Two UGA doctoral students, Emily Krach in genetics and Christian Andersen in toxicology, have been named 2018 ARCS Fellows by the Office of Research and will each receive unrestricted awards of $22,500.
Krach was chosen for demonstrated excellence in science communication in her research on the integration of microfluidic technologies to understand genetic pathways throughout fungal development. Andersen earned his award for his study of Zearalenone, a fungal contaminant, and its role in altering placental development.
ARCS Foundation is a national organization dedicated to supporting the best and brightest U.S. graduate and undergraduate scholars by providing financial awards in science, engineering and medical research. UGA has been an ARCS nominating institution for nearly two decades and has facilitated the funding of nearly 100 UGA Ph.D. students working in STEM, totaling more than $1 million.
Andersen’s 2018 award specifically was supported by an additional donation to ARCS from Northside Hospital in Atlanta, with the goal of identifying a candidate who shared the hospital’s commitment to biomedical research.
This year saw a particularly strong pool of applicants, prompting the Office of Research for the first time to award a prize of $1,000 to the most exceptional second-place applicant, Ivette Nunez, a doctoral student in infectious diseases who will use the award to further her research on vaccine development against avian influenza virus infection. Videos of all three award winners can be viewed at https://bit.ly/2SedMyy.