The Graduate School is pleased to announce the 2026-2027 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.
Nuredin Ali Abdelkadir
Graduate Program: Computer Science
Advisor(s): Stevie Chancellor
Dissertation Title: Understanding the Impact of Social Media and Supporting the Mental Health of Digital Data Workers
Aamir Ansari
Graduate Program: Chemical Engineering
Advisor(s): David Odde
Dissertation Title: Biomechanics of CD8+ T cell. migration in brain tissue
Desmond Asante
Graduate Program: Kinesiology
Advisor(s): Rachel Hawe
Dissertation Title: Quantitative Assessments of Bilateral Arm use in Chronic Stroke
Vianney Atugonza
Graduate Program: Family Social Science
Advisor(s): Jodi Dworkin
Dissertation Title: Exploring family-based sexual health communication between Somali adolescents and their families
Aiym Bakytbaikyzy
Graduate Program: Plant and Microbial Biology
Advisor(s): Jonathan Schilling
Dissertation Title: Biological and ecological predictors of fungal wood decomposition
Alia Benedict
Graduate Program: Water Resources Science
Advisor(s): Ted Ozersky, Thomas Hrabik
Dissertation Title: Seasonal food web dynamics in lakes of contrasting trophic status and winter severity
Jesse Canavan
Graduate Program: Materials Science and Engineering
Advisor(s): Paul Dauenhauer, Alon McCormick
Dissertation Title: Towards Dynamic Catalysis: Understanding Gas Sorption and Reaction Kinetics to Enhance Reaction Rates
Chun Chen
Graduate Program: History
Advisor(s): Ann Waltner, Mary Jo Maynes
Dissertation Title: Where the Girls Belong: Girls and Girlhood in Song China (960-1279)
Yuanzhe Chen
Graduate Program: Chemistry
Advisor(s): Mark Distefano
Dissertation Title: A New Tellurium-Based Platform for Single-Cell Measurement of Protein Prenylation
Yi-Ting Cheng
Graduate Program: Chemical Engineering
Advisor(s): Chris Bartel
Dissertation Title: Chemical descriptors for cation and anion redox in sulfide cathode materials
Michael Chiappone
Graduate Program: Earth Sciences
Advisor(s): Peter Makovicky
Dissertation Title: Experimental Methods for Investigating Bone Transport and Burial in Fluvial Systems
Sooho Choo
Graduate Program: Materials Science and Engineering
Advisor(s): Bharat Jalan
Dissertation Title: Synthesis and Properties of Freestanding Ferroelectric BaTiO3 thin films
Emily Colton
Graduate Program: Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development
Advisor(s): Peter Demerath, Aditi Rajendran
Dissertation Title: Humanizing the Humanizers: A Mixed Methods Exploration of the Relationship Between a Critical Teaching Approach and Teacher Sustainment
Monica Crawford
Graduate Program: Mass Communication
Advisor(s): Valerie Belair-Gagnon, Dunja Antunovic
Dissertation Title: The places and platforms of women’s sports media consumption
Daniel Cueto-Villalobos
Graduate Program: Sociology
Advisor(s): Penny Edgell
Dissertation Title: The Antiracist Church: Race, Faith, and Memory in Minnesota
Mary Raphel Daniel
Graduate Program: Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology
Advisor(s): Beshay Zordoky
Dissertation Title: Investigating the Interactions between Cardiovascular Comorbidities and Chemotherapy-Induced Cardiotoxicity
Vu Dao
Graduate Program: Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development
Advisor(s): Joan DeJaeghere
Dissertation Title: Making Sense of Policy Change: How Vietnamese Teachers Navigate Competency-Based Education Reform
