Biology); Mentor: Christian Jobin, Ph.D.; “Microbial-derived immunostimulatory small molecules synergize with anti-PD-1 therapy lung cancer”
Silver Award
Caitlin Baumer-Harrison (Physiology and Functional Genomics); Mentor: Annette De Kloet, Ph.D.; “Alleviating hypertension through modulation of specific vagal nerves”
Mario Chang (Biochemistry & Molecular Biology); Mentor: Matthew Merritt, Ph.D.; “Assessing Chemotherapeutic Efficacy in Vivo Using Deuterium Metabolic Imaging”
Cora Hart (Pharmacology & Therapeutics); Mentor: Lee Sweeney, Ph.D.; “Getting to the Heart of DMD”
Grace Lloyd (Neuroscience); Mentor: Benoit Giasson, Ph.D.; “Strain Diversity in Synucleinopathies”
Bronze Award
Frederick Ashby (Genetics); Mentor: Coy Heldermon, M.D., Ph.D.; “Transduction Efficiency of 19 Barcoded AAV Capsid Variants within Sanfilippo Syndrome Type-B C57/BL6 Mice Compared to Wild-type”
Mollie Huber (Immunology & Microbiology); Mentor: Mark Atkinson, Ph.D.; “Declines in B Cell Function and Glucose Responsiveness are Independent of Insulitis during T1D Pathogenesis”
Sadia Sarwar (Molecular Cell Biology); Mentor: Alexander Ishov, Ph.D.; “Exploring Novel Chemotherapeutic Interventions to Overcome Taxane Therapy Resistance in Castration Resistant Prostrate Cancer”
2025 Thomas C. Rowe, PhD Advancement to Candidacy Winners
Harrison Clarke from Immunology and Microbiology Mentor: Dr. Ramon Sun
Tanzia Tithi from Cancer Biology Mentor: Dr. Weizhou Zhang
Noah Rakestraw from Genetics Mentor: Dr. Piyush Jain
2024 Advancement to Candidacy Winners
Giavanna Paterno from the Neuroscience Concentration (Mentor Dr. Benoit Giasson)
Baylea Davenport from the Genetics Concentration (Mentor: Dr. Helen Jones)
Sarah Sniffen from the Neuroscience Concentration (Mentor: Dr. Dan Wesson)
2023 Advancement to Candidacy Award Winners
Mario Chang; Mentor: Matthew Merritt, Ph.D.
Zane Moreland; Mentor: Jonathan Bird, Ph.D.
Samantha Smith; Mentor: Sara Burke, Ph.D.
Click here for information about the UF Medical Guild’s current endowed funds.