GSA is pleased to announce the recipients of the DeLill Nasser Award for Professional Development in Genetics for Fall 2021! Given twice a year to graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, DeLill Nasser Awards support attendance at meetings and laboratory courses.

The award is named in honor of DeLill Nasser, a long-time GSA supporter and National Science Foundation Program Director in Eukaryotic Genetics. Nasser was regarded by some as the “patron saint of real genetics,” shaping the field through more than two decades of leadership. She was especially supportive of young scientists, people who were beginning their careers, and those trying to open new areas of genetic inquiry. For more about Nasser, please see the tribute from Scott Hawley, published in the August 2001 issue of GENETICS.

Neftaly Cruz Mireles 

PhD Student, The Sainsbury Laboratory

“My research aims to understand how the blast fungus causes disease in rice.”

Melissa Drown

PhD Candidate, University of Miami

“I am using a combination of physiology and genomics to investigate rapid evolution in fish.”

Hayden Hatch

MD/PhD Candidate, Albert Einstein College of Medicine

“My thesis work utilizes Drosophila to better understand how mutations in the transcriptional regulator KDM5C, contribute to neuronal, transcriptional, and cognitive deficits associated with intellectual disability.”

Dianiris Luciano-Rosario

PhD Student, University of Wisconsin–Madison

“My research focuses on studying a protein family responsible for providing hydrophobicity to Penicillium expansum, a fungus that causes blue mold disease of apples.”

Joaquin Nunez

Postdoc, University of Virginia

“My research seeks to understand how species evolve and adapt in highly fluctuating environments.”

Joseph Uche Ogbede

PhD Student, University of British Columbia

“I use brewer’s yeast to understand how drugs and chemical toxins interact with genes.”

Anton Suvorov

Postdoc, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

“My research is focused on understanding evolutionary histories of model as well as non-model systems, and development of novel approaches in phylogenetics using machine learning.”

Valeria Velasquez Zapata

Postdoc Researcher, Iowa State University

“I develop mathematical models and methods for understanding interactions between hosts and pathogens.”

Vikas Yadav

Postdoc Associate, Duke University School of Medicine

“My research explores the evolutionary and pathogenic aspects of the human fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans with a focus on genome dynamics, (pseudo) sexual reproduction, and calcineurin signaling.”

Wenyu Zhang

Postdoc Researcher, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology

“My current research focuses on the dissection of the genetic basis of environmental adaptations in animals, mainly using Drosophila and house mouse as model organisms.”

GSA is pleased to announce the recipients of the DeLill Nasser Award for Professional Development in Genetics for Spring 2021! Given twice a year to graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, DeLill Nasser Awards support attendance at meetings and laboratory courses. 

The award is named in honor of DeLill Nasser, a long-time GSA supporter and National Science Foundation Program Director in Eukaryotic Genetics. Nasser was regarded by some as the “patron saint of real genetics,” shaping the field through more than two decades of leadership. She was especially supportive of young scientists, people who were beginning their careers, and those trying to open new areas of genetic inquiry. For more about Nasser, please see the tribute from Scott Hawley, published in the August 2001 issue of GENETICS.

Uma Arora

Graduate Student, The Jackson Laboratory/Tufts University

“My research is discovering the scope of centromere DNA diversity and its influence on kinetochore protein association, evolution, and function.”

Xiaofei Bai

Postdoc, National Institutes of Health

“My current projects focus on modeling rare human diseases in Caenorhabditis elegans, and my studies aim to address the causes of these diseases at the cellular and molecular levels.”

Ankita Chavan

Graduate Student, ETH Zurich

“I am studying the role of heterochromatin proteins in sex-specific germline maintenance using Drosophila as a model.”

Braveen Joseph

Postdoc, University of Wyoming

“I study the regulation of vesicular trafficking by Conserved NIMA family kinases.”

