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Atlanta
Chapter

Current Scholars

2024-2025 ARCS Atlanta Scholars
ARCS® Foundation Atlanta Chapter is honored to present the 2024-2025 Scholar Awards to these outstanding candidates from Emory University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Morehouse College, and the University of Georgia.
Sarina Abrishamcar
Sarina Abrishamcar

Meet Sarina here.

  • Northside Hospital Award
  • Ph.D. Student, Epidemiology
  • Second Year ARCS Scholar
  • Research Interest: how prenatal environmental and psychosocial exposures affect child health outcomes through genomic mechanisms.
Reem Al-Ahmad
Reem Al-Ahmad

Meet Reem here.

  • Doyle/Easterly Award
  • Ph.D. Candidate, Chemistry
  • First Year ARCS Scholar
  • Research Interest: the total synthesis of natural products and the design of novel, non-addictive compounds to advance drug development for neuropathic pain.
Elise Bezold
Elise Bezold

Meet Elise here.

  • Roche Award
  • Ph.D. Candidate, Chemistry
  • First Year ARCS Scholar
  • Research Interest: bacterial virulence processes
Anna Cole
Anna Cole

Meet Anna here.

  • Glenn Award
  • Ph.D. Candidate, Cancer Biology
  • Third Year ARCS Scholar
  • Research Interest: novel T and B cell cooperation in cancer immunotherapy.
Lina Dimitrov
Lina Dimitrov

Meet Lina here.

  • McGowan Award
  • Ph.D. Student, Epidemiology
  • First Year ARCS Scholar
  • Research interests: the impact of environmental and psychosocial exposures on neuropsychiatric outcomes.
Nasab Ghazal
Nasab Ghazal

Meet Nasab here.

  • David, Helen and Marian Woodward Award
  • Ph.D. Student, Biochemistry, Cell and Developmental Biology
  • First Year ARCS Scholar
  • Research interest: using mouse models to understand mitochondrial metabolism and cell death in cardiac disease.
Louis Hopkins
Louis Hopkins

Meet Louis here.

  • Herz Global Impact Award
  • Ph.D. Candidate, Immunology
  • Second Year ARCS Scholar
  • Research interest: tuberculosis pathogenesis and vaccine development.
Will McFadden
Will McFadden

Meet Will here.

  • Klamon Impact Award
  • Ph.D. Candidate, Biochemistry, Cell and Developmental Biology
  • Third Year ARCS Scholar
  • Research interest: novel antiretroviral compounds with the potential for treating HIV-1 infection.
Vedhika Raghunathan
Vedhika Raghunathan

Meet Vedhika here.

  • Herz Global Impact Award
  • Ph.D. Student, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics
  • Second Year ARCS Scholar
  • Research interest: to understand the evolution of influenza A virus within and between hosts.
Sydney Shuff
Sydney Shuff

Meet Sydney here.

  • Petter Award
  • Ph.D. Student, Cancer Biology
  • First Year ARCS Scholar
  • Research Interest: how metabolic reprogramming confers chemo-immunotherapy resistance in lung cancer.
Nuri Smith
Nuri Smith

Meet Nuri here.

  • Donnell Award
  • Ph.D. Candidate, Genetics and Molecular Biology
  • First Year ARCS Scholar
  • Research interest: using spinal cord organoid models of ALS to study motor neuron degeneration.

 

John Talbott
John Talbott

Meet John here.

  • ARCS Atlanta Century Award
  • Ph.D. Student, Chemistry
  • First Year ARCS Scholar
  • Research interest: detecting biological metabolites that promote disease progression.
Courtney Victor
Courtney Victor

Meet Courtney here.

  • Klamon/Winston Award
  • Ph.D. Student, Environmental Health Sciences
  • Third Year ARCS Scholar
  • Research interest: understanding the impact of water quality on health among children in low-resource settings.
Kaylin White
Kaylin White

Meet Kaylin here.

