Ernie is a third-year PhD student studying cognitive neuroscience in the Psychology Department. Her research in Dr. Dassonville’s lab investigates visual perception through the lens of visual illusions, with a focus on understanding sensory differences in neurodiverse populations. As a first-generation student and McNair Scholar alum, Ernie is committed to supporting others in navigating the often-unspoken challenges of higher education. When she’s not working on research, she enjoys gardening and exploring the outdoors with her dogs and family. This scholarship provides essential support, allowing her to focus on both her academic goals and her role as a parent during the summer.

Heather Anderson is a Ph.D. candidate in Psychology, studying how children’s daily environments shape developmental outcomes. Her dissertation uses naturalistic audio recordings to evaluate how research sampling decisions influence our understanding of infants’ language exposure—a methodological project with real-world implications for public programs and developmental science.

She became a parent during her second year of graduate school and now has two children, ages 2 and 5. Balancing parenting with teaching and research hasn’t always been easy, but it’s given her the unique perspective necessary to ensure her work reflects the realities working families face. Her long-term goal is to use developmental science to help improve systems that serve children and caregivers.

This award comes at a key transition point, supporting childcare and job preparation as she wraps up her dissertation and prepares for the next step.

Hayami Nishio is a third-year Human Physiology PhD candidate studying inhibitory mechanisms of motor control in Dr. Greenhouse’s Action Control Lab. Her research uses non-invasive brain stimulation, neuroimaging, and computational techniques to investigate how intracortical inhibition shapes motor learning and cortical representations. As a first-gen college student and a single mother, she is committed to establishing a space where parenthood and scientific achievement are not mutually exclusive. She is honored to receive the UOWGS Parenting Award, which will support her continued progress towards her doctoral training while raising her daughter and serving as a mentor to underrepresented undergraduates in the lab.

Vicgtoria Olajide is a PhD student in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Oregon, where I am completing my dissertation on the agricultural foundations of early urbanism in West Africa. My research focuses on the comparative development of cities in Mali and southwestern Nigeria, with a particular interest in how crops like African yams and rice shaped regional economies and state formation. Beyond academia, I enjoy drumming and imaginative play with my nearly three-year-old son.

Audrey Davenport is a 4th year student in the Brozek lab studying the surface chemistry and phase change behavior of porous nanocrystals. Outside of the lab, Audrey has had the opportunity to mentor several undergraduate students, serve on the CBGReAT committee as an OIM representative, and hold several positions in the UO’s chapter of the Alliance for Diversity in Science and Engineering, including serving as a co-president for the past year. She was recently elected to serve for the upcoming year as well. With ADSE, Audrey hopes to serve the UO community and broader Eugene area by providing both educational and professional opportunities. Audrey is looking forward to working with the newly elected ADSE executive board to sustain the positive momentum from this year and continue the ever important mission of inclusive, accessible, and essential STEM opportunities.

Leah Blankenship is a second-year Biology Ph.D. candidate studying the brain mechanisms driving the effects of opioid withdrawal on aggression and social behavior. As a proudly autistic scientist, Leah runs the Neurodiversity Alliance at UO (NAUO), promoting the academic success of fellow neurodivergent and disabled students. Leah is also a founding member of Neurodiversity Innovation Centers for Excellence (NICE), a new organization which will support neurodivergent research fellows to do research focused on diversity in neural data. Additionally, Leah participates in Gender Inclusion in Neuroscience, supporting women and other gender minorities in neuroscience, and organizes events for NAUO, such as the annual Neuroqueer Pride event, that promote gender diversity in academia.

Melanie is a fourth-year PhD candidate studying nickel catalysis in Prof. Amanda Cook’s lab. She grew up in San Marcos, California before attending Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, California for her B.S. in Chemistry. She is passionate about reaction mechanisms and studying physical organic chemistry. Her research focuses on designing robust heterogeneous catalysts to transform organic molecules with molecular precision. She is honored to accept the WGS Graduate Conference Award to share her research, expand her chemical knowledge, and network with chemists at an international conference, Pacifichem, in December.

I am completing my third year as a PhD student in the Dept of Biology. My research focuses on the evolution of host-microbe interactions, specifically investigating how host immune proteins have evolved to defend against pathogens using a combination of immunological and microbiological approaches. I am thankful to the UO-WGS for the Conference Travel Award, which will support my attendance at the Gordon Research Seminar and Conference on Molecular Mechanisms of Evolution. Outside of research, I have served as Vice President of the graduate student organization in the Institute of Ecology and Evolution. As an international student, I have recognized the importance of communicating science across language and cultural barriers through effective visuals and accessible analogies, and I hope to continue developing these skills alongside my scientific training.

