Group photo of the 2019 MCB PhD Graduates
The 2019 MCB PhD Graduates

As part of the MCB commencement ceremonies last week, the 2019 MCB Commencement Honors were presented. We are pleased to announce the recipients here and we congratulate the awardees!

2019 MCB Graduate Commencement Honors
The following are the recipients of our annual graduate awards for research, academic, and community achievement.

Cris Alvaro Memorial Prize
The Cris Alvaro Memorial Prize honors MCB graduate student Cris Alvaro, who identified as a trans and non-binary person, using the preferred pronouns they/them/their.

This award was established after Cris's untimely death in 2018 at age 29 and is presented annually to MCB Ph.D. students who embody excellence in research and commitment to diversity, inclusion, tolerance, acceptance, and sense of community that Cris Alvaro always epitomized.

Jingxun Chen (Ünal Lab), Madeleine Jensen (Marqusee Lab)

Nicholas Cozzarelli Prize
The Nicholas Cozzarelli Prize was established in honor of Professor Nick Cozzarelli after his passing in 2006. It is presented annually to a graduating MCB student for excellent Ph.D. research.

Ze Cheng (Brar Lab)

Alan Bearden Book Award
The Book Award in honor of emeritus professor Alan Bearden was established after his death in 1999 and is presented to graduates who have performed outstanding research in the area of Biophysics.

Rose Hill (Bautista Lab)

MCB Co-Chair and Professor Donald Rio, PhD Graduates Jingxun Chen and Madeleine Jensen
MCB Professor Donald Rio with Jingxun Chen and Madeleine Jensen, recepients of the 2019 Cris Alvaro Memorial Prize.

 

 

Patrick Lin IMP, Kamran Ahmed NEU, Ravi Mandela GGD
Kamran Ahmed (NEU, middle), recipient of the I.L. Chaikoff Award in Neurobiology, with friends Patrick Lin (IMP, left), and Ravi Mandela (GGD, right).

2019 MCB Undergraduate Commencement Honors
The following are the recipients of our annual undergraduate awards for research and academic achievement.

For more details about each award, click here.

Departmental Citation
Awarded for the highest achievement each year by a graduating senior in MCB.
Jessica Bonnar
Outstanding Scholar
Awarded for the second highest achievement of a graduating senior in MCB.
Rachel Kim, Dong Hwa Chung, Amir-Ala Mahmoud
Outstanding Immunologist
Awarded for the highest academic achievement in the Immunology and Pathogenesis emphasis.
Kelsey Talkington
I.L. Chaikoff Award in Cell & Developmental Biology
Awarded in recognition of outstanding achievement and excellence in the Cell & Developmental Biology and Neurobiology emphases.
Yvonne Hao, Mukund Raguram, Ankita Singh, Xin Frank Qi, Aditya Goel, Amanda Chang, Emiliano Tabarsi, Wilson Xu
I.L. Chaikoff Award in Neurobiology
Awarded in recognition of outstanding achievement and excellence in the Cell & Developmental Biology and Neurobiology emphases.
Suma Gudipati, Sarah Rockwood, Kamran Ahmed, Arohi Saxena, Reni Forer, Eugene Gil, Caleb Choy, Hannah Yeeun Tak
Distinction in Academic Achievement (Immunology & Pathogenesis)
Awarded to the graduating senior in the Immunology and Pathogenesis emphasis for the high academic achievement in all MCB required courses.
Peter Wang
Excellence in Research (Immunology & Pathogenesis)
Awarded to the graduating senior in the Immunology and Pathogenesis emphasis for exceptional research performance in an honors research project.
Kimberly Tang
Jeffery A. Winer Memorial Prize (Neurobiology)
Awarded to the top graduating senior in the Neurobiology emphasis for high academic achievement and excellence of research in an honors project.
Suma Gudipati
Paola S. Timiras Memorial Prize (Cell & Developmental Biology)
Awarded to the top graduating senior in the Cell & Developmental Biology emphasis for high academic achievement and excellence of research in an honors project.
Yvonne Hao
Kazuo Yanaba & Ting Jung Memorial Award (Biochemistry & Molecular Biology)
This award is based on the students' oral presentation of their research at the annual BMB Undergraduate Honors Research Symposium and by their honors theses.
Jonchee Kao
Grace Fimognari Memorial Award (Biochemistry & Molecular Biology)
Awarded to the graduating senior in the BMB emphasis, based on the same criteria as the Departmental Citation.
Angela Pogson
Jesse Rabinowitz Memorial Prize (Biochemistry & Molecular Biology)
Awarded to an outstanding junior in the BMB emphasis, based on academic achievement in MCB courses and faculty recommendation.
Kevin Yu
Spencer W. Brown Award (Genetics, Genomics & Development)
Awarded to a graduating senior who has most distinguished themselves in genetics research.
Pallavi Joshi, Riku Yasutomi
Edward M. Blount Award (Genetics, Genomics & Development)
Awarded to the student with the highest academic achievement in Genetics, Genomics, and Development.
Eric Chen
Evans Memorial Prize (Cell & Developmental Biology)
In recognition of outstanding academic achievement and excellence in molecular physiology or anatomy.
Xin Frank Qi
John Forte Memorial Prize (Cell & Developmental Biology)
In recognition of outstanding academic achievement in molecular physiology
Eric Chen