Celebration of Human Genetics Student Awards 2025

May 27, 2025

Congratulations to this year's winners!

Faculty member John Shaffer and Chair Quasar Padiath Presenting in Public Health Commons

Chair Padiath and some of the winners posing

	2025 Convocation Awards Outstanding Student Award Eli Harter, MPH Wafaa Albalawy, PhD
	2025 Convocation Awards Best Thesis/Dissertation Kathryn Ryan, MPH "Expanding the Genetic Landscape of Dental Health: A GWAS of Early Childhood Caries in a Multi-Ethnic Cohort" Keaton Solo, PhD "The Therapeutic Application of Medium Chain Acyl-Carnitines for Genetic Disorders of Long Chain Fatty Acid Oxidation"
	2025 Convocation Awards Dean's Service Award Alejandra Bernal, MSGC
	2025 Three-minute Thesis Competition School of Public Health Award Recipients - First Place Prize Jie Sun "Unveiling the Gut Microbiome Network Fingerprint: A Deep Learning Approach to Predict Immunotherapy Response in Melanoma Patients"
	2025 Dean's Day Poster Competition Schoolwide Award Recipients - Master's Level Winner; Third Place Prize Human Genetics Award Recipients - Master of Public Health category Mireya Lopez-Jimenez, MPH "Global Accessibility and Utilization of Genetic Laboratory Report: A Comprehensive Analysis of Factors Impacting Access and Use Across Borders"
	2025 Dean's Day Poster Competition Human Genetics Award Recipients - Master of Science category Jennifer Reif, MSGC "Towards a Standardized Testing Strategy: Utility of Genetic Testing in Infantile Cardiomyopathy Patients"
	2025 Dean's Day Poster Competition Human Genetics Award Recipients - Doctoral category Lauren Spor "GWAS meta-analysis of fasting glucose, fasting insulin and HOMA-IR in Samoans"
	Department of Human Genetics Awards presented by the department to recognize excellence in scholarship and impact Jennifer Reif
	Department of Human Genetics Awards Chairs Special Award for Social Justice and Advocacy in Genetics Sarah Klotz, MPH "Pathways to resilience: exploring the associations between future orientation and mental health outcomes among youth exposed to community violence"
	Department of Human Genetics Awards Chairs Special Award for Social Justice and Advocacy in Genetics Alejandra Bernal, MSGC "Genética en Español"
	Department of Human Genetics Awards Chairs Special Award for Social Justice and Advocacy in Genetics Gabrielle Gauldin, MSGC "Exploration of Transgender and Gender-Diverse (TGD) Patient Perspectives and Motivations in Prenatal Care"
	Department of Human Genetics Awards Program Director's Special Award for Outstanding MPH Thesis Mireya Lopez-Jimenez, MPH "Examining Global Accessibility and Utilization of Genetic Laboratory Reports: A Comprehensive Analysis of Factors Impacting Access and Use Across Borders"
	Department of Human Genetics Awards Program Director's Special Award for Outstanding MSGC Thesis William Curtis Weaver, MSGC "Parental Genetic Testing in Neurodevelopmental Diagnosis: Perspectives of Drivers and Barriers"