The Graduate School is pleased to announce the 2022-2023 DDF Fellowship Recipients
Congratulations to the recipients of the 2022-2023 DDF Fellowship! The Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship (DDF) gives the University's most accomplished Ph.D. candidates an opportunity to devote full-time effort to an outstanding research project by providing time to finalize and write a dissertation during the fellowship year.
Ibrahim Abdelgawad
Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology
Advisor(s): Beshay Zordoky & Ling Li
“Molecular Mechanisms and Cardiovascular Ramifications of Doxorubicin-Induced Senescence”
Maral Abdollahi
Mass Communication
Advisor(s): Jisu Huh
“Human Users' Responses to Virtual Social Media Influencers and Strategic
and Ethical Implications for Communication”
Zhuldyz Amankulova
Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development
Advisor(s): Christopher Johnstone
“Education and Career Aspirations of Marginalized Youth in Kazakhstan: The Role of Social Capital”
Isaac Asante-Wusu
Geography
Advisor(s): Abdi Samatar
“Democracy and urban water politics in Africa: Accra, Ghana and Pretoria, South Africa”
Sahar Aseeri
Computer Science
Advisor(s): Victoria Interrante & Evan Suma
“Exploring Avatar Representations to Support Perception and Social Cognition in Virtual Environments”
Drishadwati Bargi
Comparative Studies In Discourse and Society
Advisor(s): Cesare Casarino
“Images of the Common: Spectacular majoritarianism, conscientious objection and Dalit cultural resistance in contemporary India”
Radhika Bharathi
Food Science
Advisor(s): George Annor
“Tempering: The secret to better refining intermediate wheatgrass”
Ruth Burrows
Geography
Advisor(s): Kathryn Grace
“Exploring linkages between climate and child food insecurity in West Africa”
Athena Chung Yin Chan
Family Social Science
Advisor(s): Timothy Piehler
“Resilience and Mental Health in the Face of the COVID-19 Pandemic:
A Mixed Methods Study of Adults in Minnesota and Hong Kong”
Neel Chatterjee
Electrical Engineering
Advisor(s): Sarah Swisher & Paul Ruden
“Optimizing Next Generation Flexible Electronics using Photonic Curing and Physical Models”
Sze Cheng
Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics
Advisor(s): Jeongsik Yong
“mTOR-regulated reprogramming of cellular proteome and metabolism”
Moon-ki Choi
Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics
Advisor(s): Ellad Tadmor
“Holistic Molecular Modeling of Tunable 2D Material Systems”
Margaret Clapham
Chemistry
Advisor(s): Renee Frontiera & Christopher Douglas
“Understanding polymorphism in rubrenes through synthetic design, crystallography and Raman spectroscopy”
Brianna Collins
Chemistry
Advisor(s): Jason Goodpaster
“Predicting Adsorption Energies on Bimetallic alloys using Machine Learning”
Elizabeth Crist
Biomedical Engineering
Advisor(s): David Wood
“Investigating cancer cell dissemination throughout breast cancer metastasis using a novel 3D cancer model ”
Kathryn Crone
Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics
Advisor(s): Michael Freeman
“Biochemical and Structural Interrogation of a Split Borosin RiPP System”
Caity Curry
Sociology
Advisor(s): Chris Uggen & Michelle Phelps
“Public Defenders as the New Civil Rights Leaders? Resistance Lawyering in Southern Courtrooms ”
Meriah DeJoseph
Child Psychology
Advisor(s): Daniel Berry & Kathleen Thomas
“Cognitive and psychophysiological mechanisms of learning in early adolescence ”
Armani Del Franco
