We’re thrilled to announce the Spring 2025 recipients of the DeLill Nasser Award for Professional Development in Genetics!
Awarded twice a year, these grants help graduate students and postdocs take the next step in their careers—whether that’s attending a scientific meeting, participating in a lab course, or connecting with the broader genetics community.
The award honors the legacy of DeLill Nasser, a visionary leader and beloved mentor who championed “real genetics” during her decades of service at the National Science Foundation. Known for her fierce support of early-career scientists and her passion for bold, new ideas, Nasser left an unforgettable mark on the field.
Please join us in congratulating this season’s recipients!
Mimi Aziz, University of Utah
Research topic: Exploring the pathophysiology of a rare neurodevelopmental disorder by leveraging drug repurposing strategies and identifying genetic modifiers in Drosophila.
John Clancy, University of California, Santa Cruz
Research topic: Regulation of metalloprotease activity during C. elegans molting.
Katherine Jacobs, Rutgers University
Research topic: How the extracellular matrix, a secreted coating that supports and protects cells, impacts sensory neuron function and perception of environmental cues.
Charikleia Karageorgiou, University at Buffalo
Research topic: The evolution, function, and mutational origins of genomic structural variation, with a particular emphasis on copy number variants and chromosomal inversions in primates, including humans and archaic hominins.
Austin Link, University of Oklahoma
Research topic: The evolution of host-microbe interactions by leveraging the power of the model organism C. elegans and its closest known relative that is both morphologically and ecologically divergent, C. inopinata.
Athanasios Litsios, University of Toronto
Research topic: The study of cellular proliferation and cellular aging.
Emiliano Martí, University of Rochester
Research topic: The molecular and evolutionary genetic basis of intragenomic conflicts and their consequences for speciation.
Tiara Mulder, Dalhousie University
Research topic: Modeling muscle damage and repair using Drosophila melanogaster.
Jimena Ruiz, Washington State University
Research topic: The effect of mitochondrial stress response on dietary-induced ferroptosis, an iron-dependent cell death mechanism linked to neurodegenerative diseases.
Sofia Sheikh, University of Chicago
Research topic: How genetic variation at hotspot genes can modify developmental programs to produce phenotypic diversity.
Applications for Fall 2025 will open in August.
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