Congratulations to the Penn Bioengineering graduate students who have received awards in the past year.
2025 Schmidt Science Fellow
Serena Omo-Lamai
As a 2025 Schmidt Science Fellow, Serena aims to create gene editing tools that activate only in targeted cells or disease contexts, improving precision and minimizing unintended effects. Her research focuses on safely removing harmful cells in autoimmune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and type 1 diabetes, with broader potential for diagnostics and treating other diseases.
Solomon R. Pollack Award for Excellence in Graduate Bioengineering Research
Harshini Chandrashekar
Niko Di Caprio
Kelsey Swingle
David Gonzalez-Martinez
The Solomon R. Pollack Award for Excellence in Graduate Bioengineering Research is given annually to the most deserving Bioengineering graduate students who have successfully completed research that is original and recognized as being at the forefront of their field.
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Winner
Emily Huynh
Emily Jacobs
Jacqueline Li
Emily Lin
“I would like to thank Dr Noor Momin and all of my lab mates in the Momin Lab. I would not be able to put in the dedication I do without all of their support, mentorship, and friendship!”
-Emily Jacobs
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Honorable Mention
Ronald Canlla
Rachel Grace Eichman
Grace Katherine Hinds
Etienne Steffens Soto
American Heart Association (AHA) Award
Tuan Anh Nguyen
Awarded a Predoctoral Fellowship for his project, “Neuromodulatory Effects of Social Robot-Assisted Action Observation and Execution Therapy in Stroke Rehabilitation.”
Outstanding Teaching – SEAS Graduate Awards
Alex Hamilton
Aoife O’Farrell
Nat Thurlow
Michael Yao
“I would like to thank Dr. LeAnn Dourte and Dr. Joel Boerckel for their incredible mentorship and support. It has been inspiring to work and teach with mentors who care deeply about students and fostering their growth beyond the curriculum.”
-Nat Thurlow
“Many thanks to Dr. Kevin Johnson for being an incredible mentor and teacher! Extremely privileged to have been able to work with him and learn how to be a better educator. A big thank you as well to my co-advisors, Jim Gee and Osbert Bastani, for being fantastic mentors and sources of support!”
-Michael Yao
Outstanding Research – SEAS Graduate Awards
Lysia Cardilla
Jiayi Wu
Outstanding Service – SEAS Graduate Awards
Aoife O’Farrell
Ludwig Zhao
“I would like to thank Drs. Detre, Gottfried, and Tisdall for their nomination and their invaluable support as my mentors. It has been a great privilege to work with them – not only for their academic guidance, but also for their support in enabling me to serve our engineering students.”
-Ludwig Zhao
Penn Prize for Excellence in Teaching by Graduate Students
Lasya Sreepada
Ajay Thatte
“Thanks to all my students – high schoolers, undergraduates, and graduates – for engaging so thoughtfully in and out of class. I learned so much from you that has shaped my teaching style and inspired me to strive towards being an even better educator. A special thank you to Professor Paul Yushkevich, who welcomed me on board the teaching team for his Biomedical Image Analysis class and has been an outstanding mentor for me, as an aspiring scientist and professor.”
-Lasya Sreepada
“A sincere thank you to Drs. Michael Mitchell, Riccardo Gottardi, Daniel Hammer and Jenny Jiang for giving me the opportunity to TA for them! This award would not have been possible without all of their guidance and support. And a big thank you to all the wonderful students I have had the privilege of teaching for the past 3 years!”
-Ajay Thatte
