Zelda Haidak Award Winners

The Zelda Haidak Scholarship in Cell Biology was established by the late Dr. Gerald Haidak, UMass Chan Professor of Surgery and Cell Biology, to honor his beloved wife Zelda.  The purpose of the scholarship is to provide support for female trainees who are initiating research careers in cell biology.  The endowment provides a modest award of a few thousand dollars for the awardee to use to complement and enhance her training. 

2024

Zhane Adamson
Molecular Basis for IFITM3 Ability to Inhibit HIV Fusion
Mentor: James Munro, PhD 

Jessica Peura
Investigating the role of CaMK2B in pancreatic cancer metastasis
Mentor: Jason Pitarresi, PhD

Emma Austen-Holt
Role of Ms4a6c receptor in microglia in neuroinflammation
Mentor: Paul Greer, PhD

Trang Ho
Investigating the role of cell surface attached glycopolymers in bacterial cell wall biogenesis and remodeling in Streptococcus pneumoniae 
Mentor: Josue Flores-Kim, PhD

2023

Valeria C. Sanabria
Unraveling Principles of Transcription Controlled Viability in Dormancy
Mentor: Hyun Youk, PhD

2022

Jillian Belgrad
Modulation of the mismatch repair pathway to probe somatic repeat expansion in non-dividing cells
Mentor: Anastasia Khvorova, PhD

Abigail Hiller
Determining the Role of Ms4a6c in Microglial Phagocytosis in ALS
Mentor: Paul Greer, PhD

2021

Stephanie Becker
Characterizing the role of inflammasome-derived gasdermin-D and pyroptosis in APP/PS1 mice
Mentor: Douglas Golenbock, MD

Aparna Sreeram
Targeting the cytoskeleton as a novel therapeutic approach for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Mentor: John Landers, PhD

2020

Dimpi Mukhopadhyay
Role of the calcium channel TRPC6 in breast cancer stemness
Mentor: Arthur Mercurio, PhD

Sookyung Kim
Modulation of mitochondrial biogenesis by Integrated Stress Response
Mentor: Cole Haynes, PhD

2019

Mackenzie Flynn
Investigating crosstalk between stress-response pathways
Mentor: Jennifer Benanti, PhD

2018

Nandhitha Uma Naresh
Cellular metabolic reprogramming during mitochondrial dysfunction and pathogenesis
Mentor: Cole Haynes, PhD