Neuroscience
Advisor(s): Eric Newman
“Norepinephrine Modulation of Astrocyte Volume and Synaptic Transmission in the Medial
Prefrontal Cortex”
Shuyi Deng
Public Affairs
Advisor(s): Samuel Myers
“A Critical Examination of Racial Disparities in Nonprofit Funding: Bringing Nonprofits of Color into Focus”
Amanda Folk
Kinesiology
Advisor(s): Daheia Barr-Anderson
“Green Physical Activity in Natural Spaces: Motivators, Barriers, and the Role of Social Media in a Diverse Sample of Adults”
Celina Furman
Psychology
Advisor(s): Alex Rothman & Traci Mann
“Fueling Physical Activity with a Hybrid Motivational System: How Multiple Sources of Motivation and Experiences Promote Physical Activity Across Contexts and Time”
Supriya Ghosh
Chemical Engineering
Advisor(s): Vipin Kumar
“Physics-informed Machine Learning for Scientific Knowledge Discovery”
Sophie Givens
Biomedical Engineering
Advisor(s): Brenda Ogle
“Understanding the epicardial-myocardial interface using an engineered human cardiac tissue model”
Yao Gong
Biomedical Informatics and Computational Biology
Advisor(s): Yue Chen & Rui Kuang
“Development of bioinformatics strategies to explore functional protein isoform networks”
Qiangqiang Gu
Biomedical Informatics and Computational Biology
Advisor(s): Steven Hart
“Deep Learning in Melanoma Pathology”
Rishabh Gupta
Chemical Engineering
Advisor(s): Qi Zhang
“Discovery of Decision-Making Mechanisms Via Data-Driven Inverse Optimization”
Katherine Hamel
Neuroscience
Advisor(s): Marija Cvetanovic
“Intra-Cerebellar Region-Specific Pathology in Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 1”
Alex Hamill
Physics
Advisor(s): Paul Crowell
“Nonlinear Magnetization Dynamics in Low-dimensional Systems”
Benjamin Hansen
History
Advisor(s): Andrea Sterk
“Between Trepidation and Hope:
Palestinian Christians after the Arab Conquests (c. 650-750 CE)”
Mckenna Hanson
Chemistry
Advisor(s): Theresa Reineke
“Polymeric Materials for Improving Biological Drug Stability and Delivery”
Pooja Hegde
Medicinal Chemistry
Advisor(s): Courtney Aldrich
“1)Antibacterial agents against Mycobacterium tuberculosis: Past, Present and Future
2) Development of a biocatalyst for chemoenzymatic synthesis of modified nucleosides”
Dustin Hemsath
Education, Curriculum and Instruction
Advisor(s): Samuel David & Mary Hermes
“Language Ideologies: Negotiations Between Teacher Candidates and Cooperating
Teachers of World Languages”
Hannah Holst
Chemistry
Advisor(s): Christopher Douglas
“Formation of Phenonium Ions from Strained Heterocycles for the Synthesis of Complex Molecules and the Exploration of Asymmetric Hydroacylation of Alkenes”
Qiyin Huang
Kinesiology
Advisor(s): Jürgen Konczak
“Robot-aided assessment of ankle proprioception in healthy adults and individuals after stroke”
Dingbin Huang
Mechanical Engineering
Advisor(s): Xiaojia Wang
“Investigation on Magnetization Dynamics in Spintronic Materials and Recording Media by Time-Resolved Magneto-Optical Kerr Effect”
Ashley Hufnagle
Educational Psychology
Advisor(s): Geoffrey Maruyama & David DeLiema
“Collaborative Emotion Regulation: Investigating Parents' Use of Social Reappraisal-Based Strategies in Response to Children's Emotions in Naturalistic Interactions”
Alexander Hurben
Medicinal Chemistry
Advisor(s): Natalia Tretyakova
“Using Chemical Tools to Map the Molecular Mechanisms that Drive Disease”
Aimzhan Iztayeva
Sociology
Advisor(s): Ann Meier
“Custodial Single Fathers and Employment Discrimination: Penalized or Protected?”
