Current Scholars

ARCS^® Foundation Atlanta Chapter is honored to present the 2025-2026 Scholar Awards to these outstanding candidates
from Emory University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Morehouse College, and the University of Georgia.

Sarina Abrishamcar

Meet Sarina here.

Northside Hospital Award
Ph.D. Candidate, Epidemiology
Third Year ARCS Scholar
Research Interest: how prenatal environmental and psychosocial exposures affect child health outcomes through genomic/epigenetic mechanisms.

Read Sarina’s research publications.

Reem Al-Ahmad

Meet Reem here.

Doyle/Easterly Award
Ph.D. Candidate, Chemistry
Second 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

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Roche Award
Ph.D. Candidate, Chemistry
Second Year ARCS Scholar
Research Interest: the development of novel disinfectants to combat antimicrobial resistance.

Read Elise’s research publications.

Lina Dimitrov

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McGowan Award
Ph.D. Candidate, Epidemiology
Second Year ARCS Scholar
Research interests: the impact of environmental and psychosocial exposures on neuropsychiatric outcomes.

Nasab Ghazal

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

Read Nasab’s research publications.

Louis Hopkins

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Herz Global Impact Award
Ph.D. Candidate, Immunology
Third Year ARCS Scholar
Research interest: using multi-system and model approaches to interrogate novel immune suppression pathways in TB pathogenesis.

Riley Hughes

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Sterchi Award
Ph.D. Candidate, Chemistry
First Year ARCS Scholar
Research interest: developing new chemical proteomics methodologies to monitor Alzheimer’s disease progression and treatment effects.

Sara Kim

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Klamon/Winston Award
Ph.D. Student, Epidemiology
First Year ARCS Scholar
Research interests: improving vaccine effectiveness estimation and infectious disease forecasting using advanced machine learning and causal inference methods.

Hadassah Mendez-Vazquez

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Glenn Award
Ph.D. Candidate, Neuroscience
First Year ARCS Scholar
Research interest: how environmental toxicants cause mitochondrial dysfunction to drive the onset of neurodegeneration.

Vedhika Raghunathan

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

Brandie Shackelford

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Klamon Impact Award
Ph.D. Student, Environmental Health Sciences
First Year ARCS Scholar
Research interest: identifying the most effective and sustainable interventions to improve food security for women and children in low-income countries.

Read Brandie's research publications.

Sydney Shuff

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

Read Sydney's research publications.

Nuri Smith

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

John Talbott

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Sally McDaniel ARCS Light Award
Ph.D. Student, Chemistry
Second Year ARCS Scholar
Research interest: detecting biological metabolites that promote disease progression.

Read John's research publications.

Kaylin White

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Liss Award/ARCS Atlanta Century Award
Ph.D. Candidate, Epidemiology
Second Year ARCS Scholar
Research interest: social determinants and racial disparities in sleep and subsequent health outcomes where sleep is implicated.

Read Kaylin's research publications.

Srinidhi Bharadwaj

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Herz Global Impact Award
M.D./Ph.D. Student, Biomedical Engineering
First Year ARCS Scholar
Research interest: biomedical and clinical imaging applications with quantitative oblique back-illumination microscopy (qOBM), a label-free phase imaging technique.

Read Srinidhi's research publications.

Lily Capeci

Meet Lily here.

Sarah Eby-Ebersole Award
Ph.D. Student, Biochemistry
First Year ARCS Scholar
Research interest: the de novo design and characterization of lipid-binding proteins for immune modulation and diagnostic applications.

Alivia Eng

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David, Helen and Marian Woodward Award
Ph.D. Candidate, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
Second Year ARCS Scholar
Research interest: planetary science, specifically the geology of Mars.

Kierra Franklin

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Burke Award
Ph.D. Candidate, Biomedical Engineering
Second Year ARCS Scholar
Research interest: how epigenetics shapes disease.

Read Kierra's research publications.

Marrissa Izykowicz

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Roche Award
Ph.D. Candidate, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Second Year ARCS Scholar
Research interest: developing drug delivery systems designed to better target tumors across different cancer types.

Read Marrissa's research publications.

Maya Levitan

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Herz Global Impact Award
Ph.D. Student, Biomedical Engineering
First Year ARCS Scholar
Research interest: to develop a targeted drug delivery platform to treat lymphedema.

Read Maya's research publications.

Zachary Mobille

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

Read Zachary's research publications.

Heriberto Nieves

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

Read Heriberto's research publications.

John Pederson

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

Read John's research publications.

Theodore St. Francis

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John and Mary Franklin Foundation Award
Ph.D. Student, Aerospace Engineering
Second Year ARCS Scholar
Research interest: electrolysis for both oxygen generation for astronauts and hydrogen production on Earth.

Read Theodore's research publications.

Gianna Slusher

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

Read Gianna's research publications.