Murat Can Kalem

Graduate Student, University at Buffalo SUNY

“I am investigating the role of protein arginine methylation, RNA-binding proteins and non-coding RNAs on the virulence and pathogenesis of Cryptococcus neoformans.”

Seyma Katrinli

Postdoc, Emory University

“My current research uses multiple types of genome-wide data (genetic, epigenetic, and gene expression) to develop a more comprehensive understanding of stress-related psychiatric disorders, and to explain the relationship between immune system and stress-related psychiatric disorders.”

Riley Kellermeyer

Graduate Student, University of Nevada Reno

“I research how genetics shape the central nervous system during development to better understand how to treat spinal cord injuries.”

Jason Millington

Graduate Student, University of British Columbia

“I use fruit flies to identify the metabolic genes and pathways that regulate the sex difference in nutrient-dependent growth and body size.”

Jessamyn Perlmutter

Postdoc, University of Kansas

“I study the genetics and evolution of arthropod-microbe symbioses with a primary focus on Wolbachia bacteria of fruit flies.”

Xiaofeng (Allen) Su

Postdoc, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

“I am studying how uncontrolled growth, DNA damage and genome instability lead to cancer.”

GSA is pleased to announce the recipients of the DeLill Nasser Award for Professional Development in Genetics for Fall 2020! Given twice a year to graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, DeLill Nasser Awards support attendance at meetings and laboratory courses. 

The award is named in honor of DeLill Nasser, a long-time GSA supporter and National Science Foundation Program Director in Eukaryotic Genetics. Nasser was regarded by some as the “patron saint of real genetics,” shaping the field through more than two decades of leadership. She was especially supportive of young scientists, people who were beginning their careers, and those trying to open new areas of genetic inquiry. For more about Nasser, please see the tribute from Scott Hawley, published in the August 2001 issue of GENETICS.

Chee Kiang Ewe

PhD candidate, University of California Santa Barbara

“I study the genetic basis of developmental robustness and plasticity during embryogenesis in C. elegans.”

Felipe Martelli

Postdoc, Monash University

“I am modelling and seeking dietary treatments for inborn errors of amino acid metabolism using fruit flies.”

Molly Matty

Postdoc, Salk Institute for Biological Studies

“I am interested in how non-pathogenic microbes (like bacteria in the gut microbiota) affect animal behavior.”

Daniel Lee

Postdoc Fellow, California Institute of Technology

“I investigate the genetic and neuronal mechanisms that regulate sleep and wakefulness.”

Madhumala Sadanandappa

Postdoc, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth

“Neuronal and molecular mechanisms that underlie behavioral immunity in Drosophila.”

Lengxob ‘Lenny’ Yong

Postdoc Researcher, University of Exeter

“My research aim to understand the evolutionary and genetic bases of phenotypic evolution, particularly animal color patterns.”

Angli Xue

PhD student with thesis under external review, The University of Queensland; Garvan Institute of Medical Research

“I am interested in understanding the links between genomic variations and human complex diseases by applying existing computational approaches and/or developing novel statistical genetics methods for analysis of large-scale next generation sequencing data.” 

Rachel Waymack

PhD candidate, University of California Irvine

“Investigating the role regulatory DNA plays in ensuring normal early development.”

Farida Yasmin

Graduate Student, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

“I study wild soybean to understand the genetic basis of complex metabolic variation and their role in plant defense.”

GSA is pleased to announce the recipients of the DeLill Nasser Award for Professional Development in Genetics for Spring 2020! Given twice a year to graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, DeLill Nasser Awards support attendance at meetings and laboratory courses. The Committee received a large number of applications this cycle and was very impressed by all.

The award is named in honor of DeLill Nasser, a long-time GSA supporter and National Science Foundation Program Director in Eukaryotic Genetics. Nasser was regarded by some as the “patron saint of real genetics,” shaping the field through more than two decades of leadership. She was especially supportive of young scientists, people who were beginning their careers, and those trying to open new areas of genetic inquiry. For more about Nasser, please see the tribute from Scott Hawley, published in the August 2001 issue of GENETICS.

