Congratulations to the Fall 2024 DeLill Nasser Awardees!

GSA is pleased to announce the recipients of the DeLill Nasser Award for Professional Development in Genetics for Fall 2024! Given twice a year to graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, DeLill Nasser Awards support attendance at meetings and laboratory courses.

The award is named in honor of DeLill Nasser, a long-time GSA supporter and National Science Foundation Program Director in Eukaryotic Genetics. Nasser was regarded by some as the “patron saint of real genetics,” shaping the field through more than two decades of leadership. She was especially supportive of young scientists, people who were beginning their careers, and those trying to open new areas of genetic inquiry. For more about Nasser, please see the tribute from Scott Hawley, published in the August 2001 issue of GENETICS.

Rebecca Androwski                    
Rutgers University

I study how neurons manage nuclear and cellular stress through novel mechanisms like nuclear vesicle extrusion, uncovering processes that promote resilience during aging and neurodegeneration.

Arely Diaz                                              
University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus

I study the molecular basis of sex differences in metabolism with a focus on differences within the fat storage cells of fruit flies.

Loiselle Gonzalez Baez            
Boston College

I am using genetic tools to study the cellular mechanisms behind wound healing in Drosophila melanogaster.

Linda Horianopoulos                 
University of Wisconsin–Madison

My research focuses on understanding how genetic differences between yeast species influence their biology and how we can use this knowledge to manipulate yeasts for practical applications.

Jeanne-Marie                                     
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

My research focuses on determining the requirements of variant histones in genome function and development.

Julio Miranda-Alban                    
The University of Chicago

My work investigates mechanisms that fine-tune Notch signaling deployment during development, with a focus on endocytic trafficking-mediated regulation, Delta-Notch intercellular feedback, and ligand-independent pathway activation

Maria Carmen Ramos               
University of Southern California

My research investigates the molecular mechanisms involved in altered mitochondrial-muscle dynamics and deciphering its impact on health and aging using the model organism C. elegans.

Ellen Risemberg                              
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

I use statistical genetics to study susceptibility to severe coronavirus disease.

Shefali                                                      
Indiana University, Bloomington

I am broadly interested in studying inter-organ metabolic signaling and my current research focusses on how glucose metabolism coordinates the brain-body growth signaling axis during Drosophila melanogaster brain development.

Neha Varshney                                
University of California, San Diego

I study how Protein Phosphatase 1 (PP1) is regulated and functions during the first cell division and embryonic development in Caenorhabditis elegans.