Emily Cook is a third-year Ph.D. candidate studying plant responses to drought and climate change via rapid adaptation and phenotypic plasticity in floral and leaf traits. She will use the Women in Graduate Science Travel Award to present her research at the annual Botany Conference, where she will speak in a colloquium about how populations of scarlet monkey flower vary in their responses to drought and climate variability across their range.

Anisha Srinivasan is a first-year Psychology major at the University of Oregon and a research assistant in the Diversity & Social Cognition Lab (C2 Lab), co-led by Dr. Chanel Meyers and Dr. Curtis Phills. She assists with research exploring how diversity impacts social cognitive processes related to racial attitudes, behaviors, and categorization. After completing her undergraduate degree, she plans to pursue graduate studies in social psychology. In her free time, she enjoys going on hikes, spending time with friends, and discovering new coffee spots around town.

Samantha Tan is a rising third-year undergraduate double majoring in Neuroscience and Data Science, with a concentration in biology. She is interested in bioengineering, surgical biotechnology, and the intersection of entrepreneurship and healthcare. As a research assistant in the Ong Lab at the Knight Campus, she works with Dr. Keat Ghee Ong and PhD candidate William Skinner to design and develop an embeddable magnetoelastic sensor capable of tracking real-time cell growth. She is also part of the UO iGEM Team, where she is engineering a Mast Cell Activation Syndrome diagnostic and therapeutic utilizing synthetic biology techniques to compete in the iGEM Jamboree in Paris, France, in October 2025 on a global stage. Samantha loves bringing people together and is on the executive board for Neuroscience Club as well. In the future, she hopes to work in the biotechnology industry to create accessible, patient-centered technology to advance healthcare. When she’s not in the lab, she loves enjoying the outdoors by hiking, running, and skiing with friends, trying new coffee shops, travelling, and creating art.

I am a graduating senior at UO, majoring in Multidisciplinary Sciences with minors in Global Health, Anthropology, and Biology. In the Barber Lab, I worked under Dr. Caitlin Kowalski studying the skin microbiome. I initially focused on the nasal commensal and well-known skin pathogen Staphylococcus aureus, and the dominant resident skin fungi Malassezia. Due to my interests in cosmetics,  I developed an individual project focused on sebum, a lipid rich mixture produced by the sebaceous glands, and studied its influence on S. aureus physiology and changes in antimicrobial efficacy. With the help of all my mentors, friends, and supporters, I will be pursuing a PhD in Microbiology at the University of Wisconsin Madison!

Lilly Granados is a graduating senior at the University of Oregon, majoring in Biochemistry with a minor in Spanish. She is finishing up three years in the Cook Lab, where she investigated functionalization of alkenes using surface organometallic catalytic chemistry. In her initial project, she expanded the substrate scope of a heterogeneous nickel-hydride catalytic reaction and studied the potential electronics interacting in the reaction. This work resulted in co-authorship on a published paper. For the past year, she has investigated various hydrofunctionalization reactions of alkene such as hydroboration, hydroxylation, and hydroamination. After graduation, Lilly plans to attend UC Riverside in pursuit of a Ph.D. in chemistry. She aims to continue her work in organic synthesis and its applications in pharmaceuticals. Additionally, in undergrad, she participated in inclusive clubs such as Women in Stem, and worked as a peer advisor, playing an active role in providing support to her community. She hopes to organize opportunities to create a community at UC Riverside for women and other marginalized groups in STEM, like the ones she was a part of at UO. The UOWGS Transition Award will provide the financial support needed to make the move to Riverside, California, and start her graduate education on a strong foot.

Megan Adamec is a fourth-year undergraduate student studying Biochemistry with a minor in Art History in the Clark Honors College. Her research in Dr. Keat Ghee Ong’s lab encompasses the design, development, and validation of a novel capacitive sensor to monitor cellular growth and adhesion in nondestructively in real-time. After graduation, Megan is going to Oregon Health and Science University to pursue a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering under the guidance of Dr. Alireza Karimi. Outside of academics, she can be found either with a mug of tea in hand or fully enjoying the outdoors – running, rowing, hiking, or biking. She is excited to transition to graduate school and explore her academic and non-academic interests in a new location and is thankful for the support of WGS in easing this transition.