Graduate Research Excellence Grants

In 2018, SSE expanded its awards program for graduate students. This new program includes two tiers of awards: one for early PhD students and one for advanced PhD students. These awards are named for eminent evolutionary biologists also known for their strong mentorship and training of young evolutionary biologists: The GREG R.C. Lewontin Early Award, and the GREG Rosemary Grant Advanced Award.

Click here to view previous winners of the Rosemary Grant Award (2010-2018). Click here to view all recipients of the Graduate Research Excellence Grants.

Graduate Research Excellence Grant (GREG) – R. C. Lewontin Early Award

Graduate Research Excellence Grant (GREG) - Rosemary Grant Advanced Award

The GREG R. C. Lewontin Early Awards are to assist students in the early stages of their PhD programs by enabling them to collect preliminary data (to pursue additional sources of support) or to enhance the scope of their research beyond current funding limits (e.g. by visiting additional field sites, or working at other labs). Awards up to $2500. Students need to confirm that the proposed work is outside of funding already held by the student or advisor.




The GREG Rosemary Grant Advanced Awards are to assist students in the later stages of their PhD programs. Funds can be used to enhance the scope of dissertation research, such as to conduct additional experiments or field work. Awards up to $3500. Only advanced* PhD students whose defense date is more than 12 months from the proposal due date are eligible. Eligibility can be confirmed by the advisor or graduate director stating that the student fulfills these requirements. Students should confirm that the proposed work is outside the scope of other funding currently held by either the student or their advisor. 

*See full instructions for definition.

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NOTE: Indirect costs may not be charged to any of our awards or grants.

Past Recipients

2023 Recipients

R. C. Lewontin Early Award Recipients

Nathalie Alomar, Yale University. Advisor: Martha Muñoz
Neil Balchan, Oklahoma State University. Advisor: Guinevere Wogan
Tara Empson, University of Tennessee. Advisor: Elizabeth Derryberry
Anjali Gupta, University of Kansas. Advisor: Robert Unckless
Matthew Hack, University of Michigan. Advisor: Benjamin Winger
Azwad Iqbal, Cornell University. Advisor: Nina Therkildsen
Juliana Jiranek, University of Virginia. Advisor: Amanda Gibson
Gina Lucas, University of California Riverside. Advisor: Kieran Samuk
Jess Lund, University of Cambridge. Advisor: Claire Spottiswoode
Sage Madden, University of California Davis. Advisor: Gail Patricelli
Akshat Mall, University of Idaho. Advisor: Christopher Marx
Quinn McCallum, Louisiana State University. Advisor: Nicholas Mason
Jenna Palmisano, University of Central Florida. Advisor: Anna Savage
Faye Romero, University of Rochester. Advisor: Nancy Chen
Marissa Sandoval, University of California, Davis. Advisor: Santiago Ramirez
Fernando Torres, Johns Hopkins University. Advisor: Gabriel Bever
Wout van der Heide, Cornell University. Advisor: Kerry Shaw
Erica Vong, University of Ottawa. Advisor: Rajendhran Rajakumar
Claire Williams, University of Nevada, Reno. Advisor: Michael Logan
Maximiliano Zuluaga Forero, Cornell University. Advisor: Benjamin Sandkam
 
 

2022 Recipients

R. C. Lewontin Early Award recipients:

Karla Berg, Portland State University. Advisor: Mitchell Cruzan
Anusha Bishop, University of California, Berkeley. Advisor: Ian Wang 
Austin Chipps, Louisiana State University. Advisor: Jake Esselstyn
Danae Diaz, Duke University. Advisor: Stephen Nowicki
Paula Fernandez Begne, University of Chicago. Advisor: Marcus Kronforst
Aidan Harrington, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Advisor: David Moeller
Matheus Januario Lopes de Sousa, University of Michigan. Advisor: Daniel Rabosky
Josh Knecht, Binghamton University. Advisor: James Sobel
Danai Kontou, University of Cambridge. Advisor: Andrew Tanentzap
Sebastian Mortimer, Oregon State University. Advisor: Aaron Liston
Autumn Peterson, Georgia Institute of Technology. Advisor: William Ratcliff
Karissa Plum, University of Houston. Advisor: Rebecca Zufall
Verónica Reyes-Galindo, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Advisor: Alicia Mastretta-Yanes
Emma Rhodes, Auburn University. Advisor: Wendy Hood
Fabian C. Salgado Roa, The University of Melbourne. Advisor: Iliana Medina
Sergio Serrato-Arroyo, Arizona State University. Advisor: Silvie Huijben
Keana Tang, University of Kansas. Advisor: Kelly Matsunaga
Emily Terrill, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Advisor: Eva Fischer
Matthew Treaster, University of Georgia. Advisor: Michael White
Robin Waterman, Michigan State University. Advisor: Jeffrey Conner
 