Katie Billmyre: Postdoc, Stowers Institute for Medical Research

“I am interested in the molecular and cellular mechanisms behind chromosome-specific behaviors during meiosis.”

Ching-Ho Chang: Graduate student, University of Rochester

“I study the impact of intragenomic conflicts on chromosome evolution using three complementary systems: Segregation Distorter, centromere, and Y chromosome in Drosophila.”

Jae Young Choi: Postdoc, New York University

“I study the evolution of genome organization and structure in plants.”

Andrea Cuentas-Condori: Graduate Student, Vanderbilt University

“I try to understand how neurons, or brain cells, communicate with each other.”

Troy McDiarmid: PhD Candidate, The University of British Columbia

“I investigate the effects of Autism Spectrum Disorder risk variants on nervous system function and behavior using the microscopic round worm Caenorhabditis elegans in order to understand what effects the variants have and how they might contribute to the disorder.”

Summer Morrill: Graduate Student, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

“I study how gene copy number affects the fitness of organisms.”

Juan D. Rodriguez: PhD Candidate, Emory University

“I am using a microscopic worm to investigate how changes to the packaging of the DNA that is inherited from the parents causes defects in the development of offspring.”

Sophia Tintori: Postdoctoral Fellow, New York University

“In my research I use worms collected from the wild (including highly radioactive areas of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone) to study how animals cope with DNA damage due to environmental radiation.”

Patricka Williams-Simon: Graduate student, University of Missouri

“Dissecting the genetic basis of learning, memory, and thermal tolerance in a multiparental population of fruit flies.”

Celja Uebel: Graduate Student, University of Southern California

“I use the nematode C. elegans to study how phase separation organizes small RNA silencing in a chaotic intracellular space.”

GSA is pleased to announce the recipients of the DeLill Nasser Award for Professional Development in Genetics for Fall 2019! Given twice a year to graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, DeLill Nasser Awards support attendance at meetings and laboratory courses.

The award is named in honor of DeLill Nasser, a long-time GSA supporter and National Science Foundation Program Director in Eukaryotic Genetics. Nasser was regarded by some as the “patron saint of real genetics,” shaping the field through more than two decades of leadership. She was especially supportive of young scientists, people who were beginning their careers, and those trying to open new areas of genetic inquiry. For more about Nasser, please see the tribute from Scott Hawley, published in the August 2001 issue of GENETICS.

This cycle’s winners are making strides in a wide range of research topics, including satellite DNA, the evolution of transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, and more.

Yu-Chieh (David) Chen: Graduate student, University of California, Riverside

“I use the fruit fly as a model to study the molecular and cellular basis of pharyngeal taste in feeding control.”

Lauren Donoghue: Graduate student, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

“My research investigates how genetic factors can modify the severity and treatment of lung diseases.”

Jullien Flynn: PhD student, Cornell University

“I study satellite DNA, which are understudied and somewhat mysterious tandem arrays of repetitive sequence, and the factors that influence their evolution.”

Theodora Koromila: Senior Postdoctoral Fellow, California Institute of Technology

“I study insights into genome accessibility and gene regulation.”

Julia Kreiner: PhD candidate, University of Toronto

“I study the population genomics of contemporary adaptation to agriculture and herbicides.”

Marie Saitou: Postdoctoral Researcher, State University of New York at Buffalo

“I am investigating human genetic variations to reveal our evolutionary history.”

Monica Sanchez: Postdoc, Stanford University

“My work studies genetic background effects on adaptive evolutionary processes.”

Chloe Snider: Graduate student, Vanderbilt University

“I study how the cytokinetic ring is anchored to the plasma membrane to promote the fidelity of cell division.”

