Institute of Medicine awards nine graduate summer fellowships for 2023

The University of Maine Institute of Medicine has awarded summer fellowships to nine graduate students to support their research in health science and biomedicine. 

The fellowships, which include up to $6,000 for a stipend, one graduate credit and health insurance, will allow graduate students to conduct their research full time during the summer months alongside a faculty advisor. By providing summer research fellowships, the institute aims to assist faculty members who may generate new grant proposals for research funding from federal agencies.

The summer fellowship recipients this year include: 

  • Liz Saavedra Perez, a microbiology Ph.D. student advised by Benjamin King, for a project titled “Environmental Factors That Alter Chemokine Signaling in the Innate Immune Response to Pseudomonas aeruginosa Infection.” 
  • Joshua David Hamilton, a biomedical engineering Ph.D. student advised by Andre Khalil, for a project titled “Breast cancer case-control pilot study on patient-matched mammograms and histological tissue slides for NCI grant renewal proposal.”
  • Lucas Bennett, a biochemistry Ph.D. student advised by Melissa Maginnis, for a project titled “Identification of Cellular Receptor Remodeling during Viral Infection.” 
  • Bright Obeng, a Ph.D. student studying biochemistry and molecular biology advised by Julie Gosse, for a project titled “Mechanisms of Cetylpyridinium Chloride Inhibition of Immune Cell Function: Unraveling CPC Effects on Tyrosine Phosphorylation Events.” 
  • Krutika Rathod, a clinical psychology Ph.D. student advised by Patricia Goodhines, for a project titled “Social Determinants of Substance Use and Sleep Health in Rural Young Adults (NIDA R15 Application).” 
  • Morgan Tallman, a clinical psychology Ph.D. student advised by Rebecca MacAulay, for a project titled “The MAM Pilot study: Feasibility and preliminary efficacy of mindfulness as an intervention for cognitive decline.”
  • Kathryn Patenaude, a biomedical science Ph.D. student advised by Melody Neely, for a project titled “Investigating the effect of increased serum glucose levels during Streptococcus agalactiae and Candida albicans co-infections.”
  • Sean R. Sibley, a Ph.D. candidate advised by Kelley Strout, for a project titled “A Systematic Review of the Effectiveness of Objective Structured Clinical Examinations and Standardized Patient Simulation on Student Learning in Family Nurse Practitioner Education.”
  • Bailey Blair, a biomedical science Ph.D. student advised by Robert Wheeler, for a project titled “Identification of Candida immune evasion mechanisms.”