 

Rosemary Grant Advanced Award recipients:
 
Grace Burgin, Harvard University. Advisor: Robin Hopkins
Haley Carter, Northwestern University. Advisor: Norm Wickett
Dylan DeBaun, American Museum of Natural History. Advisor: Frank Burbrink
Owen Dorsey, Texas A&M University. Advisor: Charles Criscione
Yasmeen Erritouni, University of Washington. Advisor: Adam Leache
Matías Gómez-Corrales, The University of Rhode Island. Advisor: Carlos Prada
Maggie Grundler, University of California, Berkeley. Advisor: Erica Bree Rosenblum
Sarah McPeek, University of Virginia. Advisor: Edmund Brodie III
Henry North, University of Cambridge. Advisor: Chris Jiggins
Krish Sanghvi, University of Oxford. Advisor: Irem Sepil
Jeremy Summers, University of Rochester. Advisor: Nancy Chen
Rebecca Tarnopol, University of California - Berkeley. Advisor: Noah Whiteman
 
 

2021 Recipients

R. C. Lewontin Early Award in memory of George C. Gilchrist:
Tais Ribeiro, University of Maryland. Advisor: Anahi Espindola

R. C. Lewontin Early Award recipients:
 
Philip Bentz, University of Georgia. Advisor: Jim Leebens-Mack
Austin Calhoun, Illinois State University. Advisor: Ben Sadd
Maria Colt, University of Maryland. Advisor: Heidi Fisher
Danielle De La Pascua, University of California Davis. Advisor: Jennifer Gremer
Erik Iverson, The University of Texas at Austin. Advisor: Justin Havird
Matthew Kelbrick, University of Liverpool. Advisor: Siobhán O’Brien
Laura Leventhal, Stanford University. Advisor: Moises Exposito-Alonso
Jasen Liu, University of California, Davis. Advisor: Santiago Ramírez
Meghan Maciejewski, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Advisor: Alison Bell
Kelly Martin, University of Idaho. Advisor: Christine Parent
Kelly McCrum, University of Georgia. Advisor: Jill Anderson
Lisa Mesrop, University of California, Santa Barbara. Advisor: Todd Oakley
Kasey Pham, University of Florida. Advisor: Douglas Soltis
Raunak Sen, Cornell University. Advisor: Kerry Shaw
Rebecca Tarnopol, University of California - Berkeley. Advisor: Noah Whiteman
Colton Unger, University of Calgary. Advisor: Campbell Rolian
Veronica Urgiles Penafiel, Utah State University. Advisor: Molly Womack
Athmaja Viswanath, University of Toronto. Advisor: Asher Cutter
Emma Vtipilthorpe, North Carolina State University. Advisor: Seema Sheth
Gabrielle Welsh, University of Denver. Advisor: Robin Tinghitella
Xuening Zhang, Cornell University. Advisor: Anurag Agrawal


 
 
Rosemary Grant Advanced Award in memory of George C. Gilchrist:
Derek Denney, University of Georgia. Advisor: Jill Anderson.

Rosemary Grant Advanced Award recipients:
 
Colby Behrens, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Advisor: Alison Bell.
Ying Chen, Queen's University. Advisor: Stephen Lougheed.
Tanmay Dixit, University of Cambridge. Advisor: Claire Spottiswoode.
Robert Driver, East Carolina University. Advisor: Christopher Balakrishnan.
Santiago Herrera-Álvarez, University of Chicago. Advisor: Joseph Thornton.
Hanna Makowski, University of Virginia. Advisor: Laura Galloway.
Manish Pathak, Indian Institute Of Science Education And Research, Kolkata. Advisor: Sumana Annagiri.
Rozenn Pineau, Georgia Institute of Technology. Advisor: William Ratcliff.
Rosalyn Price-Waldman, Princeton University. Advisor: Mary Caswell Stoddard.
Jill Sanderson, University of Toronto. Advisor: Luke Mahler.
William Thomas, Stony Brook University. Advisor: Liliana Dávalos.


