The CSUN Biology Department is pleased to announce the winners of student awards and scholarships for the 2023-2024 school year, who will be recognized in a departmental awards ceremony today at noon in Chaparral Hall 5122.
Graduate students
From the University and the College of Science and Mathematics
- CSM Dean’s Scholarship: Hanna Bellafard
- Leslie and Terry Cutler Scholarship: Rafael Estrada
- Hugo and Irma Oppenheimer Student Award: Tena Dhayalan and Hanna Bellafard
- Mack I. Johnson Research Award for Outstanding Graduate Student in the College of Science and Mathematics: Alitzel Villanueva
- Graduate Fellowships for Outstanding Research Promise in Science and Mathematics: Laurel Diaz, Tena Dahyalan, and Max Sprute
From the Department of Biology
- Donald E. Bianchi Outstanding Graduate Student Award: Hanna Bellafard
- Donald E. Bianchi Outstanding Graduate Research Award: Rafael Estrada
- Donald E. Bianchi Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award: Tena Dhayalan
- Hugo and Irma Oppenheimer Biology Department Award: Kristen Howard, Nicholas Wertz, and Angelina Piette
- Bob and Doris Tracy Memorial Graduate Fellowship Award: Angelina Piette
- Scholarship in Ecology, Behavior, and Natural History Honoring Jim Dole and Betty Rose: Jack Dirck
- Newhall Land and Farming Southern California Ecology Scholarship: Rachel Gutner
- Richard Duenckel – Toluca Lake Garden Club Horticultural Scholarship: Lipi Kalpesh Patel
- Julie Gorchynski, MD, Research Graduate Student Scholarship: Rafael Estrada, Rachel Gutner, and Nicholas Wertz
- Biology Outstanding Student Award: Jack Dirck
- William H. Krohmer Biology Graduate Student Scholarship: Leta Dawson
Master’s Candidates with Distinguished Academic Records
The following Master’s Candidates completed the year with a GPA of 3.885 or higher:
- Adelaide Dahl
- Dianna Dzheyranyan
- Sean Farmer
- Joshua Gamez
- Diego Gomez Morales
- Carolina Gonzalez
- Melissa Gutterman
- Serena Hernandez
- Jonathan Huang
- Riley Jones
- Marisa Mackie
- Michelle Raphael
- Kiran Reed
- Vanessa Tamayo
- Nikolas Yousefi
Undergraduate students
From the University and the College of Science and Mathematics
- CSM Dean’s Scholarship: Amir Filabs
- Robert Nolan Scholarship: Nikita Opel
- Robert R. Sprague Foundation Scholarship: Ranel Tuplano
- Wujack Harrison Pre-Med Scholarship: Jigar Patel
From the Department of Biology
- Alumni Prize for Undergraduate Research in Biology –
- Cellular, molecular, physiological or developmental biology: Diana Ibrahim
- Ecology, evolution, ethology, or systematics: Katie Huguet Tuck
- Judge Julian Beck Outstanding Graduating Senior Biology Department Award: Ranel Tuplano
- Ian and Kathy Leslie Scholarship in Biology: Pionik Shahgholian
- Prakriti Suri Memorial Award: Elizabeth Matz
- Lieberman Family Foundation Biology Scholarship for Outstanding Undergraduates: Evan Jabbaz
- Bob and Doris Tracy Memorial Undergraduate Scholarship Award: Katie Huguet Tuck
Graduating Biology Majors with Distinguished Academic Records
The following graduating seniors completed a Biology major with a GPA of 3.50 or higher:
- Henry Amezquita
- Arpy Artine
- Nicole Ayala
- Ramesh Bahmaniyan
- Peter Bedrossian
- Briet Bjornsson
- Donnie Ca
- Kaily Caputo
- Kit Fong Cheung
- Julie Cravens
- Christina Dakhil
- Raman Dhillon
- Shanna Ferguson
- Arianna Flores
- Courtney Frazier
- Gabriela Gajardo Del Real
- Artur Ghazaryan
- Aysan Goodarzi
- Sofie Hansen
- Nicole Harris
- Diana Ibrahim
- Karapet Jambazian
- Hyekyu Ji
- Edward Jung
- Oscar Juvera
- Daljeet Kaur
- Melesys Kozian
- Joshua Kwock
- Matthew Martinez
- Ryan Mashayekhi
- Carol Moreno Garcia
- Shirin Noori
- Nikita Opel
- Elizaveta Pabon
- Jessica Palmer
- Eliza Pham
- Lucy Pogosian
- Karine Prusalyan
- Maria Rava
- Christy Rodriguez
- Christian Romero
- Seant Ryan
- Ashley Salvador
- Amberly Sanden
- Elina Sargsyan
- Amy Sariles
- Camryn Schalkx
- Pionik Shahgholian
- Erika Shirvanian
- Lidia Sidarous
- Natalie Silberberg