  • Gillin/Liss Award
  • Ph.D. Candidate, Epidemiology
  • First Year ARCS Scholar
  • Research interest:  social determinants and racial disparities in sleep and subsequent health outcomes where sleep is implicated.
Simone Wien
Simone Wien

Meet Simone here.

  • Leslie Petter ARCS Light Award
  • Ph.D. Student, Epidemiology
  • Third Year ARCS Scholar
  • Research interests: policy, substance use, and reproductive and perinatal health.
Noam Altman-Kurosaki
Noam Altman-Kurosaki

Meet Noam here.

  • Herz Global Impact Award
  • Ph.D. Candidate, Biology
  • Third Year ARCS Scholar
  • Research interest: to understand the processes that drive coral reef decline and recovery.
Anjana Dissanayaka
Anjana Dissanayaka

Meet Anjana here.

  • Northside Hospital Award
  • Ph.D. Student, Biomedical Engineering
  • Third Year ARCS Scholar
  • Research interest: leveraging and applying microfluidic techniques to develop low-cost diagnostic devices. 
Alivia Eng
Alivia Eng

Meet Alivia here.

  • David, Helen and Marian Woodward Award
  • Ph.D. Student, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
  • First Year ARCS Scholar 
  • Research interest: planetary science, specifically the geologic history of Mars.
Kierra Franklin
Kierra Franklin

Meet Kierra here.

  • Burke Award
  • Ph.D. Student, Biomedical Engineering
  • First Year ARCS Scholar
  • Research interest: combining synthetic biology and epigenetics to study chromatin biology and disease pathology.
Emily Hughes
Emmy Hughes

Meet Emmy here.

  • Lim Award
  • Ph.D. Candidate, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
  • Second Year ARCS Scholar
  • Research interest: the geologic history of the planet Mars, specifically how spectroscopy, field analogue studies, and in situ Martian data can be coupled to reconstruct ancient environments.
Tawfik Hussein
Tawfik Hussein

Meet Tawfik here.

  • Boice/Reid Award
  • Ph.D. Student, Biomedical Engineering
  • Third Year ARCS Scholar
  • Research interest: The mechanics of the heart, specifically, simulating computationally the mechanical changes in the heart of patients with heart failure to help predict early stages of heart failure.
Marrissa Izykowicz
Marrissa Izykowicz

Meet Marrissa here.

  • Roche Award
  • Ph.D. Student, Chemical Biology
  • First Year ARCS Scholar
  • Research interest: designing and synthesizing nanohydrogels for targeted drug delivery in metastatic cancers.
KC Jacobson
KC Jacobson

Meet KC here.

  • Herz Global Impact Award
  • Ph.D. Student, Bioengineering in ChBE (Chemical and Biochemical Engineering)
  • Third Year ARCS Scholar
  • Research interest: the neural mechanisms of impaired sensory processing in a human-relevant mouse model of autism spectrum disorder.
Zachary Mobille
Zachary Mobille

Meet Zachary here.

  • HA (Gus) Peed Award
  • Ph.D. Candidate, Quantitative Biosciences
  • First Year ARCS Scholar 
  • Research interest: how anatomical structure and precisely-timed dynamics are interrelated in networks of biological neurons
Heriberto Nieves
Heriberto Nieves

Meet Heriberto here.

  • Wahlen Award
  • Ph.D. Student, Biomedical Engineering, Robotics
  • First Year ARCS Scholar
  • Research interest: applies deep learning to automate the quality control and measurement processes for staging liver fibrosis with magnetic resonance elastography.
John Pederson
John Pederson

Meet John here.

  • Joslin/Mary Jo Peed Award
  • Ph.D. Student, Chemistry
  • First Year ARCS Scholar
  • Research interest: multi-scale modeling of complex chemical systems to study reactions at solid/liquid interfaces.
Theodore St. Francis
Theodore St. Francis

Meet Theodore here.

