The Graduate School is pleased to announce the 2025-2026 DDF Fellowship Recipients
Congratulations to the recipients of the 2025-2026 DDF Fellowship! The Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship (DDF) gives the University's most accomplished Ph.D. candidates an opportunity to devote full-time effort to an outstanding research project by providing time to finalize and write a dissertation during the fellowship year.
Shamim Ahmed
Comparative and Molecular Biosciences
Advisor(s): Alon Herschhorn
Enhancing anti-viral neutralization response to immunization with HIV-1 vaccines.
Robert Angarone
Mathematics
Advisor(s): Pavlo Pylyavskyy
Generalizations of the Pólya Frequency Property
Alya Ansari
Comparative Literature
Advisor(s): Tony Brown, Nirvana Tanoukhi
Measures of the Global Anglophone: Literary Setting and the Making of the Contemporary Workplace
Elizabeth Apiche
Chemistry
Advisor(s): Ambika Bhagi-Damodaran
Utilizing structural biology and X-ray crystallographic techniques to elucidate sensing and signaling behavior in mycobacterial heme sensors
Pegah Azizi
Civil Engineering
Advisor(s): Stefano Gonella
Duality and Fragile Topology in Kagome Metamaterials
Rupal Baliyan
Chemistry
Advisor(s): Gwendolyn Bailey
Supramolecular stabilization of bioinspired iron-sulfur clusters: insights from cages and coordination polymers
Lily Bastian
Nursing
Advisor(s): Barbara McMorris, Melissa Saftner
A Mixed Methods Study of Psychosocial and Health Practices Among Young People Living with HIV (YPLHIV) in Kampala, Uganda
Caitlin Baulch
Rhetoric, Scientific and Technical Communication
Advisor(s): Molly Kessler
“That’s just an old wives’ tale”: Pregnancy on social media and in the archive
Daniela Beckelhymer
Mathematics
Advisor(s): Richard McGehee
Mathematical Modeling of the Arctic Ocean’s First Ice-Free Summer
Charles Broadbent
Computer Science
Advisor(s): Rui Kuang
Deciphering spatial organization and function of tissues by guided tensor decompositions
Fan Bu
Molecular Pharmacology and Therapeutics
Advisor(s): Fang Li
Discovery and Development of Novel Nanobody Entry Inhibitors Against Deadly Filoviruses: Entry Mechanisms, Structural Insights, and Therapeutic Outcomes
Joseph Burey
Educational Psychology
Advisor(s): Panayiota (Pani) Kendeou
Representation Matters, But What Type? The Influence of Critical Contexts on Black Students' Understandings and Attributions of Systemic Racism
Linda Mariana Cardenas Henao
Ecology, Evolution and Behavior
Advisor(s): Daniel Stanton
From ice to fire: exploring the post-disturbance ecological role of non-vascular photosynthetic organisms
Young Geun Choi
Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology and Genetics
Advisor(s): Daniel Garry
Myocardial revascularization of ischemic hearts using ETV2 and cofactor mediated reprogramming strategies
Frederique Cocoran
Developmental Psychology
Advisor(s): Canan Karatekin, Rebecca Shlafer
Multi-System Resilience and Parental Incarceration: Leveraging School-Level Resources to Interrupt Intergenerational Incarceration
Shankar CSR
History
Advisor(s): Ajay Skaria
The Making of an Ideology: An Intellectual and Textual History of Ambedkarism (1956-2000)
Mohamed Dabour
Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology
Advisor(s): Beshay Zordoky
Mechanistic Insights and Therapeutic Approaches for Chemotherapy-Induced Cardiovascular Toxicity
Saron Demeke
Psychology
Advisor(s): Paul Sackett, Nathan Kuncel
Fairness in Graduate Admissions: A Large-Scale and Meta-Analytic Investigation of Predictive Bias in Standardized Tests
Harman Dewantoro
Chemical Engineering
Advisor(s): Prodromos Daoutidis
Causal Discovery and Network Optimization in Complex Systems: Applications in Industrial Processes and Brain Dynamics
Weiming Ding
Earth Sciences
Advisor(s): Xinyuan Zheng
Developing Cerium (Ce) Isotopes as a Novel Geochemical Tracer for Reconstructing Earth’s Surface Oxygen (O2) Levels through Time
Noel Dittbenner
Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics
Advisor(s): Melissa Gardner
Molecular Braking Protects Genome Integrity in Mitosis
Fernanda Fumuso
Comparative and Molecular Biosciences
Advisor(s): Roberta O'Connor
Evaluation of tartrolon E: A new drug candidate for parasitic infections caused by Cryptosporidium parvum
Madison (Maddie) Fung
Developmental Psychology
Advisor(s): Kathleen Thomas
Chronic stress in adolescent development: an examination of hormones, the brain, and health during puberty
Alyssa Gooding
Ecology, Evolution and Behavior
Advisor(s): George Heimpel
Risk Assessment of a Potential Biological Agent for the Control of the Avian Vampire Fly
Lenora Goodman
Epidemiology
Advisor(s): Nancy Sherwood
The Burden of Benefits: State-level WIC Administrative Burdens and Food Security among WIC Eligible Mothers, Infants, and Children
Anna Goorevich
Kinesiology
Advisor(s): Dunja Antunovic, Nicole LaVoi
Blood & Pain: Menstrual Health Experiences and Choices Among Intercollegiate Athletes
Sathya Aswath Govind Raju
Mechanical Engineering
Advisor(s): Zongxuan Sun
Data-driven Systems Modeling and Control for Sustainable Multi-fuel Propulsion
Xiaowen Han
Sociology
Advisor(s): Tom VanHeuvelen, Jeylan Mortimer
More Than Just a Paycheck: Life Course Inequality in Intrinsic Job Rewards, Income Mobility, and Health Disparities
Alexandra Hanson
Family Social Science
Advisor(s): Timothy Piehler
A strengths-based approach to examining parenting in families with youth at increased risk for disproportionate contact with the juvenile legal system
Alexander Leonid Heide
Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics
Advisor(s): Maziar Hemati
Practical Airflow Modeling and Control from Data: A Physics-Informed Approach
Laura Hirsch
Medicinal Chemistry
Advisor(s): Daniel Harki
The development of next generation dual Aurora Kinase A and N-Myc degraders with improved potency and physiochemical properties
Brandon Hosford
Chemistry
Advisor(s): Jessica Lamb
Combining previously incompatible cationic and anionic polymerization mechanisms to make specialized block copolymer materials
Asumi Hoshino
Molecular Pharmacology and Therapeutics
Advisor(s): Martina Bazzaro
Molecular mechanism by which UNC-45A counteracts the therapeutic effect of anti-cancer drug, paclitaxel
Megan Jones
Entomology
Advisor(s): Amelia Lindsey
Coinfections of the biocontrol agent Wolbachia and their impacts on Wolbachia life history
Sharada Kadaba Sridhar
Bioinformatics and Computational Biology
Advisor(s): Uzma Samadani, Rui Kuang
Deep Learning and Image Processing Approaches to Improve the Diagnosis and Prognosis of Reversible Dementia Using CT
Molly Kaissar
Biomedical Engineering
Advisor(s): Kyoko Yoshida
Hormonal and Mechanical Drivers of Heart Growth During and After Pregnancy
Sallu Kargbo
Chemistry
Advisor(s): Courtney Roberts
Expanding the Toolbox of Synthetic Chemistry Through the Development of Aryne Precursors
Ismael Karkache
Comparative and Molecular Biosciences
Advisor(s): Elizabeth Bradley
Phosphatase Phlpp2 and Bone Remodeling
Alyssa Kasahara
Education, Curriculum and Instruction
Advisor(s): Gillian Roehrig, Susan Staats
Disrupting Eurocentric Norms in Geometry: Centering Marginalized Elementary Students’ Funds of Knowledge in 3D Shapes
Zae Myung Kim
Computer Science
Advisor(s): Dongyeop Kang
Meta-Scaffolding for Large Language Models
Sanju Koirala
Developmental Psychology
Advisor(s): Damien Fair, Jed Elison
Salience network expansion as a transdiagnostic neural marker for internalizing psychopathology in adolescence
Tianyu Kong
Mathematics
Advisor(s): Mitchell Luskin, Alexander Watson
Modeling electronic dynamics in strained and relaxed moire materials
Jianxuan Lei
Business Administration
Advisor(s): John Budd
Labor Union Decline and Revitalization: Three Essays on Key Signals
Anu Li
Water Resources Science
Advisor(s): Diana Karwan
Hydrological Transport of Infectious Prions
Chenxu Li
Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology
Advisor(s): Reena Kartha, Lisa Coles
