2026 Wisconsin Stem Cell Graduate Scholar Awards
The University of Wisconsin-Madison Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine Center (SCRMC) is committed to training future leaders in stem cell research. We are seeking nominations of senior PhD students for the Wisconsin Stem Cell Graduate Scholar Awards to celebrate their accomplishments and support their continued training. Selected scholars will present posters at the 20th annual Wisconsin Stem Cell Symposium, present a short talk at the SCRMC Seminar series, meet with UW faculty to learn about postdoctoral opportunities in stem cell biology, and tour campus and Madison, April 14-15, 2026. Generous travel awards covering transportation, food, hotel, and registration, will be provided to selected nominees to attend the Symposium.
Eligibility: Senior graduate students currently studying in the US and defending their thesis between summer 2026 and summer 2027. There is no US citizenship requirement for applicants, and they may be non-citizens. Participants should not have committed to a postdoctoral position before the symposium is held.
| 2026 Awardees | Institution |
| Omid Tavakoli Rouzbehani | University of Utah |
| Infencia Xavier Raj | Washington University in St. Louis |
| Romain Menard | MDI Biological Laboratory |
| Lauren Kageler | Harvard University |
| JinYoung Park | University of Oklahoma Health Campus |
| Amos Espinosa | Yale University |
| Claire Ang | Harvard University |
| Aishwarya Krishnan | Washington University in St. Louis |
Previous winners:
| 2025 Awardees | Institution |
| Adam Hall | Drexel University |
| Bruno Ghirotto | International Max Planck Research School in Physics and Medicine |
| Katherina Tavernini | Austrian Academy of Science |
| Shiyu Xiao | Northwestern University |
| Nivedeta Krishna Kumar | University of Nebraska |
| Morgan VanderGiessen | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University |
| 2024 Awardees | Institution |
| Meg Schaefer | University of Nebraska Medical Center |
| Arushana Amir Maknojia | Baylor College of Medicine |
| Jonas Thier | Karolinska Institute |
| Grace Meaker | University of Oxford |
| 2023 Awardees | Institution |
| Allison Reilly | Medical College of Wisconsin |
| Cecilia Lekpor | University of Ghana |
| Eunbi Park | Georgia Institute of Technology |
| Rut Gabarró-Solanas | University of Vienna, Austria |
| Jeanne Hsieh | University of Minnesota |
| Julius Rönkkö | University of Helsinki |
| Maria C Varela | University of Michigan |
| Nicole Sempertegui | Cornell University |