Four MCB students earn National Science Foundation fellowships

The National Science Foundation recently awarded three-year graduate research fellowships to four Hutchinson Center graduate students. All are part of the joint Center/University of Washington Molecular and Cellular Biology program. Another MCB student at the Center received an honorable mention from the NSF.

The fellowship recipients include the Human Biology Division's Chelsea Spragg of the Emerman Lab and Jennifer Cech in the Peichel Lab. From the Basic Sciences Division, awardees include Erica Hildebrand of the Biggins Lab and Claire Gonzalez in the Malik Lab. An honorable mention went to Chad Toledo of the Human Biology's Paddison Lab.

Michele Karantsavelos, manager of Graduate Education for the Basic Sciences Division, commended the students on their prestigious awards, adding that in all, MCB graduate program students earned seven fellowships and 11 honorable mentions.

The students receive a three-year annual stipend of $30,000 along with a $10,500 cost of education allowance for tuition and fees, opportunities for international research and professional development, and the freedom to conduct their own research at any accredited U.S. institution of graduate education they choose.

NSF fellowships provide support for graduate study leading to research-based master's or doctoral degrees and are intended for students in the early stages of their graduate study. The foundation works to ensure a diverse array of students pursue advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics in the United States by offering more than 1,600 graduate fellowships.