Throughout the summer, members of the University of Wyoming College of Agriculture, Life Sciences and Natural Resources have earned scholarships, grants, and other honors through their exceptional efforts.
Read more about UW’s outstanding awardees below.
Gilman Scholarship
Ten University of Wyoming students were selected for the highly competitive U.S. Department of State’s Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship, receiving an average award of $3,300 to help fund participation in a UW Education Abroad program.
Awardees from the College of Agriculture, Life Sciences and Natural Resources, listed by hometown, are:
Casper—David Kienzle, a senior majoring in agricultural business. Kienzle was selected as a Gilman Scholar for this summer’s global seminar “Food and Farm Culture in France,” led by UW Senior Research Scientist Thomas Foulke. Kienzle plans to defer participation in the program.
Fort Collins, Colo.—Naomi Carlson, a junior double majoring in environment and natural resources and environmental systems science with a minor in biology. She will spend the fall semester studying in Cusco, Peru, through “Discover with WorldStrides: Sustainability and Community Studies at Cusco Global Campus,” and earn between 12 and 15 academic credits.
To read more, visit https://www.uwyo.edu/news/2026/06/ten-uw-students-receive-prestigious-gilman-scholarship.html
2026 Medical-Bio Convergence Symposium Presentations
Three University of Wyoming faculty members and a UW spin-out biotech startup were among the featured participants at an international symposium on infection and immunity hosted by Hallym University in South Korea. The symposium brought together scholars from institutions including UW, Harvard University, and Seoul National University, along with the CEO of Innocorelix LLC, a biotech company that spun out of UW.
Dan Levy, Jason Gigley, and Eunsook Park—all faculty members in the UW Department of Molecular Biology in UW’s College of Agriculture, Life Sciences and Natural Resources—each delivered presentations across the symposium’s three sessions. Jongchan Woo, Innocorelix CEO and founder, presented recent advances in developing antifungal and antiparasitic agents and a path for collaboration among industry, academia, and research.
To read more, visit https://www.uwyo.edu/news/2026/06/three-uw-researchers-university-spin-out-featured-at-symposium-in-south-korea.html
Biodiversity Graduate Student Research Enhancement Grants
Ten master’s and Ph.D. students studying biodiversity at the University of Wyoming received more than $36,000 in grants from UW’s Biodiversity Institute. The Biodiversity Graduate Student Research Enhancement Grants are awarded each year to multiple master’s and doctoral students to enhance or expand their ongoing research.
The 2026 Biodiversity Institute Graduate Research Enhancement Grant awardees from the College of Agriculture, Life Sciences and Natural Resources, listed by hometown and department, are:
- Lincoln, Calif.—Drew Suchomel, Program in Ecology and Evolution.
- Lakewood, Colo.—Renee Lile, Department of Zoology and Physiology, Program in Ecology and Evolution.
- Deltona, Fla.—Zachery Holmes, Department of Zoology and Physiology.
- Durand, Ill.—Miles Milbrath, Department of Zoology and Physiology.
- Henderson, Md.—Madison Molter, Department of Zoology and Physiology.
- Omaha, Neb.—Maria Sakowski, Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit.
- West Hempstead, N.Y.—Sarah Palmieri, Department of Zoology and Physiology.
- Chilanga, Lusaka, Zambia—Howard Maimbo, Program of Ecology and Evolution.
To read more, visit https://www.uwyo.edu/news/2026/06/uw-graduate-students-awarded-more-than-35000-in-grants-to-study-biodiversity.html
American Society of Reclamation Sciences (ASRS) Conference Awards
Four University of Wyoming students were recognized at the recent American Society of Reclamation Sciences (ASRS) Conference. The four UW students who won awards, all from the College of Agriculture, Life Sciences and Natural Resources, are:
- Dillon Romero, a second-year master’s student from Cody studying soil science, took first place with his oral presentation, titled “Assessing Microbial Communities’ Functional Response to Smooth Brome Presence and Restoration Efforts in the Sagebrush Steppe of Grand Teton National Park.”
