March 22, 2017

OHSU graduate students received a record six National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) Fellowships and two honorable mentions. View press release.

It's the largest number of awards for OHSU in the last 10 years, both in terms of funded NSF GRFPs and in total awards including honorable mentions.

The NSF GRFP recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students who are pursuing research-based master's and doctoral degrees in fields within NSF's mission. The GRFP provides three years of support for the graduate education of individuals who have demonstrated their potential for significant achievements in science and engineering research.

Each award provides a $34,000 stipend along with a $12,000 cost of education allowance for tuition and fees for three years. In total, this OHSU cohort of students will be awarded $828,000 by the end of their tenures.

The OHSU School of Medicine congratulates:

2017 NSF Graduate Research Fellows

• Brittany Cummings, Environmental Biomolecular Systems Graduate Program
• Samantha Friedrich, Behavioral Neuroscience Graduate Program
• Sally Landefeld, Environmental Biomolecular Systems Graduate Program
• Kylie McPherson, Neuroscience Graduate Program
• Sydney Weber, Behavioral Neuroscience Graduate Program
• Douglas Zeppenfeld, Neuroscience Graduate Program

Honorable Mention

• Samuel Berk, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Graduate Program
  
• Samuel Hobbs, Molecular Microbiology and Immunology Graduate Program

"We are immensely proud of these students," said Jackie Wirz, Ph.D. '10, assistant dean of student affairs in the Graduate Studies Program, OHSU School of Medicine. "These prestigious, highly competitive fellowships give students the freedom to pursue creative and independent scientific projects under the guidance of a mentor and to customize their graduate experience in pursuit of their own professional goals."

There are additional benefits, says Allison Fryer, Ph.D., associate dean for graduate studies, OHSU School of Medicine. "In our uncertain funding climate for science, individual fellowships that support students free up important research funding for our faculty scientists and encourage students and faculty to catalyze new lines of scientific query that will impact human health."