Bryan Thornlow: Graduate student, University of California, Santa Cruz

“I study the evolution of transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, and how their high mutation rates and necessity in large quantities for translation shape their distributions in our genomes.”

Amy Webster: Graduate student, Duke University

“I study the genetic and epigenetic regulation of starvation resistance using the roundworm C. elegans.”

GSA is pleased to announce the recipients of the DeLill Nasser Award for Professional Development in Genetics for Spring 2019! Given twice a year to graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, DeLill Nasser Awards support attendance at meetings and laboratory courses.

The award is named in honor of DeLill Nasser, a long-time GSA supporter and National Science Foundation Program Director in Eukaryotic Genetics. Nasser was regarded by some as the “patron saint of real genetics,” shaping the field through more than two decades of leadership. She was especially supportive of young scientists, people who were beginning their careers, and those trying to open new areas of genetic inquiry. For more about Nasser, please see the tribute from Scott Hawley, published in the August 2001 issue of GENETICS.

This cycle’s winners are making strides in a wide range of research topics, including how homologous chromosomes pair during meiosis, the evolutionary consequences of sexual selection and sexual conflict, and more.

Philipp Brand: Graduate student, University of California, Davis

“I study the molecular, genetic, and neurophysiological bases of pheromone communication and their importance in the generation and maintenance of reproductive isolation during speciation.”

Jessie Fernandez: Postdoc Fellow, UT Southwestern Medical Center

“I study how the fungus Magnaporthe oryzae, the causative agent of rice blast, proliferates inside plant cells to cause disease.”

Talia Hatkevich: Graduate student, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

“I examine how homologous chromosomes pair during meiosis, using the fruit fly as a model.”

Matthew Jones: Graduate student, University of Montana

“I study the genetics of adaptation to new and changing environments in snowshoe hares.”

Balint Kacsoh: Graduate student, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth

“I am particularly interested in what are the underlying genetics and neural circuitry that govern behavior and am utilizing a Drosophila model of social communication, learning, and memory in response to a predator threat to answer these questions.”

Katja Kasimatis: Graduate student, University of Oregon

“My research analyzes the evolutionary consequences of sexual selection and sexual conflict.”

Rebecca Palu: Postdoc, University of Utah School of Medicine

“I study the impact of natural genetic variation on cellular and metabolic stresses in Drosophila disease models.”

Edgar M. Medina: Graduate student, Duke University

“I am developing a member of an ancient lineage of Fungi (zoosporic Fungi) as a new model to understand how the ultra-conserved gene networks that control cell division in Eukaryotes can change and rewire through evolutionary time.”

Wynn Meyer: Postdoc, University of Pittsburgh

“I study the genetic changes that accompany similar environmental changes in different animals to learn what particular genes and pathways do and how they help animals adapt to their environments.”

Lesley Weaver: Postdoc, Johns Hopkins University

“My research in the laboratory of Daniela Drummond-Barbosa focuses on how different organs communicate with the ovary to influence reproduction in response to environmental factors using Drosophila melanogaster (fruit flies) as a model system.”

GSA is pleased to announce the recipients of the DeLill Nasser Award for Professional Development in Genetics for Fall 2018! Given twice a year to graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, DeLill Nasser Awards support attendance at meetings and laboratory courses.

The award is named in honor of DeLill Nasser, a long-time GSA supporter and National Science Foundation Program Director in Eukaryotic Genetics. Nasser was regarded by some as the “patron saint of real genetics,” shaping the field through more than two decades of leadership. She was especially supportive of young scientists, people who were beginning their careers, and those trying to open new areas of genetic inquiry. For more about Nasser, please see the tribute from Scott Hawley, published in the August 2001 issue of GENETICS.

The next round of funding will open on October 4, 2018 with applications due on November 1, 2018.

Graduate Student Awardees

Ina Anreiter
University of Toronto
“I study the genetic and epigenetic contributions to behavior in fruit flies.”

