Honors & Awards in 2025 for Biology, Cell Biology & Molecular Genetics, and Entomology Faculty, Staff and Students

We proudly recognize faculty members and graduate and undergraduate students in the University of Maryland’s biological sciences community who recently received honors, awards and/or new positions.

Faculty & Staff Members

• Norma Andrews, retired as CBMG professor emerita
• Kan Cao, CBMG Professor, was named UMD Entrepreneur of the Year for launching her anti-aging skincare line, Bluelene, from her company MBlue Labs
• Nicholas Fletcher, promoted to Biology senior lecturer
• Maira Goytia, Biology senior lecturer, Teaching Innovation Grant to revamp her “Anatomy and Physiology I” class
• Brantley Hall, CBMG assistant professor, Norma M. Allewell Prize in Entrepreneurship
• Antony Jose, promoted to CBMG professor
• Scott Juntti, promoted to Biology associate professor with tenure
• Paul Keen, CBMG program administrative specialist, CMNS Dean’s Staff Award
• Chan Lin, promoted to Biology senior lecturer
• Matheus Macedo-Lima, Biology postdoctoral fellow, R21 Early Career Research award from the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
• Steve Mount, retired as CBMG associate professor emeritus
• Gilad Ofek, promoted to CBMG associate professor with tenure
• Zarna Pala, Terrapin Innovation Award and RISE Grant from the Division of Academic Affairs
• Errica Philpott-Barber, CBMG program manager, USM Board of Regents Staff Award
• Dorothea O'Toole, CBMG facilities manager, CMNS Dean’s Staff Award
• Sougata Roy, CBMG associate professor, $2.5M NIH grant after receiving rare ‘unicorn score’
• Paula Shrewsbury, Entomology professor, named Fellow of the Entomological Society of America
• Colenso Speer, promoted to Biology associate professor with tenure
• David Straney, retired as CBMG associate professor emeritus
• Sara Via, retired as Entomology professor
• Hadiya Woodham, promoted to Biology principal lecturer

Graduate Students

• Sondos Abdelhafeez, biological sciences, Community Engagement Committee Recognition Award
• Aisha Abdulkarimu, biological sciences, Drs. Wayne T. & Mary T. Hockmeyer Summer Fellowship
• Michael Adu-Brew, entomology, American Chemical Society's AGRO Division Travel Award
• Gabriela Arp, biological sciences, Summer Research Award
• Urja Biswas, biological sciences, Wallace Prescott Rowe Award and Edna O. Hockenson Summer Fellowship
• Adena Collens, biological sciences, Summer Research Award
• Cory Conrad, biological sciences, Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award
• Maria (Rife) Corkan, biological sciences, Stefanie & Richard Vogel Summer Fellowship
• Helen Craig, entomology, AGNR's Cornerstone event post competition winner
• Aidan Danoff, biological sciences, Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award
• Wesley DeMontigny, biological sciences, Heven Sze Graduate Award In Biomolecular Sciences and Genetics
• Jenan El-Hifnawi, entomology, Society of Systematic Biologists’ Graduate Student Research Award
• Elizabeth Engle, biological sciences, Summer Research Award
• Katy Evans, entomology, Outstanding Graduate Assistant Award
• Eeshita Ghosh, biological sciences, Carroll E. Cox Award and International Graduate Research Fellowship
• Catherine Harvey, biological sciences, Isabel R. McDonald Service Award
• Carinna Householder, biological sciences, F31 Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award from the National Institutes of Health and Dr. Eugenie Clark Scholarship
• Sahana Kumar, biological sciences, Outstanding Graduate Research Assistant Award
• Michelle Launi, biological sciences, Dr. Devra Kleiman Memorial Graduate Fellowship
• Xuan Cindy Li, biological sciences, Andrew J. Moyer Outstanding Graduate Student Award
• Anna Mikkelsen, biological sciences, Edna O. Hockenson Summer Fellowship
• Aurelie Niyongabo, biological sciences, Philip J. Provost Graduate Fellowship Award
• Anna Phan, biological sciences, Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award
• Brendan Randall, entomology, Ann G. Wylie Dissertation Fellowship
• Ángela Sáenz, entomology, Maryland Forestry Foundation Mel Noland Fellow
• Maggie Schaefer, entomology, Ehrenfeld Award for her oral presentation at the Ecological Society of America’s annual meeting and 2nd place at the Mid-Atlantic Ecological Society of America's poster competition
• Asan Turdiev, biological sciences, MOCB-BISI M. Zain-Ul-Abedin Memorial Scholarship Award and Outstanding Graduate Research Assistant Award
• Yuxi Wang, biological sciences, Drs. Wayne T. & Mary T. Hockmeyer Summer Fellowship
• Rui Yin, biological sciences, Charles Carmello Outstanding Dissertation Award

Undergraduate Students

• Moumita Afrin, biological sciences & anthropology, Senior Marshal
• Ruhama Demissieruhama Demissie, biological sciences, Appleman-Norton Award for Plant Biology
• Camila Garcia, biological sciences, Sigma Alpha Omicron Microbiology Honor Society Initiate
• Maggie Grant, biological sciences, Hansen Outstanding Student Award
• Ekaterina Gribok, biological sciences, Hansen Outstanding Student Award
• Yasmine Helbling, biological sciences, first place in the Undergraduate 10-Minute Presentation competition at Entomology 2025 (ENTSOC) Conference
• Sarika Kapadia, biological sciences, CBMG Departmental Honors
• Navleen Kaur, neuroscience, Senior Marshal
• Cristianus Leahu, biological sciences, Sigma Alpha Omicron Microbiology Honor Society Initiate
• Haesung Lola Lee, biological sciences, CBMG Departmental Honors
• Saanika Mahashetty, biological sciences & management, Senior Marshal
• Jasmine Martin, neuroscience, CMNS Alumni Network Endowed Undergraduate Award
• Steven Mendelson, biological sciences, Senior Marshal
• Darin Michaels, biological sciences, Dr. P. Arne Hansen Award for CBMG Honors Program Outstanding Thesis
• Anthony Miramontes, biological sciences, Sigma Alpha Omicron Microbiology Honor Society Initiate
• Ipsa Mishra, biological sciences, CBMG Departmental Honors
• Arjun Rakheja, biological sciences, Senior Marshal
• Aditya Viswanath Viswanathan Ram, biochemistry & neuroscience, Senior Marshal
• Trisha Reddy, biological sciences, Senior Marshal
• Samuel Rosemore, biological sciences, CBMG Departmental Honors
• Swathi Sevugan, biological sciences & biochemistry, CMNS Alumni Network Endowed Undergraduate Award
• Jerry Shen, biological sciences & mathematics, Senior Marshal
• Tesia Shi (B.S. ’23, biological sciences; B.S. ’23, psychology), University of Minnesota, National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship
• Sanjida Soha, biological sciences, Sigma Alpha Omicron Microbiology Honor Society Initiate
• Bhargav Srinivasan, biological sciences, second place at student poster competition at the International Plant and Animal Genome Conference
• Alejandra Urquiaga, biological sciences, Sigma Alpha Omicron Microbiology Honor Society Initiate
• Olivia Velasquez, biological sciences, Appleman-Norton Award for Plant Biology
• Cindy Wang, biological sciences, CMNS Alumni Network Endowed Undergraduate Award
• Matthew Williams, biological sciences, Senior Marshal
• Caitriona Wright, biological sciences, Senior Marshal
• Grant Yang (B.S. ’23, biological sciences), Harvard University, National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship