Congratulations to the Spring 2023 DeLill Nasser Awardees!

GSA is pleased to announce the recipients of the DeLill Nasser Award for Professional Development in Genetics for Spring 2023! 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.

Julius Tabin
Harvard University

I am researching the genetic and evolutionary basis of variation in burrowing behavior of deer mice (genus: Peromyscus).

Julie Jung
University of Utah

Broadly, I study the mechanisms of developmental plasticity in several plant and animal systems, including treefrogs, nematodes, lakecress, and voles.

Cori Cahoon
University of Oregon

My research examines the mechanisms causing temperature-induced male infertility using sex comparative studies with the model systems C. elegans and Zebrafish.

Anadika Prasad
University College, London

I use the Drosophila visual system to study how neuronal numbers and how the decision to commit to a neuronal fate is regulated during development.

Ricardo Frausto
University of California, Los Angeles

I study the chemical cues that can evoke oppositive behaviors (repulsion or attraction). Uncovering how the brain switches between these responses informs our understanding of more complex behaviors.

Oscar Bautista
Case Western Reserve University

I am utilizing proximity labeling in Drosophila to expand identify novel meiotic proteins.

Roger White
University of Rochester

I am investigating the role of lipid droplets and lipid metabolism genes in protecting mitochondrial integrity during Drosophila oogenesis.

Jaclyn Bubnell
Cornell University

I study how the genes that control egg and sperm development in fruit flies evolved their functions.

Christine Rourke
University of Delaware

My research focus is on the molecular mechanisms that contribute to sex-specific chromosome structure during the specialized cell division of meiosis.

Erik Enbody
University of California

My research focus is on the molecular mechanisms that contribute to sex-specific chromosome structure during the specialized cell division of meiosis.