Physiology Student Achievement
Since the reorganization of the Medical College of Georgia's Graduate Program to a
common admissions system, each individual program has recruited students through laboratory
rotations in the first year.
Students choosing the Department of Physiology at the Medical College of Georgia have
had an outstanding record of success.
Current Graduate Student Achievements
Kasey Belanger
- 2021 Finalist for the Career Opportunities in Physiology Committee first American
Physiological Society Visual Career Abstract Award
- 2018 APS Sex and Gender Conference Travel Award
Emily Burns
- 2021 Award for Excellence in Research Award in Physiology, The Graduate School
Casey Derella
- 2021 American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship
- First place and People’s Choice in the 2020 Augusta University Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition
- 2019 pre-doctoral Suden Award
Katie Anne Fopiano
- 2021 Excellence in Research award, The Graduate School
Elinor Mannon
- 2021 American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship
- 2021 American Physiological Society Predoctoral Translational Research Award
- 2021 American Physiological Society Water and Electrolyte Homeostasis Research Recognition
Award
Lindsey Ramirez
- 2021 Winner of the Career Opportunities in Physiology Committee first American Physiological
Society Visual Career Abstract Award
- 2020 APS Writing Course Travel Award
- 2020 FASEB Mentored Travel Award
- 2019 Research Distinction Award from the Water & Electrolyte Homeostasis Section of
American Physiological Society
- 2019 Martin Frank Diversity Travel Award
- 2019 pre-doctoral Suden Award
- 2018 APS Sex and Gender Conference Travel Award
Sarah Ray
- 2021 National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases F31
- 2021 American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship
- 2019 Department of Physiology Chair’s Predoctoral Fellowship
- 2018 APS Sex and Gender Conference Travel Award
Shinjini Spaulding
- 2021 5th Annual Three-Minute Thesis Finals Competition Finalist and People's Choice
winner
- 2019 First prize in the graduate student poster competition during VA Research Week
Yanna Tian
- 2020 American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship
Successes of former Physiology Graduate Students
Mahmoud Abdelbary
- 2020 American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship
- 2019 Pre-doctoral Suden Award
- 2018 APS Sex and Gender Conference Travel Award
- 2018 Graduate Research Day Award
- 2018 Poster Presentation at Experimental Biology
Stephanie Christianson
- Microcirculatory Society 2018 Zweifach Student Travel Award
Ryan Crislip
- Augusta University Graduate School Excellence of Research in Physiology Award
- Travel Award to attend the FASEB Summer Research Conference on Renal Hemodynamics
and Cardiovascular Function in Health and Disease
- 2016 Biomedical Sciences PhD Program Who’s Who Awardee. Who’s Who Among Students is a national college student recognition program in the
U.S. that honors outstanding students. The annual Who’s Who list is based on student
leadership, academic excellence, and community service, and the winners each year
are eligible to win an academic scholarship.
Alec Davila
- F31 Fellowship Grant from the National Institutes of Health (2018)
- AHA Predoctoral Fellowship (2018)
- APS Minority Travel Fellowship Award to attend the Experimental Biology (EB) 2018
Vanessa Dela Justina
- 2019 American Physiological Society Robert Gunn Student Travel Award
Trevor Hardigan
- 2016 Biomedical Sciences PhD Program Who’s Who Awardee. Who’s Who Among Students
is a national college student recognition program in the U.S. that honors outstanding
students. The annual Who’s Who list is based on student leadership, academic excellence,
and community service, and the winners each year are eligible to win an academic scholarship.
Ladonya Jackson
- 2018 Recipient of the Georgia Clinical and Translation Science Alliance TL1 Predoctoral
Fellowship
- Minority Travel Fellowship Award to attend the 2018 APS Conference: Cardiovascular,
Renal and Metabolic Diseases: Sex-Specific Implications for Physiology
Patricia Martinez-Quinones
- Second-Place Winner, Basic Laboratory Research Scientific Papers on Trauma Resident
Paper Competition at the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma Annual Meeting.
- First place from the Resident Basic Science Paper Competition at the annual 2019 Moretz
Surgical Society meeting.
- Selected as a 2019 American Physiological Society Cardiovascular Section Research
Recognition Awardee.
- First Place in the 2018 Basic Science category at the American College of Surgeons
(ACS) Committee on Trauma (COT) Region IV Annual Resident Trauma Paper Competition
- Trainee Advocacy Committee Onsite Poster Award from the American Heart Association
Council on Hypertension, Joint Hypertension Scientific Sessions 2018
- First place in the 2018 M. Gage Ochsner Resident Paper Competition from the Committee
on Trauma Georgia Chapter of the American College of Surgeons
Cameron McCarthy
- Selected to participate in the 2015 Council on Hypertension Advisory and Mentoring
Program (CHAMP).
- First place in the 2015 American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
(ASPET) Cardiovascular Pharmacology Trainee Showcase-Graduate Student Competition,
Experimental Biology.
Dr. Brett Mitchell
- Selected as the 2018 Distinguished Alumnus for the Graduate School.
Khushboo Sahay
- Ji Cheng Memorial Award - 2018 Graduate Research Day
Marissa Seamon
- 2018 New Investigator Travel Award from the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior
Lia Taylor
- 2018 APS Sex and Gender Conference Travel Award
- Caroline tum Suden/Frances Hellebrandt Professional an Opportunity Awards for the
2017 Experimental Biology meeting
- National Institutes of Health (NIH) Diversity Supplement to Dr. Sullivan's R01 award
- Minority Travel Fellowship Award for the 2016 APS Conference
- 2016-2017 Porter Physiology Fellowship awardee by The American Physiological Society,
on behalf of the Porter Physiology Development and Minority Affairs Committee
- Finalist for the 2016 Water & Electrolyte Homeostasis Section Predoctoral Research
Recognition Award
John Paul Valenzuela
- AHA Predoctoral Fellowship
- One of two recipients to be selected as a 2016 recipient of the Darrell Brann Alumni
Scholarship.
- International Stroke Conference (ISC) Junior Investigator Award and Minority Travel
Award
- 2015 Graduate School Travel Award for graduate students presenting exceptional research
- Minority Travel Award for the Fourteenth International Conference on Endothelin in
2015
Becca Ward
- Young Investigator Travel Award for an oral abstract presentation and participated
in the 15th International Endothelin Conference.
- AHA Predoctoral Fellowship
- 2015 Graduate School Travel Award for graduate students presenting exceptional research.
