Loren E. Wold Research Awards

These awards were established in 2019 by Biology alumnus Dr. Loren E. Wold (CAS ’97), a distinguished research scientist and Professor at Ohio State University.  Dr. Wold is a strong advocate of undergraduate research and mentoring.

Each award supports a high-achieving Biology undergraduate for their summer research project by funding their UROP salary and a $200 Conference Travel Award. Four awards will be given annually.  Interested students should apply through UROP: http://www.bu.edu/urop/apply/funding/.

2022 recipients: Evelyn Harper, Erica Broeker, Judy Wong, Douglas Alvarado
2021 recipients: Kelley McCutcheon, Kimberly Tran, Katherine Sotiropoulou, Helen Feng, Niharika Desai, and James Lu
2020 recipients: Sarah Anwar, Kylie Blake, Kurt Castro, and Megan Sheeran
2019 recipients: Rose Zhao, Audrey Tran, Cairo De Souza, and Madison Pacaro

Outstanding Learning Assistant Award

The Biology Department annually bestows this award on a group of Undergraduate Learning Assistants of any major whose poster presentation best outlines procedures for improving teaching in our undergraduate laboratories. Financial support for this award was made possible by Professor Emerita Elizabeth Godrick.

Spring 2022 recipients: Khalid AlSabhan, Buthaina Alshihabi, Aixin Wu, Hongli Zheng
Fall 2021 recipients: Cayla Bilyeu, Isabel Jang, Vaughn St. Marie, and Nikolas Martinez
Spring 2021 recipients: Kaitlin Farias, Tara O’Brien, Careena Uppaluri, and Rebecca Yu
Fall 2020 recipients: Sophia Aburida, Genesis Bolado, Madison Homsey, and Akhila Sonti
Fall 2019 recipients: Krithi Gopalan, Khushali Mashruwala, Lydia Simon, and Ben Skross
Spring 2019 recipients: Chloe Cho, Joseph Distefano, Taylor Epstein, and Dimitri Moshovitis
2018 recipients: Louis Beers, Phanirekha Chandra, Fernanda Neri Mini, and Alexander Nguyen

Dr. Marion R. Kramer Scholarship

This award provides support for high-achieving female juniors and seniors majoring in Biology. The award was established in 2001 in honor of Dr. Marion Kramer who earned her Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Boston University in 1963 and went on to a long and satisfying career in biology and medicine. Students are nominated by Biology faculty members for this award.

2021/2022 recipients: Vivian Shen and Alyssa Helmling
2020/2021 recipients: Kadesh Daniels and Meaghan Connolly
2019/2020 recipients: Victoria Lagasse and Seoyoung Kim
2018/2019 recipients: Joana Barbosa Teixeira and Rose Zhao
2017/2018 recipients: Billie Goolsby and Elena Newmark 

Travel Grant Award

The Biology Department Undergraduate Travel Grant program offers students the opportunity to receive funding for travel and participation in research conferences or other professional development activities that support their education and career path. Financial support for this grant is made possible through annual Giving Day donations. Read testimonials from previous recipients of the Travel Grant Award here.

Fall 2019 recipients: Cesar Diaz, David Guarin, Gianna Grob, Victoria Jordan, Bryanna Malbouf, Zachary Milot, Kareemah Ni, Yemi Osayame, Tony Pham, Nicholas Shapiro, Konrad Skubisz, Yalan Wu, Najila Zaman, Rose Zhao
Spring 2019 recipients: Alondra Concepcion-Gonzalez, Anushk Gupta, Michalena Jadick, Alexei Kotorov, Kathleen McLaughlin, Chris Petty, Sheila Phillips, John Van Schoick, Darshi Shah, Nicolas Shapiro, and Katherine Tiemeyer


The awards listed below are given to graduating seniors who are nominated by Biology faculty members.

Biology Department Undergraduate Research Award 

The Biology Research & Honors Committee gives this annual award to outstanding seniors of any major who are performing research in Biology Department labs.

 A stipulation for receiving the award is that the candidate present an overview of their research at one of the weekly Biology Department Seminars.  The winners are also given a monetary gift from the Department.

2022 recipients: Russell Laman (Kaufman lab), Jamie Li (Celenza lab), and Maria Salgado (Cruz-Martín lab)
2021 recipients: Elena Gomez (Warkentin lab), Anthony Khoudary (Gavornik lab), and Katie Tiemeyer (McCall lab)
2020 recipients: Rose Zhao (Siggers lab), Jasmine Clevenger (Otchy lab), and Madison Pacaro (Buston lab)
2019 recipients: Eva Fandozzi (Traniello lab), Christopher Petty (Naya lab), and Emma Martin (Rotjan lab)

Excellence in Scholarship Award

The Biology Department gives out this award at graduation to a few seniors to honor their academic achievements. The recipients are also given a monetary gift from the Department.

2022 recipients: Riley Magane and Cecilia Webber
2021 recipients: Mary Kate Brennan and Vikram Daesety
2020 recipients: Olivia Iverson and Sunny Lin
2019 recipients: Sipei Fu and Jean Luc Germany

Academic Achievement Award

The Biology Department bestows this award at graduation on a few seniors to honor their academic achievements and contributions to the Biology Department. The recipients are also given a monetary gift from the Department.

2022 recipients: Alyssa Helmling, Anna Natrakul, Vivian X. Shen, Xingpei Zhang
2021 recipients: Yi Cao and Tiffany Voon
2020 recipients: PK Kaushik and Jack Yang
2019 recipients: Kevin Liu Kot and Eileen Nolan

Senior College Prize for Excellence in Biology

The Biology Department gives out this award to the senior who, through a combination of scholarship and service, has had the greatest impact on the BU Biology community. The recipient is recognized at the CAS Dean’s Awards and Recognition Ceremony as well as at the Biology Convocation. A monetary gift is given by the Department.

2022 recipient: Regan Shanahan
2021 recipient: Cairo De Souza
2020 recipient: Arnaldo Franco
2019 recipient: Melissa Inge