Maggie Straight

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Lim Award
Ph.D. Candidate, Ocean Science and Engineering
First Year ARCS Scholar
Research interest: how bacteria can be beneficial to various host organisms such as marine microalgae in the open ocean and smooth cordgrass in coastal saltmarshes.

Read Maggie's research publications.

Nathan Taylor

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Northside Hospital Award
Ph.D. Student, Chemistry and Biochemistry
First Year ARCS Scholar
Research interest: leveraging spectroscopy to help answer spatial and mechanistic biology questions.

Xavier Velez

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Chambers/Jones Award
Ph.D. Student, Electrical and Computer Engineering
First Year ARCS Scholar
Research interests: developing signal processing and machine learning solutions to better diagnose and understand neurodegenerative and psychiatric conditions.

Read Xavier's research publications.

Matthew Yen

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Van Leuvan Award
Ph.D. Student, Mechanical Engineering
First Year ARCS Scholar
Research interest: developing sustainable battery materials from natural polymers.

Read Matthew's research publications.

Jimmy Capela

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

Ayden Clark-Veal

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

Ramiah Curry

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

Myles Gosha

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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

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

Chavier McDaniel

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

Nicholas Pittman

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

Paschal Uchehara

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

Jordan Argett

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Arrendale/Skinner Award
Ph.D. Candidate, Ecology
Second Year ARCS Scholar
Research interest: the symbiotic interactions of root-hemiparasitic plants, their host plants, and soil microbes.

Christian Brown

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Boyd/Henry Award
Ph.D. Student, Ecology
Second 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

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David, Helen and Marian Woodward Award
Ph.D. Candidate, Neuroscience
Second Year ARCS Scholar
Research interest: regeneration, stem cell function, and neuropeptide signaling.

Saumya Gade

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Dodson Award
DVM/Ph.D. Student, Comparative Biomedical Sciences
First Year ARCS Scholar
Research interest: comparative pathology and translational medicine, specifically, Cushing’s disease, an endocrine disorder, between canines and humans.

Natalie Gonzalez

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Leake/ARCS Atlanta Century Award
Ph.D. Student, Comparative Biomedical Sciences
Third Year ARCS Scholar
Research interest: understanding evolutionary and genetic mechanisms that cause the formation of new species.

Jennifer McCann

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Burtchaell Award
Ph.D. Student, Genetics
Second Year ARCS Scholar
Research interest: understanding how genes that control the crucial process of sex determination are regulated.

Jordan Parker

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ARCS Atlanta Century Award/McGonigle Award
Ph.D. Candidate, Comparative Biomedical Sciences
Second Year ARCS Scholar
Research interest: exploring stem cell trafficking to sites of injury.

Myddelton Parker

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Roche Award
Ph.D. Student, Biomedical Engineering
Second Year ARCS Scholar
Research interest: modifying current antibiotics to include nitric oxide, an endogenous gasotransmitter with antibacterial and antithrombotic properties, for broad-spectrum antimicrobial solutions.

Read Myddelton’s research publications.

Neil Patel

Meet Neil here.

Northside Hospital Award
Ph.D. Candidate, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Second Year ARCS Scholar
Research interest: intersects epigenetics, cancer biology, and glycoscience to investigate how specific complex carbohydrates are regulated in our bodies and how dysregulation of these sugars can alter melanoma tumor growth and progression.

Tuyetnhu Pham

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Lundeen/Bazzel Award
Ph.D. Student, Plant Biology
Second Year ARCS Scholar
Research interest: the human fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans, particularly in understanding its physiology and genetic mechanisms of the fungus pathogenicity.

Claire Reichardt

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ARCS Atlanta Century Award
Ph.D. Student, Microbiology
First Year ARCS Scholar
Research interest: fungal genomics and its correlation to pathogenicity.

Read Claire’s research publications.

Damian Santiago-Sosa

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Olchowski/Potter Award
Ph.D. Student, Bioinformatics
Second Year ARCS Scholar
Research interest: studying microbial communities, using phenotypic data and deep learning to better understand carbon flux in the ocean in Earth’s changing climate.

Skylar Settles

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Dick Award
Ph.D. Candidate, Genetics
First Year ARCS Scholar
Research interest: pluripotent stem cell regulation in a freshwater flatworm, the planarian.

Read Skylar’s research publications.

Moira Taber

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Cooper/Mukharji Award
Ph.D. Student, Regenerative Bioscience
Second Year ARCS Scholar
Research interest: delineating the neural network recovery mechanisms and the influence of sexually dimorphic neuroanatomy and development on functional recovery following traumatic brain injury.

Breanna Timani

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Hinkle Award
Ph.D. Student, Comparative Biomedical Sciences
First Year ARCS Scholar
Research interest: understanding the molecular requirements for Zika virus infection in different cell types, as well as understanding how Zika replication is impacted by varying temperatures.