In June 2004, Graduate Women in Science awarded $22,900 in fellowships to 14 women for 2004-2005 academic year. We appreciate the Herculean effort all the committee members did to review every application

On this page:
• Eloise Gerry Fellowships
• Nell I. Mondy Fellowship
• SDE Fellowships
• Vessa Notchev Fellowships
• Eli Lilly Travel Award
• Maurice Stein Fellowship

Eloise Gerry Fellowships
Chair: Jennifer Ingram, CIIT Centers for Health Research

4% funding rate with 3/72 funded at $2000 each, for a total of $6000.

Paola Pedraza - 3rd year doctoral Student
City University of New York
Institute of Systematic Botany
New York Botanical Garden

Systematics of Andean Disterigma (Ericaceae: Vaccinieae).

I am studying the genus Disterigma, which belongs to the blueberry family. It is distributed from Guatemala to Bolivia and consists of shrubs that grow in the cool and humid cloud forests and páramos, the highest vegetation types in the Andean mountains. Disterigma has 34 species, many of them endemic, 13 of them considered a “Endangered”. My main goals are three: 1) to produce descriptions and keys for the identification of Disterigma, 2) to gain knowledge into its evolution and systematics, and 3) to contribute to the conservation of these plants that are found in one of the most threatened ecosystems of the Americas.

Rosa Scherson, 2nd year doctoral Student
University of California, Davis
Dept of Evolution and Ecology

From Riches to Rarity: Biogeography and Conservation in a Hyper-diverse Legume Genus

My research focuses on studying the causes of rarity in plants in a phylogenetic context, using the legume genus Astragalus as a model. Astragalus is extremely species rich, with a large proportion presenting conservation problems. I am refining the existing molecular phylogeny and will study its patterns of endemism in California and Chile, by assessing its ecology and population structure. I will, then, combine the phylogeny with the ecological studies and geographical information from databases, and use this phylogeny as a framework to study the origin and ecological correlates of rarity and develop a predictive tool for other similar plant species.

Nancy Beecher - 5th year doctoral student
Indiana University, Dept of Biology

Frog Declines, Climate Change and Disease: Searching for a Connection (no abstract submitted)

Nell I. Mondy Fellowship
Chair: Robin Woo, PhD, MBA (Omicron)

11% funding rate, with one fellowship awarded from 9 applications for a total of $3000.

Aimee Christy - $3000 3rd Yr. Masters Student
Environmental Studies
The Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA
Research biologist – Pacific Shellfish Institute, Olympia, WA

Characterization of the Cadmium Health Risk, Concentrations and Ways to Minimize Residues in Shellfish

Codex, an international commission responsible for setting food standards, has proposed a 1-ppm limit for cadmium in molluscan shellfish. Limited testing suggests that it is not uncommon for Pacific oysters to exceed the proposed limit. Establishment of a 1-ppm standard could have significant impacts on the shellfish industry. This research will determine cadmium concentration in Pacific oysters throughout Washington’s most productive shellfish growing areas and evaluate ways to minimize cadmium residues in shellfish products. It will also asses human health risk, particularly among Puget Sound tribes that have been shown to consume up to 20 times the amount of seafood consumed by most Americans.

SDE Fellowships
Chair: Tina M. Tinka, University of California

3/53 were awarded with funding levels from $2500-$3200 each, for a funding rate of 5%.

Adele Lewis Grant Fellowship
Claire St. Peter - University of Florida
Graduate Student

Effects of Treatment Integrity Failures on Behavioural Treatments.

We will develop laboratory models of two behavioral treatments that are commonly used in clinical settings to reduce severe problem behavior. Laboratory models, using non-clinical participants, would be useful because treatments could be evaluated without placing children with clinical disorders at risk. The specific goal of the study is to evaluate these treatments in the face of treatment integrity failures. First, participants receive points (traded for money) for responding on computers. Next, they receive points when they do not respond (treatment 1) or independent of responses (treatment 2). Finally, “errors” are introduced to determine if the treatments work during integrity failures.

Hartley Fellowship winner
Mary Emily Garcia - 3rd year doctoral student
Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology
University of California, Santa Barbara

Investing a Connection Between Transciptional Control and the Proteasome Pathway using ABA Signaling in Arabidopsis as a Model System.

Our laboratory studies the molecular aspects of how abscisic acid (ABA) signaling in plants regulates seed maturation and germination. Recently, we have identified a novel plant-specific protein, A5IP2, which appears to regulate ABA signaling in these processes through its interaction with a DNA-binding protein and a component of the proteasome. In order to test the hypothesis that A5IP2 functions to shuttle the DNA-binding protein to the proteasome, we will use laser scanning confocal microscopy to investigate ABA-dependent changes in the cellular localization patterns of these proteins.