Advancing Therapeutic Strategies for Neurological Diseases Associated with Oxidative Stress
Peiran Li
Physics
Advisor(s): Zhen Liu
Standard Model and Beyond Standard Model phenomenology within collider and fixed-target experiments
Viviana Londono Lemos
Plant and Microbial Biology
Advisor(s): Jennifer Powers
The role of the abiotic factors in the natural regeneration processes of tropical dry forests
Evin Magner
Plant and Microbial Biology
Advisor(s): Clay Carter, Adrian Hegeman
Nectar’s Palette: Exploring the Chemistry and Function of Pigmented Nectars
Baruch Malewich
Political Science
Advisor(s): Helen Kinsella
The Enemy Within: The Emergence of Wartime Collaboration under Occupation
Claire McGlave
Health Services Research, Policy and Administration
Advisor(s): Hannah Neprash, Sayeh Nikpay
Evaluating the Impact of Catholic Health System Expansion on the Provision of Contraceptive Care to Medicaid Beneficiaries
Mahala Miller
Sociology
Advisor(s): Penny Edgell
Bridging the Gap: How Socioeconomic Class Shapes Family Responses to Adolescent Mental Health
Moataz Mohamed
Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology
Advisor(s): Pamala Jacobson
Improving Efficacy and Reducing Toxicities of Immunosuppressive Medications Through Precision Medicine
Mirinda Morency
Developmental Psychology
Advisor(s): Megan Gunnar
Health Disparities Among Minoritized Youth: Is John Henryism a Health Risk or Resource?
Erma Mujic
Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development
Advisor(s): Joan DeJaghere
Daring to Dream: Refugee Youths’ Education Experiences and Aspirations in Greece
Jae Hyun Nam
Mechanical Engineering
Advisor(s): Peter Bruggeman
Plasma-Enabled Sustainable Nanoengineering
Adam Negri
History of Science, Technology and Medicine
Advisor(s): Jennifer Gunn
“The condition can no longer be ignored”: Research, Care, and Health Inequities of Traumatic Brain Injuries, 1918-2018
Tongyu Nie
Computer Science
Advisor(s): Evan Suma Rosenberg
Advancing Cybersickness Mitigation and Detection in Virtual Reality
Aila O'Loughlin
Philosophy
Advisor(s): Sarah Holtman, Tamara Fakhoury
Thinking Through Kinship: the Philosophy of Indigenous Kinship Ethics
Ibrahim Oladepo
Mechanical Engineering
Advisor(s): Suhasa Kodandaramaiah
Technologies for facilitating large-scale cerebellar recordings in mice exploring large complex environments
Jose Ortiz Solorzano
Plant Pathology
Advisor(s): Dean Malvick
Advancing the understanding of tar spot of corn, an emerging fungal disease in the United States
Qichao Pan
Educational Psychology
Advisor(s): Moon Young Savana Bak, LeAnne Johnson
Towards a Better Understanding of Play Intervention: Perspectives of Autistic Adults and Service Providers
Victoria Papke
Psychology
Advisor(s): Bonnie Klimes-Dougan
The Intersection of Stress, Development, and Mental Health: Multilevel Influences on Adolescent Outcomes Across Diverse Sexual and Gender Identities
Eunyoung Park
Family Social Science
Advisor(s): Jodi Dworkin
Trajectories of Digital Communication from Late Childhood through Early Adolescence
Eric Queathem
Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics
Advisor(s): Peter Crawford
Bridging biochemistry and physiology to unravel the molecular origins of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD)
Eric Rachita
Chemical Engineering
Advisor(s): Chris Ellison, Marc Hillmyer
Rapidly degradable polylactide containing salicylate additives
Meenal Rathi
Chemical Engineering
Advisor(s): Cari Dutcher, Joseph Zasadzinski
Understanding surfactant adsorption and foam stability for next generation florine-free firefighting foams
Arvind Renganathan
Computer Science
Advisor(s): Vipin Kumar
Knowledge-Guided Machine Learning for Environmental Monitoring in Data-Sparse Regions
Colin Riggert
Physics
Advisor(s): Vlad Pribiag
Exploring Novel Device Platforms for Exotic Quantum States of Matter
Elizabeth Sachse
Neuroscience
Advisor(s): Alik Widge
Detangling the neural circuits of striatal deep brain stimulation
