March 30th, 2012
Tiffany Garbutt, a second year PhD student in Genetics, and Molly Matty, a senior undergraduate Chemistry student minoring in Genetics, have been awarded Graduate Research Fellowships by the National Science Foundation. Both are currently performing research in the lab of Dr. David Threadgill in the Department of Genetics. The aims of Tiffany's dissertation research is to exploit induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells to investigate the genetic control of epigenetic stability, which will determine the utility of iPS cells for therapeutic use. Molly's undergraduate research project is focused on investigating the genetic control of telomere length, which is important for chromosome stability and cancer susceptibility. Molly will be pursuing a PhD in the Genetics and Genomics program at Duke University beginning this fall.
The National Science Foundation's Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) helps ensure the vitality of the human resource base of science and engineering in the United States and reinforces its diversity. NSF Fellows are anticipated to become knowledge experts who can contribute significantly to research, teaching, and innovations in science and engineering. These individuals are crucial to maintaining and advancing the nation's technological infrastructure and national security as well as contributing to the economic well-being of society at large.