Seungsoo Kim
University of Washington
“I study the spatial organization of the genome and how it changes in response to environmental cues, using budding yeast as a model system.”

Danielle Kopke
Vanderbilt University
“I study the communication signals that cells (ie neurons) use to talk to one another, and how those signals are regulated.”

Chloe Robins
Emory University
“My work uses genetic and epigenetic data to understand the evolutionary processes behind human aging.”

Clare So
University of Toronto
“I investigate DNA repair in B cells.”

Junior West
University of Toronto
“Studying genetic mechanisms that control how epithelial tissues move during embryonic development.”

Postdoctoral Fellow Awardees

Kathleen Ferris
University of California, Davis
“I investigate the genetic basis of convergent leaf shape evolution across Monkeyflower species.”

Nandita Garud
University of California, San Francisco
“I am interested in understanding how natural populations evolve, with a current emphasis on the evolution of bacteria in the human gut microbiome.”

Piya Ghose
The Rockefeller University
“I study how morphologically complex cells die and clear in C. elegans.”

David Peris Navarro
Spanish National Council for Scientific Research (CSIC)
“I study how yeast biodiversity is generated and the improvement of industrial processes (beer, wine, and biofuel) with new, wild and/or synthetic yeasts.”

GSA is pleased to announce the recipients of the DeLill Nasser Award for Professional Development in Genetics for Spring 2018! Given twice a year to graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, DeLill Nasser Awards support attendance at meetings and laboratory courses.

The award is named in honor of DeLill Nasser, a long-time GSA supporter and National Science Foundation Program Director in Eukaryotic Genetics. Nasser was regarded by some as the “patron saint of real genetics,” shaping the field through more than two decades of leadership. She was especially supportive of young scientists, people who were beginning their careers, and those trying to open new areas of genetic inquiry. For more about Nasser, please see the tribute from Scott Hawley, published in the August 2001 issue of GENETICS.

The next round of funding will open on March 1, 2018 with applications due on April 4, 2018.

Graduate Student Awardees

Maria Bravo Nunez

Stowers Institute for Medical Research

“I study how parasitic DNA elements sabotage the process of making gametes (e.g. sperm) to learn about the origins of infertility.”

Alexandra Erwin

University of Kansas

“I study genomic instability and aging using the fruit fly as a model organism.”

Piero Lamelza

University of Washington

“I use Caenorhabditis nematodes to study the evolutionary forces that drive the formation of new species.”

Dona Wisidagama

University of Utah

“I am investigating how disrupting mitochondrial pyruvate metabolism in fruit fly intestinal cells can lead to uncontrolled cell growth.”

Postdoctoral Awardees

Mahul Chakraborty

University of California, Irvine

“I am using cutting-edge computational and molecular tools in conjunction with evolutionary theories to understand the molecular basis of heritable phenotypic variation.”

Alys Cheatle Jarvela

University of Maryland

“I am trying to understand why the mosquito genome was able to completely lose a gene that is essential for embryonic development in other insects, such as the fruit fly.”

Nancy Chen

University of California, Davis

“I study how natural populations evolve over short timescales using genomics, pedigrees, and long-term field studies.”

Priscilla Erickson

University of Virginia

“I study the evolution of genetic adaptations that allow fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) to detect changes in season and survive during the winter.”

Caiti Smukowski

University of Washington

“I study how organisms adapt to new environments, with a current focus on how genetic interactions and mutations in interspecies hybrids confer beneficial outcomes.”

David Truong

NYU Langone Health

“We’ve erased 1.3 billion years of evolution by making bread yeast package their genome using human nucleosome proteins instead of their own.”

GSA is pleased to announce the recipients of the DeLill Nasser Award for Professional Development in Genetics for Fall 2017. The award is given twice a year to graduate students and postdoctoral researchers to support attendance at meetings and laboratory courses. The award is named in honor of DeLill Nasser, a long-time GSA supporter and National Science Foundation Program Director in Eukaryotic Genetics. Nasser was regarded by some as the “patron saint of real genetics,” shaping the field through more than two decades of leadership. She was especially supportive of young scientists, people who were beginning their careers, and those trying to open new areas of genetic inquiry. For more about Nasser, please see the tribute from Scott Hawley, published in the August 2001 issue of GENETICS.

