Denise Sullivan is one of twelve graduate students nation-wide to received a 2014 UNCF/Merck Graduate Science Research Dissertation Fellowship.
The UNCF/Merck Graduate Science Research Dissertation Fellowships are intended to support African American graduate students as they complete coursework, conduct research, and prepare their dissertation required for the doctoral degree in a biomedically relevant life or physical science field.
Since joined the McDevitt Engineering Stem Cell Technologies laboratory in 2011 as a Ph.D. candidate in the joint Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University. Her graduate research integrates fundamental concepts of chemistry, material science and engineering with stem cell biology to develop technologies to harness the regenerative potential of pluripotent stem cells. Specifically, Sullivan is incorporating microparticles within embryoid bodies to better understand pluripotent stem cell response to specific cues from signaling molecules and the surrounding environment.
Sullivan has received numerous honors including a Georgia Tech's Presidental Fellowship, a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and a Alfred P. Sloan / Georgia Institute of Technology University Centers of Exemplary Mentoring (UCEM) Scholarship.
In addition to her scientific training, Sullivan has been a tremendous leader of education and outreach efforts of the Bioengineering and Bioscience Unified Graduate Students (BBUGS). Sullivan takes her personal responsibility to be a role model to others very seriously and has generously dedicated her time developing new programs and leading activities focused on exposing K-12 students to science and engineering. Sullivan recently received one of Georgia Tech’s highest honors for student leadership and service, the Interdisciplinary Education and Research “Above and Beyond” award from the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience.
The UNCF/Merck Science Initiative is a partnership between the United Negro College Fund, the nation’s largest and most effective minority education organization, and Merck, a global healthcare leader.
Related Websites
UNCF - Merck Science Initiatve