- Miles Milbrath, a second-year master’s student from Durand, Ill., majoring in zoology, tied for third with his oral presentation, titled “Beaver Dam Analogs for Stream Reclamation: Influences on Food Web Structure, Function, and Water Quality.”
- Lindsie Farver, a second-year master’s student from Saratoga studying soil science with a graduate certificate in reclamation and restoration ecology, placed first in the poster competition with her project, titled “Soil Properties from Traditional and Geomorphic Reclamations at an Abandoned Uranium Mine in Wyoming.”
Lauren Sielski, a first-year master’s student from Kewaskum, Wis., studying soil science, took second with her poster session project, titled “Assessing Coal Char as an Alternative Soil Amendment in Wyoming Semi-arid Agroecosystems.”
UW WORTH Institute 2026-27 Kemmerer Faculty Fellows
Six University of Wyoming faculty members have been named 2026-27 Kemmerer Faculty Fellows by the university’s Jay Kemmerer Wyoming Outdoor Recreation, Tourism, and Hospitality (WORTH) Institute, recognizing applied research and engagement projects that strengthen Wyoming’s visitor economy.
Jaden Tatum, an assistant professor and extension specialist in the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, was named a Kemmerer Faculty Fellow for her “Fresh, Local, Safe” project which will advance farm-to-table dining and agrotourism across the state.
To read more, visit https://www.uwyo.edu/news/2026/07/uw-worth-institue-names-2026-27-kemmerer-faculty-fellows.html
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) IDeA Program Awards
University of Wyoming students earned multiple honors while presenting their biomedical research at the recent 10th biennial National IDeA Symposium of Biomedical Research Excellence (NISBRE), a four-day national conference that showcases achievements of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) IDeA Program.
Maycie Schultz, a UW doctoral student in zoology and physiology from Sioux Falls, S.D., was selected to give an oral presentation on her research, “Transcriptomic Insights into Alzheimer’s Disease Progression: scRNAseq and Visium HD Spatial Mapping Reveal AD-Specific Molecular Drivers in A Mouse Model.” She received a Scientific Merit Award for her presentation.
Of the 369 posters displayed over three days, UW zoology and physiology undergraduate student Cutter Barrus, of Powell, received one of three Outstanding Poster Presentation Awards for his research poster, “Xenopus Tadpoles Display Distinct and Enduring Visual Preferences.”
He also received an Undergraduate Travel Award, with selection of these awards based on abstracts submitted by the students.
To read more, visit https://www.uwyo.edu/news/2026/07/uw-students-present-win-at-national-biomedical-symposium.html
Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (BBRF) Young Investigator Grant
A University of Wyoming faculty member has received a $70,000 grant to further his research in psychiatric neuroscience. Rammohan Shukla, a UW assistant professor in the Department of Zoology and Physiology, recently received a Young Investigator Grant from the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (BBRF) for his project, titled “Translating Human Gene-Family Molecular Signatures of Suicidality into Behavior Models.” His grant starts Jan. 15, 2027, and runs through Jan. 14, 2029.
To read more, visit https://www.uwyo.edu/news/2026/08/uws-shukla-receives-young-investigator-grant-to-fund-psychiatric-neuroscience-research.html
NIH’s National Institute on Aging Grant
Yun Li, an associate professor of neuroscience in the Department of Zoology and Physiology, and Rongsong Liu, also a zoology and physiology professor as well as a professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, recently received a three-year, nearly $2.15 million grant from the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute on Aging. The grant will allow them to further their research in understanding the microcircuit changes that occur in the brain’s prefrontal cortex during normal aging as well as disease progression in Alzheimer’s disease.
To read more, visit https://www.uwyo.edu/news/2026/08/uw-professors-receive-nih-grant-to-futher-study-brain-circuitry-changes-during-aging-alzheimers-disease.html