 
 
 
2020 Recipients

R.C. Lewontin Award in memory of George Gilchrist:* 
Makenzie Whitener, University of Georgia. Advisor: Andrea Sweigart

R.C. Lewontin Early Award

McCall Calvert, University of Pittsburgh. Advisor: Corlett Wood
Regan Cross, Queen's University. Advisor: Christopher Eckert
Victor de Brito, Western Michigan University. Advisor: Devin Bloom
Jenna DeCurzio, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Advisor: Christina Burch
Matthew Farnitano, University of Georgia. Advisor: Andrea Sweigart
Samantha Goldman, Cornell University. Advisor: Andrew Moeller
Diler Haji, University of California, Berkeley. Advisor: Noah Whiteman
Kelsie Hunnicutt, University of Denver. Advisor: Erica Larson
Will Jarvis, University of Ottawa. Advisor: Howard Rundle
Sungsik Kong, The Ohio State University. Advisor: Laura Kubatko
Emily Lau, University of California Santa Barbara. Advisor: Todd Oakley
Michelle McCauley, Emory University. Advisor: Levi Morran
Theresa Miorin, University of Georgia. Advisor: Kelly Dyer
Benjamin Moran, Stanford University. Advisor: Molly Schumer
Emily Nonnamaker, The University of Notre Dame. Advisor: Elizabeth Archie
Klara Norden, Princeton University. Advisor: Mary C. Stoddard
Kennedy Omufwoko, Princeton University. Advisor: Sarah Kocher
Ian Rines, Illinois State University. Advisor: Ben Sadd
Srijan Seal, Ashoka University. Advisor: Imroze Khan
Ruben Tovar, The University of Texas at Austin. Advisor: David Hillis
Adrian Troya, Universidade Federal do Parana. Advisor: John Lattke
Mackenzie Urquhart-Cronish, University of British Columbia. Advisor: Amy Angert

*This award was funded by donations to the George Gilchrist Student Support Fund.

Beginning with the 2020 Graduate Research Excellence Grant competitions, SSE requested voluntary demographic information from award applicants in an effort to address bias and promote equity in awarding across multiple axes of diversity. Learn more here.


 
 
Rosemary Grant Advanced Awards in memory of George Gilchrist:*
Jessica Aguilar, University of California Berkeley. Advisor: Noah Whiteman
Brandie Quarles, Duke University. Advisor: Kathleen Donohue
 
 
Rosemary Grant Advanced Award:
 
Upama Aich, Australian National University. Advisor: Michael Jennions
Giorgia Auteri, University of Michigan. Advisor: L. Lacey Knowles
Henry Ertl, University of Michigan. Advisor: Patricia Wittkopp
Alice Gadau, The Rockefeller University. Advisor: Li Zhao
Benjamin Gerstner, University of New Mexico. Advisor: Ken Whitney
Yuki Haba, Princeton University. Advisor: Carolyn McBride
Michaël Nicolaï, Universiteit Gent. Advisor: Matthew Shawkey
Arjuna Rajakumar, McGill University. Advisor: Ehab Abouheif
Alexus Roberts, University of California, Davis. Advisor: Peter Wainwright
Pamela Santana, Universidade De Sao Paulo. Advisor: Paulo Guimarães Jr.
Xueling Yi, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Advisor: Emily Latch

*These awards were funded by donations to the George Gilchrist Student Support Fund.

SSE is aware that historical and modern-day cultural biases and lack of diversity in an applicant pool may lead to biases in the allocation of grants, prizes, and awards. Beginning with the 2020 Graduate Research Excellence Grant competitions, SSE requested voluntary demographic information from award applicants in an effort to address bias and promote equity in awarding across multiple axes of diversity. Learn more here.


 

2019 Recipients

R.C. Lewontin Early Award

Valentina Alaasam, University of Nevada, Reno. Advisor: Jenny Ouyang
Aurora Alvarez-Buylla,
Stanford University. Advisor: Lauren O'Connell
Matthew Biddick,
Victoria University of Wellington. Advisor: Kevin Burns
Amanda Cicchino,
Colorado State University. Advisor: W. Chris Funk
Reena Debray,
University of California, Berkeley. Advisor: Britt Koskella
Paul Dougherty,
University of Wyoming. Advisor: Matthew Carling
Trevor Faske,
University of Nevada, Reno. Advisor: Thomas Parchman
Benjamin Flanagan,
University of Southern California. Advisor: Suzanne Edmands
Connor French,
City University of New York. Advisor: Michael Hickerson
Kaitlyn Howell,
University of Texas at Arlington. Advisor: Matthew Walsh
Abigail Howell,
Arizona State University. Advisor: Reed Cartwright
Mounica Kota,
University of Minnesota. Advisor: Marlene Zuk
Jose Maldonado,
Univeristy of Texas At Arlington. Advisor: Matthew Fujita
Olivia Meyerson,
Harvard University. Advisor: Hopi Hoekstra
Libby Natola,
University of British Columbia. Advisor: Darren Irwin
Alaina Petlewski,
Cornell University. Advisor: Fay-Wei Li
Logan Sauers,
Illinois State University. Advisor: Ben Sadd
Daniel Shaw,
University of Georgia. Advisor: Michael White
Kayla Stoy,
Emory University. Advisor: Nicole Gerardo
Elena Suglia,
University of California, Davis. Advisor: Jennifer Gremer
Emilie-Katherine Tavernier,
University of Florida. Advisor: Stuart McDaniel
Takuji Usui,
University of British Columbia. Advisor: Amy Angert
Brooke Washburn,
University of Denver. Advisor: Robin Tinghitella
Jia Zheng,
University of Groningen. Advisor: Jan Komdeur

