NSF awards biology graduate student
By Tom Huzarsky
Published on Friday, May 12, 2006
Dartmouth graduate student Crystal Piffath won an annual $30,000 stipend from the National Science Foundation for her work in biology.
The National Science Foundation awarded Crystal Piffath, a Dartmouth graduate student in molecular and cell biology, a prestigious three-year fellowship funded by its Graduate Research Fellowship Program. Five other current graduate students, Ian Holloway, Kara Podkaminer, Rachel Ramirez and Annalies Vuong, received honorable mentions.
The fellowship, awarded every year to approximately 1,000 students across the country, seeks to recognize outstanding graduate students in the fields of science, technology, mathematics and engineering. The award comes with a $30,000 stipend per year, as well as up to $10,500 in tuition paid for by NSF. Students awarded honorable mentions receive $500 from the Graduate Studies Office.
Piffath won the fellowship for her research entitled "Key signal integrators in the activation of the metalloproteinase, ADAM17," which focuses on the biology of cellular signaling, specifically the metabolic processes of the metalloproteinase, ADAM17. Biochemistry professor Lee Witters and the Dartmouth Medical School helped Piffath with her application.
"[Witters] has been a fantastic enthusiast of all students' education and training at Dartmouth: Undergrads, grads and medical students alike," Piffath said.
Piffath, who attended Hobart and William Smith College in Geneva, N.Y., as an undergraduate, said she feels greater confidence in her decision to engage in research.
"Being awarded the Fellowship has given me self assurance in my decision to pursue scientific study," Piffath said. "The fellowship is a huge honor, and I am unbelieving still that I was chosen."
Kerry Landers, assistant dean of Student Affairs, recognizes some of the less obvious positives of the fellowships.
"The NSF makes these awards as an investment in the most promising students," Landers said. "A high number of awards are an indication of the strength of our students. In addition, having graduate students win the NSF fellowship means they receive a higher stipend in the first few years of graduate school, [which] is budget relieving for the academic department."
Dartmouth had three winners in last year's Graduate Research Fellowship Program, as well as several honorable mentions.
The fellowship applications, filed in November, were reviewed thoroughly for several months before a panel of jurors, made up of qualified researchers and professors in each field, decided on the winners in February.
The Graduate Studies Office offers help to prospective applicants in the form of workshops, including extensive reviews of the applications by faculty, as well as reviews by previous years' winners.