Since the reorganization of the Medical College of Georgia's Graduate Program to a
common admissions system, each individual program has recruited students through laboratory
rotations in the first year.
Students choosing the Department of Physiology at the Medical College of Georgia have
had an outstanding record of success.
Current Graduate Student Achievements
Kasey Belanger
2021 Virendra B. Mahesh Award, Augusta University Research Administration
2021 Finalist for the Career Opportunities in Physiology Committee first American
Physiological Society Visual Career Abstract Award
2018 APS Sex and Gender Conference Travel Award
Emily Burns
2021 Award for Excellence in Research Award in Physiology, The Graduate School
Casey Derella
2021 American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship
First place and People’s Choice in the2020 Augusta University Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition
2019 pre-doctoral Suden Award
Katie Anne Fopiano
2021 Excellence in Research award, The Graduate School
Elinor Mannon
2021 American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship
2021 American Physiological Society Predoctoral Translational Research Award
2021 American Physiological Society Water and Electrolyte Homeostasis Research Recognition
Award
Lindsey Ramirez
2021 Water & Electrolyte Homeostasis (WEH) section at American Physiological Society
(APS) pre-doctoral excellence in research
2021 Winner of the Career Opportunities in Physiology Committee first American Physiological
Society Visual Career Abstract Award
2020 APS Writing Course Travel Award
2020 FASEB Mentored Travel Award
2019 Research Distinction Award from the Water & Electrolyte Homeostasis Section of
American Physiological Society
2019 Martin Frank Diversity Travel Award
2019 pre-doctoral Suden Award
2018 APS Sex and Gender Conference Travel Award
Sarah Ray
2021 National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases F31
2021 American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship
2019 Department of Physiology Chair’s Predoctoral Fellowship
2019 First prize in the graduate student poster competition during VA Research Week
Yanna Tian
2020 American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship
Successes of former Physiology Graduate Students
Mahmoud Abdelbary
2020 American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship
2019 Pre-doctoral Suden Award
2018 APS Sex and Gender Conference Travel Award
2018 Graduate Research Day Award
2018 Poster Presentation at Experimental Biology
Stephanie Christianson
Microcirculatory Society 2018 Zweifach Student Travel Award
Ryan Crislip
Augusta University Graduate School Excellence of Research in Physiology Award
Travel Award to attend the FASEB Summer Research Conference on Renal Hemodynamics
and Cardiovascular Function in Health and Disease
2016 Biomedical Sciences PhD Program Who’s Who Awardee.Who’s Who Among Students is a national college student recognition program in the
U.S. that honors outstanding students. The annual Who’s Who list is based on student
leadership, academic excellence, and community service, and the winners each year
are eligible to win an academic scholarship.
Alec Davila
F31 Fellowship Grant from the National Institutes of Health (2018)
AHA Predoctoral Fellowship (2018)
APS Minority Travel Fellowship Award to attend the Experimental Biology (EB) 2018
Vanessa Dela Justina
2019 American Physiological Society Robert Gunn Student Travel Award
Trevor Hardigan
2016 Biomedical Sciences PhD Program Who’s Who Awardee. Who’s Who Among Students
is a national college student recognition program in the U.S. that honors outstanding
students. The annual Who’s Who list is based on student leadership, academic excellence,
and community service, and the winners each year are eligible to win an academic scholarship.
Ladonya Jackson
2018 Recipient of the Georgia Clinical and Translation Science Alliance TL1 Predoctoral
Fellowship
Minority Travel Fellowship Award to attend the 2018 APS Conference: Cardiovascular,
Renal and Metabolic Diseases: Sex-Specific Implications for Physiology
Patricia Martinez-Quinones
Second-Place Winner, Basic Laboratory Research Scientific Papers on Trauma Resident
Paper Competition at the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma Annual Meeting.
First place from the Resident Basic Science Paper Competition at the annual 2019 Moretz
Surgical Society meeting.
Selected as a 2019 American Physiological Society Cardiovascular Section Research
Recognition Awardee.
First Place in the 2018 Basic Science category at the American College of Surgeons
(ACS) Committee on Trauma (COT) Region IV Annual Resident Trauma Paper Competition
Trainee Advocacy Committee Onsite Poster Award from the American Heart Association
Council on Hypertension, Joint Hypertension Scientific Sessions 2018
First place in the 2018 M. Gage Ochsner Resident Paper Competition from the Committee
on Trauma Georgia Chapter of the American College of Surgeons
Cameron McCarthy
Selected to participate in the 2015 Council on Hypertension Advisory and Mentoring
Program (CHAMP).
First place in the 2015 American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
(ASPET) Cardiovascular Pharmacology Trainee Showcase-Graduate Student Competition,
Experimental Biology.
Selected as the 2018 Distinguished Alumnus for the Graduate School.
Khushboo Sahay
Ji Cheng Memorial Award - 2018 Graduate Research Day
Marissa Seamon
2018 New Investigator Travel Award from the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior
Lia Taylor
2018 APS Sex and Gender Conference Travel Award
Caroline tum Suden/Frances Hellebrandt Professional an Opportunity Awards for the
2017 Experimental Biology meeting
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Diversity Supplement to Dr. Sullivan's R01 award
Minority Travel Fellowship Award for the 2016 APS Conference
2016-2017 Porter Physiology Fellowship awardee by The American Physiological Society,
on behalf of the Porter Physiology Development and Minority Affairs Committee
Finalist for the 2016 Water & Electrolyte Homeostasis Section Predoctoral Research
Recognition Award
John Paul Valenzuela
AHA Predoctoral Fellowship
One of two recipients to be selected as a 2016 recipient of the Darrell Brann Alumni
Scholarship.
International Stroke Conference (ISC) Junior Investigator Award and Minority Travel
Award
2015 Graduate School Travel Award for graduate students presenting exceptional research
Minority Travel Award for the Fourteenth International Conference on Endothelin in
2015
Becca Ward
Young Investigator Travel Award for an oral abstract presentation and participated
in the 15th International Endothelin Conference.
AHA Predoctoral Fellowship
2015 Graduate School Travel Award for graduate students presenting exceptional research.