Katrina Jackson
Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology
Advisor(s): Kirsten Nielsen
“Characterizing the genetics and pathogenesis of the ST93 clade of Cryptococcus neoformans”
Theo Jacobson
Physics
Advisor(s): Aleksey Cherman
“Symmetries and Confining Gauge Theories in Various Dimensions”
Seon-Kyeong Jang
Psychology
Advisor(s): Scott Vrieze
“Expanding genetic architecture of complex behavioral traits through investigation of rare variant and multi-ancestry samples ”
Noah Jefferson
Education, Curriculum and Instruction
Advisor(s): Timothy Lensmire
“Exploring Abolitionist Teacher Praxis: A Study Group With Abolitionist Teachers”
Seo Nyeong Jo
Political Science
Advisor(s): Lisa Hilbink
“Gender Matters in the Judiciary: Adjudicating Sexual Assault in Korea ”
Katherine Jones
Chemistry
Advisor(s): Daniel Harki
“Discovery and Development of Small Molecule APOBEC3 DNA Cytosine Deaminase Ligands”
Anusha Kamath Manjeshwar
Chemical Engineering
Advisor(s): Bharat Jalan
“Ferroelectric Oxide-Based Devices for the Conversion of Waste Heat to Electricity”
Thomas Lake
Plant and Microbial Biology
Advisor(s): David Moeller
“Predicting biological invasions using remote sensing and artificial intelligence”
Carolyn Lasch
Child Psychology
Advisor(s): Jed Elison & Bonnie Klimes-Dougan
“Maternal anxiety, infant attention, and amygdala development in the first 3 years of life”
Samantha LeBouef
Family Social Science
Advisor(s): Jodi Dworkin
“First Generation College Students and Family Support”
Manci Li
Comparative and Molecular Biosciences
Advisor(s): Peter Larsen
“Leveraging Machine Learning and Transcriptomic Data for Understanding LncRNA-associated Pathogenesis in Alzheimer’s Disease”
Chenxi Lin
Bioproducts and Biosystems Science, Engineering and Management
Advisor(s): Zhenong Jin
“Breaking the Data Limitation: Advancing the Utilization of Earth Observation for Sustainable Agriculture”
Rosa Lozano
Entomology
Advisor(s): Robert Koch
“Insecticide resistance management: understanding the biological mechanisms for soybean aphid (Aphis glycines Matsumura)”
Sophia Magro
Child Psychology
Advisor(s): Glenn Roisman & Robert Krueger
“Are teacher-student relationships causally implicated in child development? Evidence from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development”
Nina Medvedeva
Feminist Studies
Advisor(s): Aren Aizura & Miranda Joseph
“Home in the Sharing Economy”
Sophie Minor
Anthropology
Advisor(s): Kat Hayes
“Life and Labor: An Archaeological Study of Enslaved African Americans at Fort
Snelling, Minnesota”
Ilias Mitrai
Chemical Engineering
Advisor(s): Prodromos Daoutidis
“Learning to decompose mathematical optimization problems ”
Ariadna Mondragon Botero
Plant and Microbial Biology
Advisor(s): Jennifer Powers
“Conservation and restoration of the Tropical Dry Forest in Berenty Reseve, Madagascar”
Haleigh Mulholland
Neuroscience
Advisor(s): Gordon Smith
"Circuit-mechanisms of large-scale functional networks in the developing visual cortex"
Meena Murugappan
Social and Administrative Pharmacy
Advisor(s): Randall Seifert & Joel Farley
“Treatment Selection in Multiple Myeloma”
Sreekishen Nair
Design
Advisor(s): Brad Hokanson
“GRAPHICS, TIME & ECOLOGY IN THE CODEX LAUD & THE BORGIA GROUP”
Arif Hayat Nairang
Anthropology
Advisor(s): Jean Langford
“Halat kharab: Playful Existence in the Time of Political Violence”
Ayako Ohoka
Biomedical Engineering
Advisor(s): Casim Sarkar
“Method development of affinity-based selection systems”
Ibrahim Oker
Political Science
Advisor(s): Teri Caraway
“The Politics of Authoritarian Social Welfare Provision: Why Do Some Autocracies Develop Generous Welfare States?”
Charles Osingada
Nursing
Advisor(s): Carolyn Porta
“Perspectives of Ugandan patients and healthcare providers about the use of telehealth for follow-up HIV care and treatment.”
Romil Parikh
Epidemiology
Advisor(s): Lin Yee Chen & Weihong Tang
“Associations of Cardiac Arrhythmias and Atrial Myopathy With Geriatric Syndromes.”
