Duke Biomedical Engineers Received 21 Graduate Fellowships

It was a banner semester for graduate students in Duke University’s Department of Biomedical Engineering, who received 20 competitive external and internal fellowships and awards, including six National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships.

“We are thrilled to celebrate the success of our graduate students,” said Sharon Gerecht, the Paul M. Gross Distinguished Professor of biomedical engineering and chair of Duke BME. “Our community is home to some of the most impressive students in the country, and I’m thrilled they are receiving this valuable recognition for their important and exciting research.”

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship

The prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship program funds just 15 percent of applicants and supports the most outstanding future researchers whose projects exhibit the highest potential in science and technology. Fellows receive a three-year stipend, coverage of tuition and fees, and access to professional development opportunities. Duke BME NSF Fellows include:

• Alexander Armstrong
• Emilie Jacobus
• Kylie Chan
• Sofia Dahlgren
• Alexandra Lee
• Shiny Shen

National Institutes of Health-Kirschstein F31 Grant

The prestigious Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award, also known as a F31 grant is awarded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The award supports promising graduate students develop into productive, independent research scientists by providing financial support and mentored research training as they conduct research for their dissertation. This year’s F31 recipient is:

• Rachael Putnam

NIH National Institute of Aging-Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (F30 Grant)

The NIH F30 grant (Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award) supports dual-doctoral degree students (e.g., M.D./Ph.D., D.O./Ph.D.) for up to 6 years. It covers stipends, tuition, and training expenses during their integrated research and clinical training, helping to build a pipeline of physician-scientists. This year’s recipient is:

• Harvey Shi

American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship

The AHA Predoctoral Fellowship enhances the integrated research and clinical training of promising students who are matriculated in pre-doctoral or clinical health professional degree training programs and who intend careers as scientists, physician-scientists or other clinician-scientists, or related careers aimed at improving global cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and brain health. This year’s AHA Fellow is:

• Yiu Yan Siu

The Kavli Foundation Fellowship

The Kavli Scholars program supports exceptional scientists whose research has been disrupted by unexpected challenges, by providing an opportunity to continue their work in the fields of astrophysics, nanoscience, neuroscience, or theoretical physics. This year’s Duke BME Kavli Fellow is:

• Ergi Spiro

The Department of Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship

The DoD National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship Program is a competitive fellowship that is awarded to U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, and U.S. dual citizens who intend to pursue a Doctoral degree aligned to the DoD services Broad Agency Announcements (BAAs) in research and development at a U.S. institution of their choice. This year’s NDSEG Fellow is:

• Josh Lerner

The Chambers Fellowship & Fitzpatrick Fellowship

The Fitzpatrick Institute for Photonics (FIP) offers several graduate student fellowships through the continued support and generosity of the Fitzpatrick Foundation and Mr. John Chambers. Students are nominated for these honors by their faculty advisers.

2025-2026 Chambers Fellows:

• Rebecca Farrar
• Vi Vu
• Tianle Wu

James B. Duke Fellowship:

The James B. Duke 100th Anniversary Fund provides fellowships for students who wish to pursue a program leading to the PhD in The Graduate School. Its objective is to help attract and develop outstanding scholars at Duke. Selection of recipients is made by a faculty committee upon nomination by the appropriate department. The 2025-2026 recipient of the James B. Duke Scholarship is:

• Sofia Dahlgren

The Sloan Scholarship

Awarded by the Duke University Center of Exemplary Mentoring (UCEM), the Sloan Scholars program was established in 2017 to attract, retain and graduate students enrolled in graduate STEM courses of study. The latest Sloan Scholar is:

• Caroline Choi

Pratt Gardner Fellowship:

The W.H. Gardner Jr. Society of Engineering endowment fund provides fellowships for students in the Pratt School of Engineering who wish to pursue a program leading to the Ph.D. in The Graduate School. The 2025-2026 recipients are:

• Kylie Chan
• Yuri (Ru) Li
• Alina Sharma
• Linyang (David) Wu
• David Yang