- Meline Sukiasyan
- Afifeh Tarighat
- Michael Valdiviezo
- Jennifer Vargas-Pereira
- Ryan Victory
- Harmony Whiting
- Cristina Yanez
- Maya Zarafshan
- Delaram Zare
Other awards
The following students won awards, fellowships, and grants from outside the college and campus:
- Cameron Atighetchi, advised by Dr. Eduardo Amorim, won the All of US Community Award
- Ashley Calderon, advised by Dr. Cindy Malone, won the CSUN’s OUR Research Supplies Grant
- Nicki Calvert, advised by Dr. Cindy Malone, won the State of California Life Sciences and Biotechnology Pre-Apprenticeship Award
- Laura Carmona, advised by Dr. Cindy Malone, won the
- Undergraduate, 1st Place, Poster Presentation: Spring 2024 CSUN 28th Annual Student Research and Creative Works Symposium
- State of California Life Sciences and Biotechnology Pre-Apprenticeship Award
- Gabriella Cox, advised by Dr. Cindy Malone, won the
- Undergraduate, 1st Place, Oral Presentation: Spring 2024 CSUN 28th Annual Student Research and Creative Works Symposium
- Poster Presentation Winner: 47th Annual West Coast Biological Sciences Undergraduate Research ConferenceState of California Life Sciences and Biotechnology Pre-Apprenticeship Award
- Adelaide Dahl, advised by Dr. Pete Edmunds, won the Honorable Mention: NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program
- Dain Dayo, advised by Dr. Cindy Malone, won the Poster Presentation Winner: 47th Annual West Coast Biological Sciences Undergraduate Research Conference
- Laurel Diaz, advised by Dr. Nyssa Silbiger, won the
- COAST Student Award
- NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
- Tena Dhayalan, advised by Dr. Nyssa Silbiger, won the Honorable Mention: NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program
- Jack Dirk, advised by Dr. Robert Espinoza and Dr. Jeanne Robertson, won the Graduate, 2nd Place, Poster Presentation: Spring 2024 CSUN 28th Annual Student Research and Creative Works Symposium
- Andrea Duran, advised by Dr. Cindy Malone, won the
- Undergraduate, 1st Place, Poster Presentation: Spring 2024 CSUN 28th Annual Student Research and Creative Works Symposium
- State of California Life Sciences and Biotechnology Pre-Apprenticeship Award
- Sean Farmer, advised by Dr. Robert Espinoza, won the
- Graduate, 1st Place, Oral Presentation: Spring 2024 CSUN 28th Annual Student Research and Creative Works Symposium
- Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles Carl Gans Travelling Fellowship
- The Wildlife Society Western Section Student Travel Grant
- Cindy Fajardo, advised by Dr. Nyssa Silbiger, won the COAST Student Award
- Jasmin Florencio, advised by Dr. Cindy Malone, won the CSUN’s OUR Research Supplies Grant
- Samantha Garcia, advised by Dr. Cindy Malone, won the
- Undergraduate, 2nd Place, Poster Presentation: Spring 2024 CSUN 28th Annual Student Research and Creative Works Symposium
- State of California Life Sciences and Biotechnology Pre-Apprenticeship Award
- Aysan Goodarzi, advised by Dr. David Bermudes, won the CSUN’s OUR Research Supplies Grant
- Sharlene Guarina, advised by Dr. Maria Elena de Bellard, won the CSUN’s OUR Research Supplies Grant
- Andrea Gutierrez, advised by Dr. Cindy Malone, won the State of California Life Sciences and Biotechnology Pre-Apprenticeship Award
- Victor Gutierrez-Garcia, advised by Dr. Cindy Malone, won the Graduate, 1st Place, Oral Presentation: Spring 2024 CSUN 28th Annual Student Research and Creative Works Symposium
- Ricardo Gibert, advised by Dr. Robert Espinoza, won the
- Animal Behavior Society Student Research Grant
- American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Gaige Fund Award
- Ernest E. Williams Research Grant Award from the Herpetologist’s League
- Sandra Illescas, advised by Dr. Mariano Loza Coll, won the Graduate, 1st Place, Oral Presentation: Spring 2024 CSUN 28th Annual Student Research and Creative Works Symposium
- Oscar Juvera, advised by Dr. Cindy Malone, won the State of California Life Sciences and Biotechnology Pre-Apprenticeship Award