Michael Park
Business Administration
Advisor(s): Keisha Varma & Sashank Varma
“How can we better convey information with graphs? The critical role of magnitude
information in helping (and hurting) communication”
Caroline Pierce
Land and Atmospheric Science
Advisor(s): Brandy Toner & Ed Nater
“The Effect of Climate Change on Total Mercury, Methylmercury, and Sulfur in Boreal Peat Bogs: Production and Export”
William Postiglione
Materials Science and Engineering
Advisor(s): Chris Leighton
“Voltage control of atomic structure and magnetism in oxide materials”
Joseph Rabaey
Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior
Advisor(s): James Cotner
“Small Size, Huge Impact: Disproportionate Effects of Ponds on Atmospheric Greenhouse Gases”
Emmy Reilly
Child Psychology
Advisor(s): Megan Gunnar
“Compassion in Action: A Micro-trial of the Effects of a Loving-Kindness Meditation on Parent Sensitivity”
Shanley Roach
Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics
Advisor(s): Ryan Langlois
“Immune response to viral infections at barrier surfaces”
Fredrik Sadler
Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics
Advisor(s): Sivaraj Sivaramakrishnan
“Autoregulation of GPCR signaling through the third intracellular loop”
Consuelo Sanchez-Bautista
Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development
Advisor(s): Frances Vavrus
“Educational Inclusion of Overaged Youth on the Move: Flexible Education in Public Urban Schools in Colombia”
Marie Schaedel
Applied Plant Sciences
Advisor(s): Julie Grossman
“Climate-smart forages: impact of a proposed agricultural intervention on soil microbial communities and soil fertility in Rwanda ”
Margaret Shanahan
Entomology
Advisor(s): Marla Spivak
“Supporting bee health and resilient agricultural systems”
Arun Sharma
Computer Science
Advisor(s): Shashi Shekhar
“Analyzing Trajectory Gaps for Possible Abnormal Behavior”
Alexander Shephard
Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior
Advisor(s): Emilie Snell-Rood
“Too much of a good thing? How organisms cope with anthropogenic increases in nutrient availability”
Elizabeth Shih
Biomedical Engineering
Advisor(s): Patrick Alford
“Evaluating Growth and Remodeling in Cerebral Aneurysm Formation and Rupture”
Guanyu Song
Mechanical Engineering
Advisor(s): Chris Hogan
“Fundamental investigation of aerosol deposition process: experimental and computational studies”
Duarte Sousa
Electrical Engineering
Advisor(s): Tony Low
“Advanced Spintronic Devices Based on Novel Materials ”
Erin Standen
Psychology
Advisor(s): Traci Mann & Alex Rothman
“Mapping the Beneficial and Adverse Consequences of Receiving Weight-Related Advice from a Healthcare Provider”
Kshitij Tayal
Computer Science
Advisor(s): Vipin Kumar
“Advancing Machine Learning for Scientific Knowledge Discovery”
Emily Tibor
Mathematics
Advisor(s): Ben Brubaker
“Combinatorics of Whittaker Coefficients”
Michael Valdez
Theatre Arts
Advisor(s): Sonja Kuftinec
“Palestine in your Parish: Church Performance and the Shaping of British Public Opinion on Middle East Expansion, 1891 to 1917”
Krisna Van Dyke
Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology and Genetics
Advisor(s): Frank Albert
“Investigating the causes and consequences of trans–-acting genetic variation”
Alex Villarreal
Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology
Advisor(s): Ryan Hunter
“Co-colonizing microbiota govern the growth and virulence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa within the cystic fibrosis airways”
Amy Waananen
Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior
Advisor(s): Ruth Shaw
“A spatiotemporal framework for gene flow in fragmented prairie populations”
Rebecca Walker
Public Affairs
Advisor(s): Bonnie Keeler & Edward Goetz
“Greenness, Whiteness, and the Construction of Value”
Fan Wang
Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology
Advisor(s): Melanie Nicol & Angela Birnbaum
“Penetration of anti-infective agents in female genital tract”
Shi'an Wang
Civil Engineering
Advisor(s): Michael Levin
“Planning, operation, and management of automated transportation systems: A control-theoretic perspective”
Dechen Wangmo
Pharmacology
Advisor(s): Subree Subramanian
“Role of Tumor Cell-Intrinsic Factors in Colorectal Cancer Progression and Immune Landscaping”
Ryan Webler
Psychology
Advisor(s): Shmuel Lissek
“Increasing safety generalization by disrupting hippocampal pattern separation: A personalized, connectivity guided TMS study”
Trevor Weiss
Plant and Microbial Biology
Advisor(s): Feng Zhang
“Dissecting CRISPR-based genome engineering and DNA repair mechanisms”
David Wolfson
Conservation Sciences
Advisor(s): David Andersen & John Fieberg
“Trumpeter Swan migration ecology and conservation”
Xinwei Zhang
Electrical Engineering
Advisor(s): Ke Wang
“Manipulating Novel Quantum Phenomena in Graphene Nanostructures”