Departmental Awards
The Pace Mentoring Award
It is our pleasure to announce the second annual Pace Mentoring Award for the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Utah. This award recognizes a graduate student, postdoc, staff member, or research faculty member who has been an exceptional mentor to other members of their lab, department, or beyond. The award was made possible by a generous donation from the Pace Families in honor of J.W., Wanda, Nick, and Sheryl Pace.
Eligibility criteria
The award is open to any graduate student, postdoc, staff member, or research faculty member (tenure track faculty are not eligible) with a primary or adjunct appointment in the Department. The award is based on outstanding mentorship and positive contributions to lab learning and dynamics.
Application Instructions
Nominations for the Pace Mentoring Award should be submitted by email to Amy Barrios by Fri May 16, 2025 at 5pm end of day. Please write “Pace Mentoring Award Nomination” in the subject line.
A nomination for the Pace Mentoring Award should include
One letter of nomination describing the nominee’s mentoring efforts. This could include excellence in helping others develop their research skills; mentoring others in data analysis and interpretation; fostering critical thinking skills; guidance in project development; advice in career preparation, networking, writing, presenting and/or teaching; assistance in developing leadership skills; contributions to a positive lab and departmental culture; etc. A nomination letter can be prepared by an individual or a group of individuals, but only one letter should be provided.
Application Review Process
Applications will be reviewed by a committee consisting of Biochemistry department members. One awardee will be selected from the applicants.
Award Details and Acceptance Requirements
The award winner will receive a cash prize in recognition of their accomplishments. The winner will be announced at The Annual Biochemistry Awards Picnic on Fri, June 13, 2025. We are hopeful the awardee will be able to attend the awards picnic to accept the award, but we understand that this may not be possible. If you nominate somebody, you might consider informing them of your nomination and encouraging their attendance at the Awards Picnic.
Please contact Amy Barrios with any questions.
Marjorie Riches Gunn Award for Graduate Student Excellence
We are pleased to announce the 9th annual Marjorie Riches Gunn Award competition for PhD graduate students in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Utah. Marjorie (Marge) Riches Gunn was a long-time friend of the Department. She was secretary to Leo Samuels, who was the first chair of Biochemistry (1943-64) after the foundation of our four-year medical school. Marge was therefore a key personality in defining the culture of excellence and communal support that we continue to cherish. Marge’s husband, Francis Gunn, was chair of the Department of Pathology (1945-53), and it is fitting that laboratories in Biochemistry and Pathology currently share space in the Emma Eccles Jones Medical Research Building and have numerous productive interactions. We are delighted to honor Marge’s friendship and generosity with this award, which will be given annually to the Biochemistry PhD candidate who is judged by the faculty to most exemplify our values of scientific excellence.
Eligibility criteria
The competition is open to any current Biochemistry PhD candidate whose faculty mentor has a primary or adjunct appointment in the Department. Students must have successfully passed their preliminary exam to be eligible to apply. Because the award is based on scientific accomplishment, we envision that the strongest candidates will be senior students with a record of accomplishment (publications, fellowships, presentations, awards, etc.) who are close finishing their PhD. Students who recently defended their thesis are still eligible to apply.
Application Instructions
Applications (CV and Essay) should be compiled as one PDF document and submitted by email to Adam Hughes by Friday May 16, 2025, end of day. Please write “Gunn Award Application” in the subject line. Letters of reference should be emailed directly to Adam Hughes from reference writers by the deadline.
Applications must include
- Applicant’s CV. Please submit a complete CV that at a minimum includes institutions attended, degrees earned, research presentations (poster and oral), publications, and fellowships/awards. Also include the name of your two reference writers at the end of the CV.
- Essay. Please include an essay that summarizes your scientific contributions over the course of your tenure as a graduate student at the University of Utah. Essays must be 2 pages or less, 11 pt Arial font, 0.75 inch margins on each side. Figures and legends may be included in the essay but count towards the 2-page limit. References may be on an additional page. Please include a title of the research essay at the top of the page. Essays should include a brief introduction and summary of results that highlight the significance and importance of the work. The essay should be written in a form suitable for a broad scientific audience.
- Recommendation Letters. Please have two recommendation letters from faculty (one must be from your advisor, and the second letter can be from any faculty member who can comment on your abilities and achievements) submitted directly to Adam Hughes by the submission deadline. Reference writers should include the applicant’s name in the subject line of the email.
Application Review Process
Applications will be reviewed by a committee consisting of Biochemistry faculty members. One awardee will be selected from the applicants.
