University of Nebraska President L. Dennis Smith, Ph.D., has announced the awarding of seven Presidential Graduate Fellowships for academic year 2004-2005. Of those, two are students seeking Ph.D. degrees at UNMC. The fellowships include stipends of $20,000 at UNMC. Funding for the fellowships is provided through donations to the University of Nebraska Foundation.
This year’s Presidential Graduate Fellows from UNMC are:
Qin Fang, a Ph.D. candidate in physiology, is interested in the adverse effects of nicotine on the cardiovascular system. She will be researching the influence nicotine has on potassium channels during her final year of graduate study. Her paper on nicotine’s restriction of blood vessels and the potential for strokes has been published in the American Journal of Physiology. In addition, the American Heart Association awarded her a pre-doctoral fellowship for 2002-2004. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in medicine from the West China University of Medical Sciences.
Rajgopal Govindarajan is a Ph.D. candidate in biochemistry and molecular biology. His research interest is in the field of prostate cancer treatment. He has published papers on such topics as intercellular communication and prostate cancer progression, management of hepatic diseases, and perspectives on cancer treatment. His recent research findings have shown for the first time how human prostate cancer cell lines are impaired by specific chemicals. Govindarajan received the Norm and Bernice Harris award in cancer research in 2003. He received a bachelor’s degree in veterinary science from the Madras Veterinary College in India, and a master’s degree, also in veterinary science from the Indian Veterinary Research Institute.