Sayan Das
Graduate Program: Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics
Advisor(s): Susan Hafenstein
Dissertation Title: From Building Blocks to Breach: Near-Atomic CryoEM Studies of Viral Assembly and Entry
Jingxuan Deng
Graduate Program: Earth Sciences
Advisor(s): Peter Kang
Dissertation Title: Understanding Reactive Transport in the Subsurface for a Sustainable Future
Elliott Edsall
Graduate Program: Mass Communication
Advisor(s): Matt Carlson
Dissertation Title: Reading the Bromance: Apolitical Identity and the Popularization of Right-Wing Politics
Maya Enriquez
Graduate Program: Ecology, Evolution and Behavior
Advisor(s): Suzanne McGaugh
Dissertation Title: Determining genetic mechanisms behind the repeated evolution of cave traits in the Mexican tetra Astyanax mexicanus
Jialu Fan
Graduate Program: Education, Curriculum and Instruction
Advisor(s): Lesa Clarkson
Dissertation Title: Moving Past Gap Gazing: Numerical and Artistic Examinations of Algebra for All
Jason Franzman
Graduate Program: Materials Science and Engineering
Advisor(s): Victor Barocas
Dissertation Title: Carotid-femoral pulse waveforms as a biomarker of Type B aortic dissection progression
Clarice (Clare) Froehlich
Graduate Program: Chemical Engineering
Advisor(s): Vivian Ferry, Christy Haynes
Dissertation Title: Selective Detection of Chiral Molecules with Plasmonic Metasurfaces using Surface-enhanced Raman Spectroscopy
Nic Glewwe-Jones
Graduate Program: Neuroscience
Advisor(s): Nicola Grissom, Alik Widge
Dissertation Title: Sex differences in prefrontal cortex activity mediating cognitive flexibility
Amanda Haeberle
Graduate Program: Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology
Advisor(s): Julia Willett
Dissertation Title: Investigating the host pathogen interactions driving Enterococcus faecalis periprosthetic joint infections.
Aidan Harrington
Graduate Program: Plant and Microbial Biology
Advisor(s): Dave Moeller
Dissertation Title: Origins and establishment of polyploids and implications for plant diversification
John-Paul Heinzen
Graduate Program: Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics
Advisor(s): Thomas Schwartzentruber
Dissertation Title: Modeling of Advanced Carbon Composite Performance under Extreme Conditions
Stephen Henrich
Graduate Program: Physics
Advisor(s): Keith Olive
Dissertation Title: Dark matter production in the early universe: new insights from post-inflationary reheating
Ziren Jiang
Graduate Program: Biostatistics
Advisor(s): Jared Huling, Erjia Cui
Dissertation Title: Developing Statistical Frameworks to Estimate Causal Effect from Observational Studies with Complex Treatments.
Manuraj Kallumkal
Graduate Program: Chemistry
Advisor(s): Gwendolyn Bailey
Dissertation Title: Reactions on Atomically Precise Metal-Chalcogenide Multimetallic Clusters: Towards Next Generation Catalyst Design Principles
Yewon Kang
Graduate Program: Educational Psychology
Advisor(s): Panayiota Kendeou
Dissertation Title: Bridging Knowledge Gaps: Using Generative AI to Support Science Text Comprehension
Ayoub Kechchour
Graduate Program: Land and Atmospheric Science
Advisor(s): Yuxin Miao, Vasudha Sharma
Dissertation Title: Multi-scale detection of nitrogen and water stress in corn using remote sensing and machine learning for precision corn management.