Award Details and Acceptance Requirements
The award winner will receive a cash prize in recognition of their accomplishments. The winner will be announced at The Biochemistry Awards Night on Fri, June 13, 2025. Attendance at the awards night is required to accept the award, so if you plan to apply for the award, please plan to attend the event.
Please contact Adam Hughes with any questions.
Eveline Bruenger Award for Postdoctoral Excellence
It is our pleasure to announce the seventh annual Eveline Bruenger competition for Postdoctoral Fellows in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Utah. Eveline Bruenger was a distinguished scientist, a gifted artist, an avid hiker, and a life-long learner. Always described as vibrant and a positive influence, Eveline was a member of the U of U Health Sciences Council and the Educational Resource Development Council. She was also a unique donor, as she generously supported research and scholarships to many U Health entities, including the Department of Biochemistry. Eveline passed away in April 2018, after receiving a lung cancer diagnosis three years prior. She is greatly missed, and her legacy will continue with our Departmental Postdoctoral Award that bears her name. In honor of her scientific excellence, her love of learning, and her commitment to supporting the community, we are delighted to offer this award to a Biochemistry Postdoctoral Fellow who embodies these attributes.
Eligibility criteria
The competition is open to any current Biochemistry Postdoctoral Fellow whose faculty mentor has a primary or adjunct appointment in the Department. The award is based on outstanding research accomplishments (publications, awards and fellowships, presentations at national meetings, etc.), and contributions to the community (teaching, outreach, postdoc organization, etc.); therefore, the strongest candidates will likely be more senior postdocs with a record of these accomplishments. Multiple entries are permitted from each lab.
Application Instructions
Applications (CV and Essay) should be compiled as one PDF document and submitted by email to Tyler Starr by Friday, May 16, 2025 end of day. Please write “Bruenger Award Application” in the subject line. Letters of reference should be emailed directly to Tyler from reference writers.
Applications must include
- Applicant’s CV. Please submit a complete CV that includes institutions attended, degrees earned, research presentations (poster and oral, virtual and in-person), publications, fellowships/awards, and community service (virtual and in-person). Please also include the name of your two reference writers at the end of the CV.
- Research Essay. Please include an essay that summarizes your scientific accomplishments over the course of your tenure as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Utah. Essays must be 2 pages or less, 11 pt Arial font, 0.75 inch margins on all sides, and written in a form suitable for a broad scientific audience. Figures and legends may be included in the essay, but they will count towards the 2-page limit. References may be on an additional page. Please include a title of the research essay at the top of the page. Essays should include a brief introduction and summary of results that highlight the significance and importance of your work.
- Recommendation Letters. Please have two recommendation letters from faculty (one from your advisor) submitted directly to Tyler Starr by the submission deadline.
Application Review Process
Applications will be reviewed by a committee consisting of Biochemistry faculty members. One awardee will be selected from the applicants.
Award Details and Acceptance Requirements
The award winner will receive a cash prize in recognition of their accomplishments. The winner will be announced at The Biochemistry Awards Night on Friday, June 13, 2025. Attendance at the awards night is required to accept the award, so if you plan to apply for the award, please plan to attend the event.
Please contact Tyler Starr with any questions.
Sherman R. and Deborah Ann Dickman Graduate Student Travel Fellowship
Sherman R. Dickman was a biochemist in the University of Utah School of Medicine who studied mechanisms of translation. In honor of his contribution to education at the University, we are proud to announce the 2025 Sherman R. and Deborah Ann Dickman graduate student travel award. This $500 travel award will be given to a graduate student who has excelled academically to support their attendance of a conference of their choice during the next year. Priority will be given to PhD candidates who have excelled academically, who have demonstrated a commitment to building a collaborative and cohesive research community, and who are pursuing an education in the School of Medicine in a subject related to Biochemistry.
Application
Interested students should provide their current CV and an essay (1 page total) describing the meeting of choice, how it will advance their career in science, broadly defined, and how they have contributed to building a collaborative and cohesive research community. The student’s mentor should provide a letter of support indicating that they will pay the remaining balance (if applicable) and should speak to the research and academic strengths of the student. To receive the award, students must submit an abstract for presentation that is accepted by the conference organizing committee. The application is open to all current PhD students in a School of Medicine laboratory, but preference will be given to students meeting the above criteria. Up to two travel awards will be given in 2025. Applications will be due April 18, 2025.