- Alique Kurdian, advised by Dr. Cindy Malone, won the State of California Life Sciences and Biotechnology Pre-Apprenticeship Award
- Marisa Mackie, advised by Dr. Ray Hong, won the Graduate, 1st Place, Oral Presentation: Spring 2024 CSUN 28th Annual Student Research and Creative Works Symposium
- Melissa Mailhot, advised by Dr. Cindy Malone, won the
- Undergraduate, 1st Place, Oral Presentation: Spring 2024 CSUN 28th Annual Student Research and Creative Works Symposium
- Poster Presentation Winner: 47th Annual West Coast Biological Sciences Undergraduate Research Conference
- CSUN’s OUR Research Supplies Grant
- Verena Mansour, advised by Dr. Cindy Malone, won the State of California Life Sciences and Biotechnology Pre-Apprenticeship Award
- Diana Mena, advised by Dr. Cindy Malone, won the State of California Life Sciences and Biotechnology Pre-Apprenticeship Award
- Hannah Merges, advised by Dr. Nyssa Silbiger, won the Graduate, 1st Place, Oral Presentation: Spring 2024 CSUN 28th Annual Student Research and Creative Works Symposium
- Pryce Millikin, advised by Dr. Jeremy Yoder, won the
- The Joshua Tree National Park Association’s Graduate Student Research Grant
- CSU Desert Studies Center’s Judith Presch Desert Research Scholarshi
- Robert E. Reynolds Desert Symposium Student Research Award
- American Society of Naturalists Graduate Student Travel Award
- Aubreanna Moore, advised by Dr. Cindy Malone, won the State of California Life Sciences and Biotechnology Pre-Apprenticeship Award
- Shirin Noori, advised by Dr. Eduardo Amorim, won the Undergraduate, 1st Place, Poster Presentation: Spring 2024 CSUN 28th Annual Student Research and Creative Works Symposium
- Tanya Pelayo, advised by Dr. Yoshie Hanzawa, won the Graduate, 1st Place, Poster Presentation: Spring 2024 CSUN 28th Annual Student Research and Creative Works Symposium
- Raul Pena, advised by Dr. Cindy Malone, won the State of California Life Sciences and Biotechnology Pre-Apprenticeship Award
- Ivett Perez, advised by Dr. Cindy Malone, won the State of California Life Sciences and Biotechnology Pre-Apprenticeship Award
- Angelina Piette, advised by Dr. Jeanne Robertson, won the Graduate, 1st Place, Poster Presentation: Spring 2024 CSUN 28th Annual Student Research and Creative Works Symposium
- Cristian Rodriquez, advised by Dr. Cindy Malone, won the State of California Life Sciences and Biotechnology Pre-Apprenticeship Award
- Lea Richardson, advised by Dr. Jeremy Yoder, won the Post-Doctoral, 1st Place, Poster Presentation: Spring 2024 CSUN 28th Annual Student Research and Creative Works Symposium
- Marco Rodriquez-Aussenac, advised by Dr. Cindy Malone, won the State of California Life Sciences and Biotechnology Pre-Apprenticeship Award
- Salma Saba, advised by Dr. Cindy Malone, won the State of California Life Sciences and Biotechnology Pre-Apprenticeship Award
- Amy Sariles, advised by Dr. Melissa Takahashi, won the Undergraduate, 2nd Place, Oral Presentation: Spring 2024 CSUN 28th Annual Student Research and Creative Works Symposium
- William Serrano, advised by Brenda Kanno, won the CSUN’s OUR Research Supplies Grant
- Negien Shalmani, advised by Dr. Cindy Malone, won the State of California Life Sciences and Biotechnology Pre-Apprenticeship Award
- Matan Shepes, advised by Dr. Cindy Malone, won the State of California Life Sciences and Biotechnology Pre-Apprenticeship Award
- Anastasia Shimek, advised by Dr. Robert Espinoza, won the CSUN’s OUR Research Supplies Grant
- Paola Suarez, advised by Brenda Kanno, won the CSUN’s OUR Research Supplies Grant
- Jazmine Vasquez, advised by Dr. Cindy Malone, won the State of California Life Sciences and Biotechnology Pre-Apprenticeship Award
- Helia Yaleh, advised by Dr. Abdelaziz Boulesbaa, won the Undergraduate, 1st Place, Oral Presentation: Spring 2024 CSUN 28th Annual Student Research and Creative Works Symposium
Image via Flickr: Brad K.