AWARDS
Bennett Haara won the Elton C. Cocke Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Student.
Jessica Behrendt won the Walter S. Flory Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Student in Biology.
Christopher Lawrence won the Carolina Biological Supply Company Award for Undergraduate Research.
Christopher received Honors in Biology working with Research Mentor(s) Dr. Michael Rizzo, Dr. Nicholas Kortessis, and Dr. Katy Lack. The title of his honors thesis is “Dissecting the shared genetic architecture of bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.” This year, Christopher published a first-author manuscript in PLoS One about his honors thesis research.” – Dr. Erik Johnson, Chair of Biology
Dr. Ellen Quinlan (’25) received the Elton C. Cocke Award for Outstanding Biology Graduate Student.
Liam Anderson (’26) received the Elton C. Cocke Award for Outstanding Biology Graduate Student.
Summer Adams-Brown received the Outstanding Biology Graduate Teaching Award.
NSF GRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP
Isabella B. Allar (’23)
Olivia Delgado (’26) – Honorable Mention
The National Science Foundation [NSF] Graduate Research Fellowship Program [GRFP] purpose is to help ensure the quality, vitality, and diversity of the scientific and engineering workforce of the United States. The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees at accredited United States institutions. As the oldest graduate fellowship of its kind, the GRFP has a long history of selecting recipients who achieve high levels of success in their future academic and professional careers.
Read more about the Student Honors and Announcements in the Dean’s Office Digest:
Honors & Awards 2026 Edition.