The application will consist of:
- A student CV
- A description of
- how attending the meeting will advance the applicant's career and
- how the applicant has contributed to building a collaborative and cohesive research community (1 page total) - A letter from the thesis advisor
Deadline: April 18, 2025
Applications should be emailed to Paul Sigala by April 26, 2024. Please write “Dickman Award Application” in the subject line.
2024 Pace Mentoring Awardee
John McCullough, PhD
We are pleased to announce the first annual Pace Mentoring Award winner for the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Utah is Dr. John McCullough, a Research Associate Professor in Wes Sundquist's lab.
2024 Gunn Awardees
Michael Stewart and Julio Fierro Morales
We are pleased to announce this year's annual Marjorie Riches Gunn Award for graduate students in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Utah goes to Michael Stewart in the Miller Lab and Julio Fierro Morales in the Roh-Johnson Lab.
2024 Bruenger Awardee
Ho Yan Yeung, PhD
We are pleased to announce the annual Eveline Bruenger Award winner for Postdoctoral Fellows in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Utah is Dr. Ho Yan Yeung in Helena Safavi's lab.
2024 Dickman Awardees
Ahmed Abouelghar and Ping Guo
The Sherman R. and Deborah Ann Dickman Graduate Student Travel Fellowship was awarded to Ahmed Abouelghar in Matt Miller's lab and Ping Guo in Justin English's lab. Congratulations!
2023 Gunn Awardees
Tianyao Xiao and Joey Casalini
We are pleased to announce this year's annual Marjorie Riches Gunn Award for PhD graduate students in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Utah goes to Tianyao Xiao in the Hughes Lab and Joey Casalini in the Roh-Johnson Lab.
2023 Dickman Awardees
Shai-Anne Nalder and Julio Fierro
The Sherman R. and Deborah Ann Dickman Graduate Student Travel Fellowship was awarded to Shai-Anne Nalder in Paul Sigala's lab and Julio Fierro in Minna Roh-Johnson's lab. Congratulations!
2022 Gunn Awardee
Megan Okada
We are pleased to announce this year's annual Marjorie Riches Gunn Award for PhD graduate students in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Utah goes to Megan Okada in the Sigala lab.
2022 Bruenger Awardee
Ahmad Cluntun, PhD
We are pleased to announce the third annual Eveline Bruenger Award winner for Postdoctoral Fellows in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Utah is Dr. Ahmad Cluntun in Jared Rutter's lab.
2022 Dickman Awardees
Michael Stewart,
Supraja Ranganathan, and
Shuxin Wang
The Sherman R. and Deborah Ann Dickman Graduate Student Travel Fellowship was awarded to Michael Stewart (Miller Lab), Supraja Ranganathan (Bass Lab), and Shuxin Wang (Shen Lab)
2020 Gunn Awardee
Lara Rheinneman
We are pleased to announce this year's Marjorie Riches Gunn Award for PhD graduate students in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Utah goes to Lara Rheinneman in the Sundquist lab.
2020 Bruenger Awardee
Sara Nowinski, Ph.D.
We are pleased to announce the second annual Eveline Bruenger Award winner for Postdoctoral Fellows in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Utah is Dr. Sara Nowinski in Jared Rutter's lab.
2020 Dickman Awardees
Qian Xue
Jesse Velasco
The Sherman R. and Deborah Ann Dickman Graduate Student Travel Fellowship was awarded to Qian Xue in the Roh-Johnson lab and Jesse Velasco in the Ducker lab.
2019 Biochemistry Bash and Award Ceremony
Max Schuler and Alyssia English received the Marjorie Riches Gunn Student Award for Graduate Student Excellence at the 2019 Biochemistry Bash and Award Ceremony. Han Han received the Eveline Bruenger Postdoctoral Award for Excellence. We were privileged to have Marge Gunn attend the event, as well as Kathleen McCloskey and Venki Ramakrishnan.
2019 Gunn Awardees
Alyssa English and Max Schuler
We are pleased to announce this year's annual Marjorie Riches Gunn Award for PhD graduate students in the Department of Biochemistry goes to Alyssa English and Max Schuler, both whom are in the Hughes/Shaw lab.
2019 Bruenger Awardee
Han Han, Ph.D.
We are pleased to announce the inaugural Eveline Bruenger Award winner for Postdoctoral Fellows in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Utah is Dr. Han Han in Chris Hill's lab.
2019 Dickman Awardees
Zach Cruz
Seyi Falekun
The Sherman R. and Deborah Ann Dickman Graduate Student Travel Fellowship was awarded to Zach Cruz in the Kay lab and Seyi Falekun in the Sigala lab.