Boonsub Sakboonyarat
Epidemiology
Advisor(s): Kamakshi Lakshminarayan
Cardiovascular Disease Among Patients with Hypertension in Thailand
Viven Sharma
Earth Sciences
Advisor(s): Ikuko Wada
The State of Stress in Subduction Forearcs
Gurparteet Singh
Land and Atmospheric Science
Advisor(s): Jessica Gutknecht, Jacob Jungers
Quantifying water quality impacts of Kernza in the US Midwest
Minyoung Son
Earth Sciences
Advisor(s): Pete Makovicky
Deciphering Evolution Through Growth and Development in Ceratopsian Dinosaurs
Karianne Sretavan Wong
Neuroscience
Advisor(s): Matthew Johnson, Noam Harel
Pathway elucidation of deep brain stimulation targeting the anterior limb of the internal capsule for the treatment of severe obsessive-compulsive disorder
Brittany Stahlman
Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development
Advisor(s): Peter Demarath
Committed to Our Vision: Sustaining Culturally Responsive Co-Teaching in Shifting Political Contexts
William Stokes
Rehabilitation Science
Advisor(s): Manda Keller-Ross
Vasomotor symptoms of menopause and autonomic function
Kae Takaoka
Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development
Advisor(s): Elizabeth Sumida Huaman
“Reading the air”: A transnational study of tacit knowledge in Japanese educational systems
Rongwei Tang
Mass Communication
Advisor(s): Emily Vraga
Understanding People’s Experience of Being Corrected on Social Media
Shivasheesh Varshney
Materials Science and Engineering
Advisor(s): Bharat Jalan
Enabling novel electronic device architecture using free-standing thin film membranes
Molly Veregge
Plant Pathology
Advisor(s): Pablo Olivera Firpo
Resurging from the dust: investigating the epidemiology and evolution of virulence of re-emerging plant pathogens
Bisola Wald
Education, Curriculum and Instruction
Advisor(s): Bic Ngo
The Role of Refusal, Collectivity, and Othermothering in Black and Brown Women Educators’ Preparedness in Equity-Driven Pedagogy
Xinran Wang
Computer Science
Advisor(s): Ali Anwar
Adaptive Safe AI Palette (ASAP): Human-Value Alignment for AI Models
Elizabeth Watts
Health Services Research, Policy and Administration
Advisor(s): Sayeh Nikpay, Jean Abraham
Understanding the Impact of Medicaid Disenrollment on Access to Care for Low-income People with Diabetes: Evidence from the Post-COVID-19 "Medicaid Unwinding"
Christopher Wojan
Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior
Advisor(s): Meggan Craft
What drives spatial patterns of environmental macroparasites and when do those patterns matter?
MaryKate Wolken
History of Science, Technology and Medicine
Advisor(s): Jennifer Gunn
Delivering the Greater Good: Reproductive Health and Politics in 19th-Century Spain
Eugene Wong
Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences
Advisor(s): Benjamin Munson
Who is my model of speech? Gender effects on children’s speech imitation
Mackenzie Wyllie
Medicinal Chemistry
Advisor(s): Daniel Harki
Development of Novel Methods to Validate APOBEC3B Inhibition as a Cancer Treatment
Eaindra Yee
Chemistry
Advisor(s): Ambika Bhagi-Damodaran
Decoding and Engineering Iron Enzymes Towards New Therapeutics and a Sustainable Future
Leikun Yin
Bioproducts and Biosystems Science, Engineering and Management
Advisor(s): Rui Cheng
Sustainable Cashew Plantation Expansion in West Africa: Balancing Industry Growth, Poverty Reduction, and Environmental Conservation Using Deep Learning and Geospatial Data
Jonathan Zajac
Chemistry
Advisor(s): Sapna Sarupria
Unlocking the Blueprint of Future-Proof Vaccines: Enhancing Temperature Stability Through Molecular Simulations
Hongrong Zhang
Biomedical Engineering
Advisor(s): Paolo Provenzano
Enhance CD8+ T cell infiltration, migration, and sampling in pancreatic ductal ardenocarcinoma
Luna Zhang
Biomedical Engineering
Advisor(s): David Wood
Microfluidic technology to recapitulate triple negative breast cancer metastasis and pre-metastatic niche modulation using tumor spheroids