The next round of funding will open on August 31st with applications due on October 10th.

Graduate Student Awardees

Richard Coleman
Bowen Lab, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa

“My research is identifying larval dispersal pathways of reef fishes around the island of O’ahu, Hawai’i, to inform community-based management efforts.”

Marissa Fletcher
Kim Lab, MIT

“I study how a neuroendocrine signaling pathway influences organismal physiology as a result of the aging process and in response to an aging intervention, dietary restriction, using the model organism, C. elegans.”

Joshua Li
Millard Lab, University of Queensland

“I am studying a gene in the fruit fly to understand the regulation and function of alternative splicing in the development of neurons.”

Colin Olito
Connallon Lab, Monash University

“I study the evolutionary consequences of sex-differences in natural selection for non-model organisms — especially hermaphrodites (e.g., plants) and externally fertilizing species (e.g., many marine invertebrates).”

Jasmine Ono
Otto Lab, University of British Columbia

“I use lab experiments with yeast to uncover the role that genetics plays in the process of evolution.”

Postdoctoral Fellow Awardees

Emily Davenport
Clark Lab, Cornell University

“I study the factors that determine which bacteria live in your gut, including the food you eat, your environment, and your genetics.”

Daniel Grimes
Burdine Lab, Princeton University

“I use zebrafish to understand the mechanisms that cause spinal curves in scoliosis, a common human disease.”

Dan Schrider
Kern Lab, Rutgers University

“My research focuses on the development and application of computational tools to make inferences about natural selection and other evolutionary forces from patterns of genetic variation.”

Valerie Tornini
Giraldez Lab, Yale University

“I aim to understand how cellular diversity and specialization arises in the vertebrate brain.”

Jing Lin (Lucy) Xie
Jarosz Lab, Stanford University School of Medicine
“The goal of my research is to understand how genetic makeup affects risk and disease progression for common neurodegenerative diseases in the context of aging.”

We are pleased to announce the GSA Poster Award winners from the 58th Annual Drosophila Research Conference! Undergraduate and graduate student members of the GSA were eligible for the awards, and a hard-working team of postdocs volunteered their time as judges. Congratulations to all!

Undergraduate Students

1st Place: Cezary Mikoluk

Institution: Penn State Berks

Poster title: The regulation of lipid storage by tra and tra2 in Drosophila

Authors: Cezary Mikoluk, Alexis Nagengast, and Justin DiAngelo

2nd Place: P. Tram Bui

Institution: Claremont McKenna College

Poster title: Chd1 as a modifier of position effect variegation

Authors: P. Tram Bui, Lakshmi Bugga, and Jennifer Armstrong

3rd Place: Kalyn Gackowski

Institution: Marquette University

Poster title: Identification of Lipid-Processing Genes Required for Eggshell Formation in Drosophila

Authors: Kalyn Gackowski and Edward M Blumenthal

Graduate Students

1st Place: Dong-Yuan Chen

Institution: University of California, Berkeley

Poster title: Developing M-TRAIL: A tool to track cell migration in vivo

Authors: Dong-Yuan Chen and David Bilder

2nd Place: Tammara Beeghly

Institution: University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Poster title: Trade-offs between fecundity and survival in starvation-selected fly populations

Authors: Tammara Beeghly, Allen Gibbs, Timothy Saitta, and Laurel Raftery

3rd Place: Jessica Douthit

Institution: New York University School of Medicine

Poster title: A novel role for Plexin A in photoreceptor axon guidance

Authors: Jessica Douthit, Sergio Astigarraga, Gina Lee, and Jessica Treisman