Chanhee Kim
Graduate Program: Nursing
Advisor(s): Sripriya Rajamani
Dissertation Title: Multi-pronged Approach to Examining Impact of Informatics in Infectious Disease Surveillance and Control
Caleb Kim
Graduate Program: Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology
Advisor(s): Thomas Griffith
Dissertation Title: Dysfunction of Adaptive Immunity for Sepsis Survivors and Trauma Patients
Geonlyung Kim
Graduate Program: English
Advisor(s): Katherine Scheil
Dissertation Title: Rewriting Womanhood Through Shakespeare in South Korea
Yun Kim
Graduate Program: Mechanical Engineering
Advisor(s): Xiaojia Wang
Dissertation Title: Tailoring Magnetic Materials for Next-Generation AI-driven Data Storage and Energy-Efficient Spintronics
Seokyung Kim
Graduate Program: Developmental Psychology
Advisor(s): Stephanie Carlson
Dissertation Title: Breaking Behavioral Inertia: Improving Adaptive Persistence in Young Children through Reflection
Charles Knisely
Graduate Program: Chemical Engineering
Advisor(s): Michelle Calabrese
Dissertation Title: Utilizing temperature-sensitive, nontoxic polymers for noninvasive medical applications
Miriam Kornelis
Graduate Program: Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences
Advisor(s): Lizbeth Finestack
Dissertation Title: Development of an Inclusive and Accessible Grammatical Language Assessment
Harinarayanan Kottala
Graduate Program: Chemistry
Advisor(s): Mark Distefano
Dissertation Title: Advances in proteomic analysis of prenylated proteins enables analysis of specific cell types in disease
Timothy Krogmeier
Graduate Program: Chemistry
Advisor(s): Kade Head-Marsden
Dissertation Title: Theoretical Modeling of Molecular Qubits for Use in Modern Technology
Hunmin Lee
Graduate Program: Computer Science
Advisor(s): Catherine Qi Zhao
Dissertation Title: Human–AI Co-Adaptation: A New Paradigm for Stable Neural Control
Soojeong Lee
Graduate Program: Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics
Advisor(s): Ryan Caverly
Dissertation Title: Cable-Actuated Bio-inspired Lightweight Elastic Solar Sail (CABLESSail): Momentum Management Using Shape Control
HaeJi Lee
Graduate Program: Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences
Advisor(s): Kerry Ebert, Lizbeth Finestack
Dissertation Title: Grammatical Language Development of Young Korean-English Bilingual Children
Malachi Lehman
Graduate Program: Biomedical Engineering
Advisor(s): Suhasa Kodandaramaiah
Dissertation Title: Mesoscale and High-Resolution Cortical Imaging for the Study of Internal Brain States
Limeng Liu
Graduate Program: Biostatistics
Advisor(s): Sandra Safo
Dissertation Title: Statistical Models for Improving Disease Subtype Classification by Integrating Multiple Data Views
Jialing Liu
Graduate Program: Biostatistics
Advisor(s): Steffen Ventz
Dissertation Title: Bayesian Transfer Learning for High-Dimensional and Longitudinal Biomedical Studies
Xin-Ting Liu
Graduate Program: Human Factors and Ergonomics
Advisor(s): Brad Holschuh
Dissertation Title: Development and Evaluation of a Reconfigurable Vibrotactile Garment to Improve Knee Motor Control and Reduce ACL Injury Risk
Channel Lowery
Graduate Program: Social Work
Advisor(s): Ceema Samimi
Dissertation Title: Reconceptualizing Self-Care Through Narratives of Black Women Social Workers: Organizational Contexts, Racialized Labor, and Professional Sustainability
Jacque Lyman
Graduate Program: Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology and Genetics
Advisor(s): Scott Dehm, Heather Zierhut
Dissertation Title: Integrative molecular profiling to identify determinants of therapeutic benefit of sacituzumab govitecan in advanced prostate cancer
Akshat Satyanaray Mallya
Graduate Program: Mechanical Engineering
Advisor(s): Allison Hubel
Dissertation Title: Rational design of natural deep eutectic solvents for controlling ice formation
Daniel Miao
Graduate Program: Mathematics
Advisor(s): Gilad Lerman
Dissertation Title: Robust Global Structure from Motion using Higher Order Measurements
Jennifer Mikkila
Graduate Program: Integrative Biology and Physiology
Advisor(s): Jop van Berlo
Dissertation Title: High-Temporal Characterization Identifies the Heart Matures in Four Distinct Phases
Somayeh Naderi
Graduate Program: Family Social Science
Advisor(s): Jenifer McGuire, Kay Simon
