Doctoral Students Rewarded for Exceptional Performance

The University of Virginia recently awarded excellence in scholarship fellowships to nearly two dozen advanced doctoral students based on their outstanding academic performance.

The $5,000 awards are administered through the Office of the Vice President for Research and support students in the sciences and engineering as well as the humanities and social sciences. 

Among this years’ awardees are students who have presented their original work at international conferences and published articles in prestigious journals such as Science and Nature.

Lauren Sefcik, Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, plans to use her award for conference and travel expenses.  “A key role in the professional development of graduate students and new investigators is to meet and interact with lead scientists in the field at national meetings,” says Sefcik.  “With this funding, I hope to represent the University in a greater context by attending a small symposium conference, which fosters collaboration and networking that may lead to new insights in my future research.”

Sefcik studies sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P)—a small molecule that has been implicated in bone growth and wound healing.  Sefcik is developing strategies to stimulate the growth of new blood vessels and bones by targeting S1P receptors.  Her research has led to a provisional patent as well as seven peer-reviewed journal articles.

Davis Brown, doctoral candidate in the Woodrow Wilson Department of Politics, explores the ways that the use of military force is regulated in terms of international relations theory, political theory, and international law.  He has published seven law review articles in this area as well as a book, The Sword, the Cross, and the Eagle: The American Christian Just War Tradition.

Brown will use the fellowship funding for travel expenses to conduct research on the new “crime of aggression” being negotiated in the International Criminal Court.  “I believe that the soon-to-be-newly codified crime of aggression is the next major development in international law on the use of military force,” says Brown. “If that is the case, this presents a puzzle, for until now, all major developments in this area have taken place after, and in response to, major world-wide wars.”

“Through their hard work, this group of awardees has raised the profile of the University,” says Roseanne Ford, associate vice president for graduate studies.  “We are delighted to honor them for their tremendous contributions and achievements.”

 

Award for Excellence in Scholarship in the Humanities & Social Sciences

• Davis Brown, Woodrow Wilson Department of Politics
• Christy Chapin, Corcoran Department of History
• Barbara Heritage, Department of English
• Brannon McDaniel, Corcoran Department of Philosophy
• Troy Rogers, McIntire Department of Music
• Xuan Tam, Department of Economics
• James Wilson, Corcoran Department of History

Award for Excellence in Scholarship in the Sciences & Engineering

• Yoav Bar-Anan, Department of Psychology
• Colin Brinkman, Microbiology, Immunology & Infectious Disease Graduate Program
• John Burke, Department of Physics
• Fernanda Adrianna Camacho Alanís, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
• Arvind  Chavali, Department of Biomedical Engineering
• Ross Gore, Department of Computer Science
• Hamed Khatam, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
• Josh Magee, Department of Psychology
• David Nidever, Department of Astronomy
• Justyna Pielecka-Fortuna, Neuroscience Graduate Program
• Lauren  Sefcik, Department of Biomedical Engineering
• Daniel Sloan, Department of Biology
• Melani  Stone, Department of Chemical Engineering
• Jiajing Wang, Charles L. Brown Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
• Jenifer Warner, Department of Materials Science & Engineering