Congratulations to our VBS PhD students!

Supporting and mentoring PhD students is a key aspect of the VBS Department mission. Recently several PhD students had some noteworthy achievements and accomplishments we wanted to highlight in the VBS Bulletin.

Fernanda Fumuso, a CMB graduate student working in the laboratory of VBS Associate Professor Roberta O'Connor was one of three CVM graduate students that was recently awarded a prestigious 2025-2026 Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship from the University of Minnesota Graduate School. This award recognizes outstanding PhD candidates who have demonstrated exceptional research potential and are in the final stages of dissertation work. The Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship (DDF) gives the University's most accomplished PhD candidates an opportunity to devote full-time effort to an outstanding research project by providing time to finalize and write their dissertation during the fellowship year. Read more about the fellows in the CVM Profiles, Spring 2025 issue. Congratulations, Fernanda!

Emily Kiugu, a CMB graduate student working in the laboratory of VBS Associate Professor Peter Larsen was awarded the Graduate Student Professional Development award for 2025-2026 school year on behalf of the College of Veterinary Medicine graduate program and the MnDRIVE Global Ventures program. This award is designed to allow recipients to broaden their understanding of complex food systems and to  interact with award recipients in other disciplines. Congratulations Emily!

Monday, May 5 CMB graduate student Hannah Murphy presented her PhD final defense seminar entitled, "Bi- and Tri-segmented Pichinde Viruses: Biochemical, biophysical, genomic and proteomic characterizations of virion particles and molecular analysis of viral gene expressions and subcellular localization." Hannah is advised by VBS Professors Hinh Ly and Yuying Liang. Hannah has accepted a position as an Assistant Professor of Biology at UMN-Crookston. Congratulations, Hannah!

Monday, May 12 CMB graduate student Shania Sanchez presented her PhD final defense seminar entitled,"Development of Novel Diagnostic, Experimental Therapeutic, and Preventative Strategies Against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)." Shania is advised by VBS Professors Yuying Liang and Hinh Ly. Shania will be starting a postdoctoral position. Congratulations Shania!

Wednesday, May 14, CMB graduate student Ellie Bohm presented her PhD final defense seminar entitled, "Zika Virus-induced Mechanisms of Fetal Harm." Ellie is advised by VBS Associate Professor Matthew Aliota. Ellie will be exploring roles in the biomedical industry in the Twin Cities metro area. Congratulations Ellie!

The VBS community commends these academic professionals on their exceptional efforts and hard work!