August 2009: Four GDCB students honored with Research and Teaching Excellence Awards

Each semester and summer session, Research and Teaching Excellence awards are offered by the Graduate College to recognize outstanding graduate students in these specific areas. This summer session, four GDCB graduate students were honored with these awards.

Suh-Yeon Choi and Duanmu Deqiang each received the Research Excellence award to recognize graduating students for outstanding research or creativity as seen in their theses and dissertations. These students are also expected to be academically superior and able to not only do research, but develop a well-written product.

Suh-Yeon Choi, who graduated this summer, conducted her graduate research in the laboratory of Professor Eve Syrkin Wurtele on metabolomic and transcriptiomic analysis of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) accumulating Arabidopsis and switchgrass, unveiling metabolic consequences of bioplastic accumulation in plant plastids. She graduated with a Ph.D. from the Genetics graduate program.

Duanmu Deqiang also graduated this summer. His graduate research in putative inorganic carbon transport and accumulation systems associated with CO2 concentrating mechanism in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii was conducted in the laboratory of Professor Martin Spalding. Duanmu graduated with a Ph.D. from the Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Graduate Program.

Heather Babka and Ying Wang each received the Teaching Excellence award to recognize and encourage outstanding achievement by graduate students in teaching.

Heather Babka, who plans to graduate this fall with a Ph.D. in genetics, was recognized for her laboratory teaching in Biology 211L (two times), Biology 212L (one time), Biology 314L (one time), GDCB 679 (three times), GDCB 681 (three times), and GDCB 680 (two times). Heather is a highly desired TA by both instructors and students, and many instructors requested her as a TA. Her major professor is Professor Eve Syrkin Wurtele.

Ying Wang was recognized for her outstanding job as a TA in the 423L Developmental Biology Lab course. She and the samples were prepared for each class and the students responded extremely well to her. Ying is a Ph.D. graduate student in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology and her major professor is Professor Jeffrey Essner.

Research and Teaching Excellence Award recipients are honored with a letter from President Geoffroy and an award certificate signed by both President Geoffroy and the Graduate Dean. The award is also noted on the student’s transcript.