Dissertation Title: Understanding Factors Shaping the Desire to Become a Parent Among Sexual and Gender Minority (SGM) Individuals: Effects on Psychological Well-Being and the Mediating Role of Coping Strategies
Douglas Nelson
Graduate Program: Pharmaceutics
Advisor(s): Karunya Kandimalla
Dissertation Title: Dysregulation of Blood-Brain and Gut-Brian Axes in Alzheimer’s Disease
Kelsey Person
Graduate Program: Neuroscience
Advisor(s): Lauren Slosky
Dissertation Title: Evaluating the Contribution of the Dopamine Receptor D2 to the Effects of Neurotensin Receptor 1 Modulators in Models of Methamphetamine Misuse
Colin Peters
Graduate Program: Plant Pathology
Advisor(s): Robert Blanchette
Dissertation Title: Studies of Entomopathogenic Fungi for Effective Biological Control of the Emerald Ash Borer
Marianne Peterson
Graduate Program: Physics
Advisor(s): Lindsay Glesener
Dissertation Title: Enabling and Advancing Solar Hard X-Ray Observations Through a Multi-Wavelength Lens: From Microflares to Sounding Rocket Campaigns
Kabita Poudel
Graduate Program: Applied Plant Sciences
Advisor(s): Craig Sheaffer, Zhanyou Xu
Dissertation Title: Remediating Soil Phosphate Pollution with Gene-Edited Alfalfa
Nicole Quinones
Graduate Program: Health Services Research, Policy and Administration
Advisor(s): Sayeh Nikpay, J'Mag Karbeah
Dissertation Title: The Financial Ripple Effects of Abortion: A Mixed Methods Study of Financial Toxicity in the Lives of Abortion Patients
Erica Rapheal
Graduate Program: Epidemiology
Advisor(s): Kumi Smith, Kelly Searle
Dissertation Title: Quantifying the Impact of Urbanization on Spatial Variation of Arboviral Risk in Thailand
Patricia Rodriguez
Graduate Program: Chemistry
Advisor(s): Erin Carlson
Dissertation Title: Development of Covalent Inhibitors for Inhibition of Histidine Kinases
Plinio Rosales Lopez
Graduate Program: Chemical Engineering
Advisor(s): Theresa Reineke
Dissertation Title: Development of Lipid Nanoparticle (LNP) and Polymer Micellar Nanoparticle (MNP) Platforms for Nucleic Acid Delivery to Ovarian Cancer
Chistopher Rounds
Graduate Program: Conservation Sciences
Advisor(s): Gretchen Hansen
Dissertation Title: Spot the difference: Implications of fishery bright spots and dark spots for climate change adaptation
Erica Schmidt
Graduate Program: Veterinary Sciences
Advisor(s): Whitney Knauer
Dissertation Title: Improving Pain Assessment and Management in Cautery Disbudded Goat Kids: Novel Behavioral and Pharmacological Approaches
Rachel Schorn
Graduate Program: Neuroscience
Advisor(s): Lucy Vulchanova, Anna Lee
Dissertation Title: Chronic alcohol consumption delays recovery from capsaicin- and nerve injury-induced hypersensitivity and activates glutamatergic dorsal raphe neuron in mice
Paulomi Sharma
Graduate Program: Comparative Literature
Advisor(s): Keya Ganguly, Timothy Brennan
Dissertation Title: Tainted Liberties: Sexual Violence and Ethical Responsibility in Bangladeshi War Literature and Cinema
Ping-Yen Shen
Graduate Program: Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics
Advisor(s): Ryan Caverly
Dissertation Title: Predictive Control for Solar Sail Momentum Management with Mass Translation and Reflectivity Devices
Moriah Shumpert
Graduate Program: Feminist Studies
Advisor(s): Diyah Larasati
Dissertation Title: Bridges Over Troubled Waters: Conjuring Black Queer Cultural Production Across Space and Time
Binit Singh
Graduate Program: Mechanical Engineering
Advisor(s): Peter Bruggeman
Dissertation Title: Ultrafast Hydorgen Microwave Plasma Reduction of Iron Ore
Brent Strong
Graduate Program: Biostatistics
Advisor(s): Caitlin Ward, Harrison Quick
Dissertation Title: Novel Bayesian Spatiotemporal Methods for Modelling Neglected Tropical Diseases
Mei-Kuen Alexandra Tang
Graduate Program: Molecular Pharmacology and Therapeutics
Advisor(s): Stephen Hecht
Dissertation Title: Tracing DNA Damage in Smokers Using [13C]-Labeled Cigarettes
Felix Cheuk Wun Ting
Graduate Program: Social and Administrative Pharmacy
Advisor(s): Joel Farley
Dissertation Title: Evaluating the Cumulative Effectiveness of Medicare Part D Medication Therapy Management in Medication Adherence and Health Care Utilization
Nastaran Tork
Graduate Program: Civil Engineering
Advisor(s): Alireza Khani
Dissertation Title: Optimization and Evaluation of Sustainable Last-Mile Delivery Strategies.
