2026 Department of Biochemistry Spring Awards

2025-26 Faculty Awards, Promotions, and Acknowledgements  

• Orla Hart was promoted to Clinical Teaching Professor.
• Majid was promoted to Full Professor and named a University Faculty Scholar.
• Andy Tao was elected as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
• Andy Tao received the ARGE 2025-2026 Outstanding Graduate Mentor and Teacher Award.
• Vikki Weake received the Pfendler Outstanding Undergraduate Counselor, 2025-2026 College of Agriculture Teaching Award.
• Kyle Cottrell received a 2025 Showalter Early Career Award.

University Awards

Say It In 6 Competition

• Emmanuel Oluwarotimi won this year’s Say It In 6 Competition that challenges you to tell a story about your graduate or postdoctoral research experience — in a clear, concise, and, most importantly, creative way — by using only six words and one visual aid.

Department of Biochemistry Awards

The following awards and scholarships are given by the department. Read more about the award criteria on our Awards page.

Howard Zalkin Extramural Training Award in Biochemistry

• Brielle Skrutskie (Graduate Student, Mark Hall Lab) attended the US HUPO 2026 conference in St. Louis, Missouri

• Geethma Lirushie (Graduate Student, Mark Hall Lab) will attend the Advanced Techniques in Molecular Neuroscience workshop at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, in Cold Spring Harbor, NY.

• Emily Danzeisen (Graduate Student, Mark Hall Lab) will attend the Molecular Mycology: Current Approaches to Fungal Pathogenesis course at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

Outstanding Teaching Assistant (TA) in Biochemistry

• Lois Luo who is working in Dr. Andy Tao’s lab has been a TA for BCHM 621 this semester, and BCHM 309 in Fall 2025. Lois consistently stood out for being calm, patient, and genuinely focused on student learning. Even during busy lab periods, she stayed composed and worked with one group at a time, making sure each group received meaningful help without feeling rushed. She was especially supportive of students who struggled but clearly wanted to learn, taking the time to explain concepts and techniques multiple times and checking for understanding before moving on. Throughout the semester, she actively sought feedback and used it to improve her teaching, while providing clear, constructive feedback that helped students grow.

Beach Family Travel Grant Awardees

• Grace Meng (Weake Lab) will attend the 2026 Visual System Development Conference GRC in Newry, Maine.

• Sydney Bogen (Mesecar Lab) will attend Protease Inhibitors and therapeutics GRC in Lucca (Barga) Italy.

• Yuxin Zhuang (Kazemian Lab) will attend the 2026 AACR (American Association for Cancer Research) Annual Meeting in San Diego California.

Henry Weiner Travel Grants

• Matthew Bergman (Postdoc, Dudareva lab) will attend the Plant Biology 2026 (Joint ASPB-CSPB) in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

• Zhi-Wei Luo (Postdoc, Chapple Lab) will attend the 65^th Annual Meeting of The Phytochemical Society of North America at the University of Wisconsin, Madison Wisconsin.

• Seth Lammert (Graduate Student, Weake Lab) will attend the FASEB Biological Methylation: Mechanisms and Therapeutics in Malahide, Ireland.

Henry A. Moses Award

• Cassandra Smoak (Cottrell Lab) has so far published 2 first/co-author papers from her graduate work. Her recent first author manuscript titled “ZYS-1 is not an ADAR1 inhibitor” was published in RNA.

AK Balls Award

• Yi-Kai Liu (Tao Lab) has published 8 first/co-author papers in top journals from his graduate research, including Molecular & Cellular Proteomics, Journal of the American Chemical Society, Science, PNAS nexus and Journal of Proteome Research. He gave an oral presentation at the 21^st Annual US HUPO Conference in February 2025. He presented a poster at the 71^st, 72^nd and 73^rd ASMS Conference on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics. This summer he will intern at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals in NY.

Don Carlson Award

• Jiaxin Long (Ogas Lab) is a 3^rd year postdoctoral scientist in the Ogas lab and has been a member of the research group since 2018 (she originally joined the lab as a PhD student). She is first author on a proof of a book chapter in Methods in Molecular Biology, a paper in G3, and a manuscript about to be submitted to Genome Biology. Jiaxin has also trained 39 undergraduate students and eight PhD rotating graduate students and is currently mentoring a PhD student in the Ogas lab.

Linda Siersema Award 

• This award was established in 2013 in recognition of Linda Siersema who worked in the department her enitre 41 year career. Linda started in 1973 and retired in 2014. At the time of retirement she was the supervisor of the BCHM storeroom. The award is given periodically to a staff member who has demonstrated outstanding performance and service to the department.  
  • This year’s winner is Heidi Fornes, Principal Academic Advisor

PhD students presented with Gifts

Congratulations to all our first-year PhD students who identified permanent labs this year.

• Virginia Akins (Mydy Lab)
• Taylor Bias (M. Hall Lab )
• David Fries (H. Hall Lab)
• Brakstin Hockley (Wang Lab)
• Daniel Shappard (Dudareva Lab)
• Josh Stephenson (Weake Lab)
• Sara Walis (Mydy Lab)

2026 Biochemistry Undergraduate Scholarships

We are fortunate to have many generous alumni who donate funds to make our departmental scholarships possible. The following students received scholarships for 2025-26.

