Congratulations to the Fall 2019 winners of the DeLill Nasser Award for Professional Development in Genetics!

GSA is pleased to announce the recipients of the DeLill Nasser Award for Professional Development in Genetics for Fall 2019! Given twice a year to graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, DeLill Nasser Awards support attendance at meetings and laboratory courses.

The award is named in honor of DeLill Nasser, a long-time GSA supporter and National Science Foundation Program Director in Eukaryotic Genetics. Nasser was regarded by some as the “patron saint of real genetics,” shaping the field through more than two decades of leadership. She was especially supportive of young scientists, people who were beginning their careers, and those trying to open new areas of genetic inquiry. For more about Nasser, please see the tribute from Scott Hawley, published in the August 2001 issue of GENETICS.

This cycle’s winners are making strides in a wide range of research topics, including satellite DNA, the evolution of transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, and more.

Yu-Chieh (David) Chen: Graduate student, University of California, Riverside

“I use the fruit fly as a model to study the molecular and cellular basis of pharyngeal taste in feeding control.”

Lauren Donoghue: Graduate student, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

“My research investigates how genetic factors can modify the severity and treatment of lung diseases.”

Jullien Flynn: PhD student, Cornell University

“I study satellite DNA, which are understudied and somewhat mysterious tandem arrays of repetitive sequence, and the factors that influence their evolution.”

Theodora Koromila: Senior Postdoctoral Fellow, California Institute of Technology

“I study insights into genome accessibility and gene regulation.”

Julia Kreiner: PhD candidate, University of Toronto

“I study the population genomics of contemporary adaptation to agriculture and herbicides.”

Marie Saitou: Postdoctoral Researcher, State University of New York at Buffalo

“I am investigating human genetic variations to reveal our evolutionary history.”

Monica Sanchez: Postdoc, Stanford University

“My work studies genetic background effects on adaptive evolutionary processes.”

Chloe Snider: Graduate student, Vanderbilt University

“I study how the cytokinetic ring is anchored to the plasma membrane to promote the fidelity of cell division.”

Bryan Thornlow: Graduate student, University of California, Santa Cruz

“I study the evolution of transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, and how their high mutation rates and necessity in large quantities for translation shape their distributions in our genomes.”