  • ARCS Atlanta Century Award
  • Ph.D. Student, Aerospace Engineering
  • First Year ARCS Scholar
  • Research interest: electrolysis for both oxygen generation for astronauts and hydrogen production on Earth.
Cassandra Shriver

Meet Cassandra here.

    • Chambers/Jones Award
    • Ph.D. Student, Quantitative Biosciences in Biological Sciences
    • Third Year ARCS Scholar
    • Research interests: comparative biomechanics, specifically mammalian climbing mechanics, with an emphasis on conservation applications.
    Gianna Slusher
    Gianna Slusher

    Meet Gianna here.

    • Swensson/ARCS Atlanta Award
    • Ph.D. Student, Bioengineering in Mechanical Engineering
    • First Year ARCS Scholar
    • Research interest: developing innovative nano-scale technologies to enhance the manufacturing and monitoring of cell-based therapeutics.

     

    Naoki Yokoyama
    Naoki Yokoyama

    Meet Naoki here.

    • Dodson Award
    • Ph.D. Candidate, Robotics in Electrical and Computer Engineering
    • Third Year ARCS Scholar
    • Research interest: developing intelligent robots that can assist the elderly and disabled in home environments.
    Jimmy Capela
    Jimmy Capela

    Meet Jimmy here.

    • Genuine Parts Award     
    • Applied Physics Major
    • First Year ARCS Scholar
    • Research interests: enhancing efficiency through his interests in math and energy.
    Ayden Clark-Veal
    Ayden Clark-Veal

    Meet Ayden here.

    • Georgia-Pacific Award
    • Biology Major
    • Second Year ARCS Scholar
    • Research interests: healthcare, medicine and studying the human body
    Ramiah Curry
    Ramiah Curry

    Meet Ramiah here.

    • Graves Award
    • Computer Science Major
    • Second Year ARCS Scholar
    • Research interests: computer coding, artificial intelligence, and machine learning
    Myles Gosha
    Myles Gosha

    Meet Myles here.

    • Glenn Leadership Award
    • Biology Major
    • Second Year ARCS Scholar
    • Research interest: to explore the relationship between behavior and the use of pharmaceuticals to understand the complexities of addiction.
    Jacob Jack
    Jacob Jack

    Meet Jacob here.

    • Hardin/Bankoff Award    
    • Applied Physics Major and Computer Engineering
    • First Year ARCS Scholar
    • Research interests: robotics, STEM education, and applied physics
    Chavier McDaniel
    Chavier McDaniel

    Meet Chavier here.

    • Frazier/Whiting Award    
    • Mathematics/Physics Major
    • Second Year ARCS Scholar
    • Research interests: technology and aviation
    Nicholas Pittman
    Nicholas Pittman

    Meet Nicholas here.

    • Davis Award
    • Biology Major
    • First Year ARCS Scholar
    • Research interests: regenerative engineering, 3-D printing, and prosthesis
    Paschal Uchehara
    Paschal Uchehara

    Meet Paschal here.

    • Taylor Award        
    • Chemistry Major
    • First Year ARCS Scholar
    • Research interests: advancing cancer research through a multidisciplinary approach using next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics.

     

    Jordan Argrett
    Jordan Argrett

    Meet Jordan here.

    • Skinner/Arrendale Award
    • Ph.D. Candidate, Ecology
    • First Year ARCS Scholar
    • Research interest: to understand key pathways by which parasitic plants drive diversity and how this may be translated to optimize crop production and conserve grassland ecosystems. 
    Christian Brown
    Christian Brown

    Meet Christian here.

    • ARCS Atlanta Century Award
    • Ph.D. Student, Ecology
    • First Year ARCS Scholar
    • Research interest: using a combination of large-scale field experiments at research forests along with mathematical modeling to better understand tree species distribution shifts under ongoing climate change.
    Christina Endara-Arnold
    Christina Endara-Arnold

    Meet Christina here.

    • David, Helen and Marian Woodward Award
    • Ph.D. Candidate, Neuroscience
    • First Year ARCS Scholar
    • Research interests: to understand if novel neuropeptide signaling is important in regeneration, stem cell function, and behavior.
    Natalie Gonzalez
    Natalie Gonzalez

    Meet Natalie here.

    • Leake/Parsons/ARCS Atlanta Award
    • Ph.D. Student, Genetics
    • Second Year ARCS Scholar
    • Research interest: understanding the genetic and evolutionary mechanisms behind reproductive isolation in closely related species of yellow monkeyflowers (Mimulus).
    Reagan Haney
    Reagan Haney

    Meet Reagan here.

    • Herz Global Impact Award
    • Ph.D. Candidate, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
    • Third Year ARCS Scholar
    • Research interest: discovering how a novel antimalarial works to kill the malaria parasite by elucidating the targets of this antimalarial.
    Jennifer McCann
    Jennifer McCann

    Meet Jennifer here.

    • Burtchaell Award
    • Ph.D. Student, Genetics
    • First Year ARCS Scholar
    • Research interest: understanding how gene regulation can lead to novel gene function. 
    Jordan Parker
    Jordan Parker

    Meet Jordan here.

    • McGonigle/Boyd Award
    • Ph.D. Student, Comparative Biomedical Sciences
    • First Year ARCS Scholar
    • Research interest: exploring stem cell trafficking to sites of injury.
    Myddelton Parker
    Myddelton Parker

    Meet Myddelton here.

    • Roche Award
    • Ph.D. Student, Biomedical Engineering
    • First Year ARCS Scholar
    • Research interest: to develop a new approach and treatment that overcomes antibiotic resistance.
    Neil Patel
    Neil Patel

    Meet Neil here.

    • Northside Hospital Award
    • Ph.D. Candidate, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
    • First Year ARCS Scholar
    • Research interest: how specific complex carbohydrates are regulated in our bodies and how alterations in these sugars can potentially tune tumor growth and progression.
    Tuyetnhu Pham
    Tuyetnhu Pham

    Meet Tuyetnhu here.

    • Lundeen/Bazzel Award
    • Ph.D. Student, Plant Biology
    • First Year ARCS Scholar
    • Research interest: improving current therapy for fungal meningitis using a targeted drug delivery approach and to develop a novel vaccine to prevent severity of infection.
    Mariah Salcedo
    Mariah Salcedo

    Meet Mariah here.

    • Herz Global Impact Award
    • Ph.D. Student, Bioinformatics
    • Third Year ARCS Scholar
    • Research interest: disease modeling, with a focus on forecasting using both statistical approaches as well as deep learning techniques.
    Damian Santiago-Sosa
    Damian Santiago-Sosa

    Meet Damian here.

    • Olchowski/Potter Award
    • Ph.D. Student, Bioinformatics
    • First Year ARCS Scholar
    • Research interest: using deep learning models to uncover complex relationships between marine microbes’ role and the carbon flux.
    Colleen Sedney
    Colleen Sedney

    Meet Colleen here.

    • Hinkle Award
    • Ph.D. Student, Infectious Diseases
    • Third Year ARCS Scholar
    • Research interest: host-pathogen interactions between infants and the bacteria responsible for whooping cough.
    Moira Taber
    Moira Taber

    Meet Moira here.

    • Cooper/Mukharji Award
    • Ph.D. Student, Regenerative Bioscience
    • First Year ARCS Scholar
    • Research interest: traumatic brain injury (TBI) recovery mechanisms in a porcine pre-clinical translational model.  Specifically, delineating the neural network recovery mechanisms and influence of sexually dimorphic neuroanatomy and development on cognitive, behavioral, and motor function outcomes following TBI.
    Matthew Treaster
    Matthew Treaster

    Meet Matthew here.

    • Dick Award
    • Ph.D. Candidate, Genetics
    • Third Year ARCS Scholar
    • Research interest: the mechanisms of genetic sex determination using threespine stickleback fish.