The Bernard Axelrod Memorial Scholarships

• Stephanie Maari a junior from Illinois. She is currently doing research in the Tao lab and hopes to pursue medical school after graduation.
• Laurie McIntyre is a sophomore from Illinois. She is participating in research in the Ogas lab and plans to attend dental school after graduation.

Ray W. Fuller Memorial Scholarship

• Donavan Esquivel is a freshman from Illinois. He is currently participating in research in the Ogas lab nd hopes to pursue medical school after graduation.

Dr. Stephen P. and Charlotte A. Coburn Scholarship

• Elysia Uggen is a junior from Noblesville, IN. She is currently doing undergraduate research in the Ogas lab and the Mydy lab and plans to go to graduate school after graduation.

Edwin T. Mertz Memorial Scholarships

• Jack Wang is a junior from Taiwan and is doing undergraduate research in the Zhang lab in the College of Veterinary Medicine
• Anya Piarowski is a junior from Illinois and is currently doing research in the Liu lab.
• Brooke Tran is a junior from NY. She has participated in research in the Ogas lab and plans to pursue medical school after graduation.
• Crystal Lee is a sophomore from Taiwan and is participating in undergraduate research in the Mark Hall lab.
• Lily Paek is a freshman from Virginia and is participating in undergraduate research in the Liu lab. She plans to pursue medical school after graduation. 
• Sadie Keegan is a sophomore from California working in the Sepulveda lab studying ecotoxicology.
• Reyna Woodruff is a junior from Ohio and has already participated in an internship with Eli Lilly and is participating in research in the Doudareva lab.

The David and Mary Scheible Scholarship in Biochemistry

• Sarabeth Hargarten is a sophomore from Winchester, IN doing research in the Ju lab in Animal Sciences.
• Michael Spech is a sophomore from Carmel, IN and is participating in research in the Hana Hall lab. He plans to pursue medical school after graduation.
• Ryan Yoder is a freshman from Fort Wayne, IN and plans to pursue vet school after graduation.
• Keeley Rohrer is a freshman from Carmel, IN and is participating in undergraduate research in the Cottrell lab. She plans to pursue graduate school after graduation.
• Fred Ochoa also received the award but was unable to attend.

The Patrick C. Matchette Scholarship

• Laurie McIntyre is a sophomore from Illinois. She is participating in research in the Ogas lab and plans to attend dental school after graduation.

Kwok Yip Tso Scholarship

• Elise Denger is a junior from New Palestine, IN. She is currently working in the Ekenstedt lab in the vet school and she plans to pursue veterinary school upon graduation. 

Zhao-Herrmann Scholarship in Biochemistry

• Helen Myers is a junior from Fishers, IN and is participating in undergraduate research in the Hana Hall lab. She plants to Purdue a Master’s Degree in Genetic Counseling after graduation.

Donald and Rita Weeks Scholarship

• Zhiyuan Chen received the award but was unable to attend.

Zygmunt Family Scholarship in Biochemistry

• Amanda Schoonmaker is a junior from West Lafayette, IN participating in research in the Gondalahaker lab in Entomology. She would like to pursue a career in forensic science.
• Maclain Clock is a junior from Columbus, IN. He hopes to attend a dental school after graduation and is doing research in the Dudareva lab.
• Tanvi Nadimpalli is a junior from Greenwood, IN. She is doing research in the Kazemian lab and plans to go to graduate school after graduation.
• Haley Imus is a sophomore from Elkhart, IN and plans to attend medical school after graduation. She is doing research in the Cross lab.
• Cooper Williams is a sophomore from Greensburg, IN and plans to go to vet school after graduation.
• Helen Myers is a junior from Fishers, IN and is participating in undergraduate research in the Hana Hall lab. She plants to Purdue a Master’s Degree in Genetic Counseling after graduation.
• Duncan Blank is a sophomore from Indianapolis, IN and is doing undergraduate research in the Ogas lab. He plans to go to optometry school after graduation.
• Kavin Karthikeyan is a junior from West Lafayette, IN and is doing research in the Doudareva lab. He plans to attend medical school after he graduates.
• Lauren Connors is a junior from Avon, IN. She is working in the Briggs lab and plans to pursue medical school after graduation.   
• Arthur Yeh is a junior from Carmel, IN and is participating in undergraduate research in the Doudareva lab. He plans to attend medical after graduation.
• Louis Delaby also received the award but was unable to attend.
• Garrett Grossman also received the award but was unable to attend.

Jane Taylor Indiana Challenge Match Scholarship in Biochemistry

• Zhiyuan Chen received the award but was unable to attend.

Daniel E. Walker Undergraduate Scholarships

• Kingston Chang is a sophomore from Taiwan and is doing undergraduate research in the Wang lab.
• Jonathan Nelson is a junior from Maryland and is participating in undergraduate research in the Cottrell lab. He plans to go to medical school after graduation.

Additional Awards

Honor Society of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Inductees

• Maren Eaton
• Elysia Uggen

BIOCHEMISTRY OUTSTANDING STUDENTS

Each year, the department selects one student as the outstanding student from each class on the basis of excellence in academics, research and service. These students are then nominated for the college-level awards, which are announced last night at the College Spring Awards Banquet. Our outstanding students this year are: