Celebrating student accomplishments at the end of the academic year, this week in CSUN Biology

This is the last Biosphere of Spring 2026 — but you can send in your updates with the new streamlined contribution form — scholarship and grant opportunities, awards won, papers published, and projects funded — to be included when the weekly email newsletter resumes for the Fall 2026 semester.

Friday marked the end of the Spring 2026 semester, with commencement and honors ceremonies across campus. CSUN Biologists will join the commencement ceremony for the College of Science and Mathematics and the College of Engineering at 6pm on the Campus Library quadrangle. Earlier in the day we recognized graduating Master’s students in our first-ever hooding ceremony, followed by refreshments in the CSUN Botanic Garden; and we celebrated all the Biology students who won awards and honors in the past academic year in the Department of Biology Honors Reception.

Click through below for the full list of Biology students recognized in department events.

Graduating Master’s students

The hooding ceremony marks the completion of Master’s degrees for students graduating Fall 2025, Spring 2026, or Summer 2026:

• Asma B., advised by Chhandak Basu, with the thesis project “CVB: Molecular and Physiological Analysis of Halobacterium salinarum to Simulated Martian Conditions”
• Ithan Cano, advised by Mariano Loza-Coll, with the thesis project “Investigating the role of the nucleoskeletal protein Klaroid (Koi) in aging Drosophila melanogaster intestinal stem cells’
• Hanna Bellafard, advised by Maria Elena de Bellard, with the thesis project “Purkinje cell development and genetic identification of ataxia using spastic Han-Wistar rat model”
• Luis Edgar Duran, advised by Gilberto Flores, with the thesis project “Teaching middle school math & science Engraftment of Akkermansia biwaensis, a Beneficial Gut Microbe, Into the Mouse Gut Microbiome”
• Chanel Jacobo, advised by Eduardo Amorim, with the thesis project “Characterizing X-Chromosome Inactivation Patterns and their Impact on Immunity-Related Phenotypes”
• Kimberly Kagan, advised by Van Buskirk, with the thesis project “Elucidating the function of the ERG potassium channel UNC-103 in C. elegans“
• Alex Mendelson, advised by Casey terHorst, with the thesis project “Evolution mediated indirect effects of climate on ecology in the Pitcher Plant Rotifer, Habrotrocha rosa“
• Sahil Panda, advised by Chhandak Basu, with the thesis project “CVB: Transcriptiomic and physiological analysis of mustard greens in drought stress under microgravity”
• Tanya Pelayo, advised by Eduardo Amorim, with the thesis project “Genetic architecture and adaptive evolution in traits facilitating invasive success in Medicago polymorpha“
• Christian Romero, advised by Melissa Takahashi, with the thesis project “The Design of a Synthetic Gene Circuit for Kinetic sRNA Quantification in Escherichia coli“
• Max Sprute, advised by Jeanne Robertson, with the thesis project “Signatures of polygenic adaptation in insular endemic Sceloporus becki populations to an environmental gradient”
• Damian Zepeda, advised by Eduardo Amorim, with the thesis project “Inferring the Evolutionary History of Lycalopex Foxes”
• Jade Zounes, advised by Mark Steele, with the thesis project “The functional role of the opaleye (Girella nigricans) in kelp forest”

Honors Reception honorees

The full schedule for the Honors Reception is available as a PDF. The following students are recognized:

University Awards

Marine Barsegyan is the 2026 Wolfson Scholar, CSUN’s highest undergraduate academic honor

Tanya Pelayo receives the 2026 Nathan O. Freedman Memorial Award for Outstanding Graduate Student

Marine Barsegyan and Júlia Guil Rodríguez receive the 2025-2026 NSP Presidential Scholarship

Graduate Studies Awards

Emilia Dell’ Antonio receives the 2026 Distinguished Thesis/Graduate Project Competition

College of Science and Mathematics Awards

Tanya Pelayo receives the Mack I. Johnson Research Award for Outstanding Graduate Student

Jennifer Hu receives the Leslie and Terry Cutler Scholarship

Jaiden Callahan receives the Hugo and Irma Oppenheimer Student Award

Darelene Mendes receives the Donald E. Bianchi Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award

Elisha Mauldin receives the Wujack Harrison Pre-Med Scholarship

Marine Barsegyan receives the Robert Nolan Scholarship

Department of Biology Awards

Graduate Awards

Kara Stella receives the Donald E. Bianchi Outstanding Biology Graduate Student Award

Noah Dalton and Thomas Riffle receive the Julie Gorchynski, M.D. Research Graduate Student Scholarship

Jacob Jones receives the Scholarship in Ecology, Behavior, and Natural History Honoring Jim Dole and Betty Rose

Damián Zepeda receives the Bob and Doris Tracy Memorial Graduate Fellowship Award

Jack Dirck receives the Hugo and Irma Oppenheimer Biology Department Award

Anastasia Shimek receives the Newhall Land and Farming Southern California Ecology Scholarship

Amber Castro receives the William H. Krohmer Biology Student Scholarship

Tanya Pelayo receives the Biology Outstanding Student Award

Sacha Medjo-Akono receives the The Richard Duenckel Toluca Lake Garden Club Horticultural Scholarship

Undergraduate Awards

Varshini Sudhakar receives the Alumni Prize for Undergraduate Research in Biology, Areas of Cellular, Molecular, Physiological, or Developmental Biology

Jaiden Callahan receives the Alumni Prize for Undergraduate Research in Biology, Areas of Ecology, Evolution, Ethology, or Systematics

Andro Filabs receives the Bennett-Bickford Biology Scholarship

Marine Barsegyan receives the Judge Julian Beck Outstanding Graduating Senior Biology Department Award

George Radionov receives the Ian & Kathy Leslie Scholarship in Biology

Paulina Juarez-Estevez receives the Lieberman Family Foundation Biology Scholarship For Outstanding Undergraduates

Evan Jabbaz receives the Bob and Doris Tracy Memorial Undergraduate Scholarship Award

Daniel Aguilar receives the Prakriti Suri Memorial Award Marine Barsegyan

Additional Student Awards

Daniel Aguilar — Graduate, 1st Place, Poster Presentation, in the 30th CSUNposium Showcase of Student Research and Creative Works

Lilit Aivazian — Undergraduate, 1st Place, Poster Presentation, in the 30th CSUNposium Showcase of Student Research and Creative Works

Zara Amrin — Undergraduate, 1st Place, Poster Presentation, in the 30th CSUNposium Showcase of Student Research and Creative Works

Isabella Ballestros — 1st Place, Poster Presentation, in the West Coast Biological Sciences Undergraduate Research Conference

Marine Barsegyan — Undergraduate, 1st Place, Oral Presentation, in the 30th CSUNposium Showcase of Student Research and Creative Works

Kayla Cortez — Undergraduate, 1st Place, Poster Presentation, in the 30th CSUNposium Showcase of Student Research and Creative Works

Talin Dmirjie — Undergraduate, 1st Place, 2025 Sigma Xi Research Symposium

Andro Filhabs — Undergraduate, 1st Place, Poster Presentation, in the 30th CSUNposium Showcase of Student Research and Creative Works

Amy Gharial — Undergraduate, 1st Place, Oral Presentation, in the 30th CSUNposium Showcase of Student Research and Creative Works

Ricardo Gibert — Graduate, 1st Place, 2025 Sigma Xi Research Symposium

Eva Greco — Graduate, 1st Place, Oral Presentation, in the 30th CSUNposium Showcase of Student Research and Creative Works

Júlia Guil Rodríguez — Undergraduate, 2nd Place, 2025 Sigma Xi Research Symposium

Jennifer Hu — 

• Graduate, 1st Place, Poster Presentation, in the 30th CSUNposium Showcase of Student Research and Creative Works
• Southern California Academy of Sciences Grant

Itzel Huerta — Undergraduate, 2nd Place, 2025 Sigma Xi Research Symposium

Everardo Jauregui — Graduate, 2nd Place, Oral Presentation, in the 30th CSUNposium Showcase of Student Research and Creative Works

Jacob Jones — Graduate, Marian Huff Tremblay Science Scholarship

Vania Khorrami —  Undergraduate, 1st Place, Poster Presentation, in the 30th CSUNposium Showcase of Student Research and Creative Works

Charlson Lee —

• Graduate, 1st Place, Oral Presentation, in the 30th CSUNposium Showcase of Student Research and Creative Works
• 1st Place, 2025 Sigma Xi Research Symposium
• The ExFAB CSU Masters Scholars Program
• Fall 2025 SACNAS Poster Presentation

Ebony Lubin —  Undergraduate, 1st Place, Poster Presentation, in the 30th CSUNposium Showcase of Student Research and Creative Works

Kayla Mallari — Undergraduate, 3rd Place, 2025 Sigma Xi Research Symposium

Chimdindu Manafa — Undergraduate, 1st Place, Poster Presentation, in the 30th CSUNposium Showcase of Student Research and Creative Works

Alex Mendelson — Graduate, 1st Place, Oral Presentation, in the 30th CSUNposium Showcase of Student Research and Creative Works

Darlene Mendez — Undergraduate, 1st Place, Oral Presentation, in the 30th CSUNposium Showcase of Student Research and Creative Works

Angel Morales — Graduate, 3rd Place, 2025 Sigma Xi Research Symposium

Emily Mumdzhyan — Undergraduate, 1st Place, Poster Presentation, in the 30th CSUNposium Showcase of Student Research and Creative Works

Amara Okongwu — Graduate, Honorable Mention – NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Competition

Emily (Rose) Pittman — Undergraduate, 1st Place, Poster Presentation, in the 30th CSUNposium Showcase of Student Research and Creative Works

George Radionov — Undergraduate, 3rd Place, 2025 Sigma Xi Research Symposium

Thomas Riffle — Graduate, 2nd Place, Poster Presentation, in the 30th CSUNposium Showcase of Student Research and Creative Works

Emily Sanchez — Undergraduate, 2025 Rancho La Quinta Education Fund-Desert Scholarship Foundation Award

Nicholas Serras — Graduate, 3rd Place, 2025 Sigma Xi Research Symposium

Anastasia Shimek — Graduate, 1st Place, Oral Presentation, in the 30th CSUNposium Showcase of Student Research and Creative Works

Max Sprute — Graduate, CSUN Association of Retired Faculty (ARF) for a Memorial Thesis/Project Award

Kara Stella — Graduate, Honorable Mention – NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Competition

Varshini Sudhakar — 

• Undergraduate, 2nd Place, Oral Presentation, in the 30th CSUNposium Showcase of Student Research and Creative Works
• 1st Place, 2025 Sigma Xi Research Symposium

Kirsten Zornado — Graduate, 2nd Place, Oral Presentation, in the 30th CSUNposium Showcase of Student Research and Creative Works

Master’s Candidates with Distinguished Academic Records (GPA 3.885 or higher)

Graduating Seniors with Distinguished Academic Records (GPA of 3.5 or higher)