SDE Fellowship
Larissa R. Brunner - 3rd year doctoral student
Emory University, Dept of Epidemiology

Each year, three million pregnancies in the US are classified as unintended with many of these pregnancies occurring to women who use contraception. The purpose of this study is to examine whether increasing weight is associated with risk of oral contraceptive (OC) failure in several large, population-based surveys. Information collected on adherence with an OC regimen at a medical clinic in Atlanta will be used to adjust estimates from these surveys as appropriate. As obesity rates continue to rise, it is important to determine if heavier women should be advised to use a contraceptive method other than OCs to prevent pregnancy.

Vessa Notchev Fellowships
Chair: Dr. Nan Crystal Arens
Department of Geoscience, Hobart & William Smith Colleges

4 were awarded at $600 each for a total of $2400.

Anne Carlson
University of Washington, Department of Physiology & Biophysics

How Sperm Swim: Characterizing the Role of Extracellular Calcium in the Bicarbonate-mediated Activation of Mouse Sperm.

Successful meeting of sperm and egg is vital for continuation of life, yet we have little understanding of fertilization and events that prepare sperm for it. I am interested in events that occur in the first seconds after mating, when relatively immobile sperm initiate rapid swimming. I have found that the bicarbonate anion (abundant in male and female reproductive fluids) signals rapid swimming by increasing production of the intracellular messenger cyclic-AMP. My research indicates that calcium is required for this activation. I am studying the mechanism of calcium and bicarbonate action.

Tammy Moscrip
Columbia University, Department of Psychology, New York, NY

A Primate Model of the Cognitive and Electrophysiological Effects of Electroconvulsive Shock (ECS) and Magnetic Seizure Therapy (MST)

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is the most effective treatment for major depression, but it produces cognitive impairment. Like ECT, magnetic seizure therapy (MST) induces generalized seizures, but MST can stimulate a more localized region of superficial cortex and may be associated with less severe cognitive side effects. This study assesses the sensitivity of a nonhuman primate model to the amnesic effects of convulsive therapy and measures the electrophysiological characteristics of electrically- vs. magnetically-induced seizures. Electrical activity of the brain will be recorded via intracerebral EEGs (electroencephalograms) during ECT and MST interventions. Post-intervention, rhesus macaques will be tested on a cognitive battery that assesses orientation, as well as anterograde and retrograde amnesia.

Chris Hice
Texas Tech University, Dept of Biological Sciences

Description of a New Species of Neacomys (Rodentia: Muridae) from the Western Amazon Basin.

The taxonomy of small mammals from neotropical rainforests is poorly understood, and many new species remain to be described. During field work conducted in northeastern Peru, I collected an undescribed species of Neacomys, a small spiny mouse. To describe this new species I will morphologically differentiate it from its congeners primarily using cranial characters. To do so, I will gather all known specimens from North American museums at the Natural History Museum at the University of Kansas, where a large number of Neacomys are housed. This will represent the beginning of a revisionary standard for this diminutive genus.

Cara Rockwell
University of Florida, School of Forest Resources and Conservation, Gainesville, FL

Evaluating Logging Damage to Future Crop Trees in Acre, Brazil: Implications for Management of Certified Community Forests.

The research investigates harvesting impacts incurred by the FSC-certified “Multiple-Use Community Forest Management Project” in Porto Dias, Acre, Brazil, where I have established plots within logging concessions. Inside these plots, I am sampling future crop trees (FCTs) (20 cm = dbh) both before and after logging activities, to address three questions. First, can FCT damage be mitigated by a marking treatment? Second, with what intensity (m3 ha-1) can harvesting be conducted without sustaining greater residual stand damage to FCTs? And third, during exploration, is there a difference in damage to FCTs located in bamboo forest compared to FCTs in non-bamboo forest?

Eli Lilly Travel Award
Chair: Dr. Anne Pumfery (Omicron)

5/9 were awarded at $500-$800 each for a total of $3500 at a 55% funding. Eli Lily sponsors all awards to send women to national meetings.

Joyce Riehi, $888 to attend the Biophysical Society Meeting
1st year PhD, 2nd year DVM candidate
UC-Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine
Association of Equine Malignant Hypothermia with an Autosomal Dominant Substitution in the Skeletal Muscle.

Charli Long, $980 to attend the American Chemical Society Meeting
3rd year PhD candidate
University of Pennsylvania, Dept. of Chemistry
Synthetic Approach to [Lys3]Tamandarin B

Ida Melinda Stone, $632 to attend the ARO Mid-winter Meeting
3rd year Master’s candidate
Montana Neuroscience Institute, Dept of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Missoula, MT
AAV Mediated Gene Delivery in the Murine Cochlea In Vitro

Bengu Sezen, $500 to attend OMCOS-12
3rd Year PhD Candidate
Columbia University, Dept. of Chemistry
Selective C-arylation of Heteroaromatics

Hania Wehbe, $500 to attend American Chemical Society Meeting
2nd year PhD candidate
Baylor University
Waco, TX
Novel Diaryl Combrestatin Analogues: Potential Agents of Tubulin Binding and Vascular Targeting