The Victoria Fenerty Undergraduate Travel Award supports conference-ewas expenses for undergraduate GSA members who are presenting research annually. Drosophila Research Conference. #DROS26 will take place March 4-8, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois.
The death of Victoria Finnerty in February 2011, who was a longtime member of the Genetics Society of America and served Drosophila community and the genetics community in many capacities. An amazing geneticist, Vicky’s ground-breaking work as a graduate student used high-resolution rearrangement analysis to dissect gene structures. He set the stage for a 35-year career in which he excelled as a gifted teacher as well as a research scientist. Vicky was also a wise and compassionate mentor and teacher for whom interacting with his students was a constant joy. He found new ways to engage undergraduates in his genetics courses and research. This Travel Fellowship Fund continues the excellent example of the Wiki.
Mona Abdullahfor , for , for , . University of St. Thomas
I am studying the role of a gene called Admits B in tracheal development and interactions with a signaling pathway called EGFR that is essential for tracheal development.
Heidi Bellfor , for , for , . University of Richmond
My research focuses on the human neurodegenerative brain disease spinocerular ataxia type 3 (SCA3), using Drosophila melanogaster As a model organism.
Marina Kirchetserfor , for , for , . Johns Hopkins University
I research chromatin dynamics Drosophila Photoreceptors during development.
Vladislav Durbinokodfor , for , for , . Penn State Bricks
My research focuses on the effects of fruit fields when down-regulating GLUT1 expression in intestinal cells.
Gabriel Davisfor , for , for , . University of California, Berkeley
My research uses Drosophila melanogaster As a model to functionally characterize parasite “trophic cells” during infection, which manipulate the host to support parasite growth.
Senna Fekinfor , for , for , . University of Missouri, Kansas City
My research uses fruit flies to understand how muscles develop and form the mini-motors that allow them to contract, and to understand what goes wrong in muscle diseases like myotonic dystrophy type I that cause muscle degeneration.
Lily Fryerfor , for , for , . University of Vermont
My research focuses on the study of centrosome regulation in asymmetric cell division of neural stem cells, particularly the role of polo-like kinase 4 in this process.
Mariana Gonzalez Palciosfor , for , for , . University of Detroit Mercy
I work with fruit flies to explore the effects of multiple mutations on physical traits.
Tyler Handlerfor , for , for , . University of Rochester
I study selfish segregation, a gene system that biases its transmission to the next generation by eliminating competing sperm.
Chrislyn Harrisfor , for , for , . Sam Houston State University
My research involves using Drosophila A larval model to assess microtubule network alterations prior to cachexia loss.
Ashleigh Haskinsfor , for , for , . University of Evansville
My research investigates the cellular events governing egg production in the ovary during animal development.
Brenna Leachfor , for , for , . Wichita State University
My work investigates the role of iron transport mechanisms for neural stem cell regeneration and brain development.
Catherine Masseyfor , for , for , . Lewis and Clark College
I study the effects of developmental nicotine exposure on egg-laying and embryonic movements in fruit flies.
Alison Simmonsfor , for , for , . East Carolina University
My research uses Drosophila To determine how ocular receptors are regulated in ovarian somatic cells during oogenesis.
May Wangfor , for , for , . University of British Columbia
My research seeks to uncover new gene(s) essential for male fertility on the evolutionarily young Y chromosome.
