The Victoria Finnerty Undergraduate Travel Award helps undergraduate GSA members presenting their research at the Annual Drosophila Research Conference offset the costs of attending the meeting. This year, the 68th Annual Drosophila Research Conference will bring the Drosophila research community together in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, February 17–21, 2027.

The award honors Victoria “Vickie” Finnerty, a longtime member of the Genetics Society of America who made lasting contributions to the Drosophila and genetics communities. Her groundbreaking graduate research used high-resolution recombination analysis to investigate gene structure, launching a 35-year career as an accomplished researcher, dedicated educator, and compassionate mentor.

Vickie was passionate about finding new ways to engage undergraduate students in genetics, both in the classroom and through research. This award carries that commitment forward by helping the next generation of geneticists share their work and connect with the broader research community.

Steve Chung
University of California, Los Angeles

My research uses Drosophila melanogaster to understand what guides macrophage migration along specific routes during the earliest stages of embryonic development.

Dante Falzone
Davidson College

I study Drosophila spermatogenesis to learn why mitochondria struggle to harness energy when the key lipid, cardiolipin, is missing or damaged, as observed in the rare genetic disease Barth syndrome.

Victoria Hand
The University of Alabama

I study gene-gene and gene-environment interactions in Drosophila, centering around genes that regulate neuronal excitability and neurotransmission.

Samuel Herman
University of Missouri–Kansas City

I investigate the roles of the roundabout protein family in select hemilineages during postembryonic development of the VNC.

Darren Lin
New York University

I study how cell death affects the diversity of neurons that are generated in the fruit fly optic lobe during larval development.

Daren Liu
University at Buffalo

My research involves using computational tools to predict gene regulatory elements and testing those predictions in vivo using Drosophila melanogaster.

Rafael Perez-Vicente
University of Toronto

I study how cells communicate and migrate collectively to build a working heart in the fruitfly embryo.

Lily Rivas
Rutgers University-Camden

I use electrophysiology to investigate how critical flicker fusion frequency may assist in detecting cellular dysfunction in separate groups of Drosophila melanogaster genetically engineered to overexpress amyloid-beta protein pan-neuronally or in the photoreceptors.

Maria Seage
University of Utah–Huntsman Cancer Institute

My research focuses on exploring the effects of activated JAK/STAT pathway in Drosophila enterocyte cells.

Sophia Spohn
East Carolina University

My research is on investigating the genetic control of female fertility.

Huy Tran
Louisiana State University

My research focuses on the organization of axon tracts in the central nervous system during fruit fly embryogenesis.

Maggie Vo
California State University San Marcos

My research investigates the sex- and age- related role(s) for the developmental Hedgehog signaling pathway in cardiac rhythm disorders such as Atrial Fibrillation.

Clara Witmer
Lafayette College

I am studying the role of a protein called Ultrabithorax in histone gene regulation, using fruit flies as a model organism.

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