Context statement: We received 157 GREG R.C. Lewontin Early Award applications. The evaluation committee, Chaired by V.P. Tracey Chapman, selected 24 proposals for funding. Based on inferences from given names, 56.7% of Lewontin applicants and 62.5% of the winners are women. The evaluation committee consisted of 6 women and 3 men; 3 reviewers are GSAC members.  
 

Rosemary Grant Advanced Award

Katrina Catalano, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. Advisor: Malin Pinsky
Dustin Gannon, Oregon State University. Advisor: F. Andrew Jones
Julia Kreiner, University of Toronto. Advisors: John Stinchcombe and Stephen Wright
Kara Million, Indiana University. Advisor: Curtis Lively
Shivangi Nath, University of Georgia. Advisor: Michael White.
Julianne Pelaez, University of California, Berkeley. Advisor: Noah Whiteman
George Sandler, University of Toronto. Advisors: Aneil Agrawal and Stephen Wright
Kwi Shan Seah, National University of Singapore. Advisor: Vinod Kumar Saranathan
Kate Snyder, Vanderbilt University. Advisor: Nicole Creanza
Paula Vasconcelos, Uppsala University. Advisor: Claus Rueffler
Julian Wagner, California Institute of Technology. Advisor: Joseph Parker

 

2018 Recipients

R.C. Lewontin Early Award

Aaron-Jay Alcala, University of Georgia. Advisor: Douglas Menke
Abrar Aljiboury, Syracuse University. Advisor: Jannice Friedman
Christina Balentine, The University of Texas at Austin. Advisor: Deborah Bolnick
Noori Choi, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Advisor: Eileen Hebets
Derek Filipek, University of Kentucky. Advisor: David Weisrock
Kerry Gendreau, Virginia Tech. Advisor: Joel McGlothlin
Aaron Griffing, Marquette University. Advisor: Tony Gamble
Sonal Gupta, University of Michigan. Advisor: Regina Baucom
Natalia Gutierrez-Pinto, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Advisor: Jay Storz
Lucas Henry, Princeton University. Advisor: Julien Ayroles
Jessica Hernandez, Virginia Tech. Advisor: Ignacio Moore
Anna Hiller, Louisiana State University. Advisor: Brant Faircloth
Michael Itgen, Colorado State University. Advisor: Rachel Mueller
Deidre Keating, University of Georgia. Advisor: Jill Anderson
Olivia Kosterlitz, University of Washington. Advisor: Ben Kerr
Emily Laub, University of Michigan. Advisor: Elizabeth Tibbetts
Emily Levy, Duke University. Advisor: Susan Alberts
Rachel MacTavish, University of Georgia. Advisor: Jill Anderson
Emily Powell, University of Miami. Advisor: J. Albert C. Uy
Bryan Reatini, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Advisor: Todd Vision
Alexander Shephard, University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Advisor: Emilie Snell-Rood
Ken Thompson, University of British Columbia. Advisor: Dolph Schluter

Rosemary Grant Advanced Award

John Benning, University of Minnesota. Advisor: David Moeller
William Booker, Florida State University. Advisor: Emily Lemmon
Nicole Forrester, University of Pittsburgh. Advisor: Tia-Lynn Ashman
Benjamin Goulet, Harvard University. Advisor: Robin Hopkins
Ryan Greenway, Kansas State University. Advisor: Michael Tobler
Haley Kenyon, Queen's University. Advisor: Paul Martin
Justine Lamperty, Rice University. Advisor: Amy Dunham
Rachel Moran, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Advisor: Becky Fuller
Victoria Morgan, University of California, Davis. Advisor: Richard Grosberg
William Shoemaker, Indiana University Bloomington. Advisor: Jay Lennon
Brian Tanis, Oregon State University. Advisor: Rebecca Terry
Su'ad Yoon, University of Nevada Reno. Advisor: Matthew Forister


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