Omolayo Umaru
Graduate Program: Social and Administrative Pharmacy
Advisor(s): Olihe Okoro
Dissertation Title: Healthcare Experiences of Somali Immigrants Living in Minneapolis-St. Paul: A Phenomenological Investigation
Carlos Villanueva
Graduate Program: Hispanic & Lusophone Lit, Cultures and Linguistics
Advisor(s): Ana Forcinito, Raul Marrero-Fente
Dissertation Title: Memory and photography of the Somoza family and the Guardia Nacional in Nicaragua
Molly Vitale-Sullivan
Graduate Program: Materials Science and Engineering
Advisor(s): Kelsey Stoerzinger
Dissertation Title: Understanding Water Oxidation Selectivity and Activity through Catalyst Structure and Pulsed Electrochemical Methods
Sarah von Gries
Graduate Program: Entomology
Advisor(s): Robert Koch, Amelia Lindsey
Dissertation Title: Investigating natural enemies of soybean gall midge: Insights from field and laboratory studies
Catherine Vopat
Graduate Program: Biomedical Engineering
Advisor(s): David Odde
Dissertation Title: Disabling Brain Cancer Cell Migration to Enhance Existing and Experimental Treatment Strategies
Lily Watkins
Graduate Program: Mechanical Engineering
Advisor(s): Victor Barocas
Dissertation Title: Ascending thoracic aortic aneurysm growth detection through zero-dimensional and 3D modeling, frequency analysis, and bioimpedance measurements.
Tianyi Xiang
Graduate Program: Pharmaceutics
Advisor(s): Changquan Calvin Sun, Ronald Siegel
Dissertation Title: Lubrication-Associated Punch Sticking in Tablet Manufacturing: Mechanisms, Functional Distinctions, and Practical Solutions
Xiaotian Xu
Graduate Program: Mechanical Engineering
Advisor(s): Xiaojia Wang
Dissertation Title: Understanding and Tailoring Thermal Properties of Functional Materials for Next-Generation Electronic and Data-Storage Technologies
Han Yang
Graduate Program: Health Informatics
Advisor(s): Serguei Pakhomov, Peter Morrell
Dissertation Title: Genomic Language Models for Non-Coding DNA and Transposable Elements: Representation, Interpretability, and Cross-Species Transfer
Gulsah Yildiz
Graduate Program: Biomedical Engineering
Advisor(s): Brenda Ogle
Dissertation Title: Exploring the Protective Role of Cardiac Fibroblasts with Cardiac Radiation Exposure
Sophia Yoo
Graduate Program: Business Administration
Advisor(s): Connie Wanberg
Dissertation Title: Getting Along with a Boss Who’s Not Like You: An Essay on Relationship Growth Mindsets and Supervisor Relationships
Chijing Zang
Graduate Program: Chemical Engineering
Advisor(s): Xiang Cheng
Dissertation Title: A study of the collective dynamics of multiple flagella in a bacterial bundle
Zaifu Zhan
Graduate Program: Electrical Engineering
Advisor(s): Rui Zhang
Dissertation Title: Real-World Biomedical AI: Efficient and Reliable Large Language Models
Hangyu Zhang
Graduate Program: Electrical Engineering
Advisor(s): Sachin Sapatnekar
Dissertation Title: Fast, High-Performance Placement Methods for Modern Chip Design
Shelby Ziccardi
Graduate Program: Computer Science
Advisor(s): Stephen Guy
Dissertation Title: Scalable Characterization of Human Movement from Video Data: Methods and Applications in Clinical Settings
Christof Zweifel
Graduate Program: Earth Sciences
Advisor(s): Cara Santelli
Dissertation Title: Uncovering Lead Chemical Form, Distribution, and Mobility Within the Twin Cities Urban Environment