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Rebecca Upton has been awarded a Picker Interdisciplinary Science Institute micro grant for $2,427 to provide support for her project, “Artificial Intelligence, Infrastructure, and Health Inequities in Southern Africa.”

Ken Belanger has been awarded a Picker ISI micro grant for $3,000 to provide support for his project, “Investigation of Microbiome Composition of Rainforest Canopy Latrines Using Short-Read Whole Genome Sequencing.”

Le Dinh ’27, a psychological science and educational studies major, has received a Picker ISI Scholar award for the project “Intersubjective Engagement in Minimally-Speaking and Non-Speaking Children with Autism.”

Ray Ou ’28, a psychological science and economics double major, has received a Picker ISI Scholar award for the project “The Hidden Costs of Strategic Secrecy.”

Richelle Gao ’27 has been awarded a Picker ISI Scholar award for her research project, “Biomarker-Driven Diagnostic Modeling to Complement Urine Cytology in Urothelial Carcinoma.”

Associate Professor of Computer Science Noah Apthorpe has received a $5,000 Picker ISI Interdisciplinary Training Workshop Grant for a workshop on “AI-Powered Machine Learning for Research Across the University.” The workshop will introduce �Ա���Ƶ faculty and students to practical machine learning techniques for research data analysis, including data preparation, model training, and results assessment.

Raab Family Chair and Professor of Biology Damhnait McHugh has received an interdisciplinary training grant of $4,300. She will spend several weeks during her sabbatical leave in fall 2026 working with experts in the NSF-funded ancient biomolecular lab at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City to become proficient in ancient DNA analyses of marine shelled organisms.

Karen Harpp, professor of earth and environmental geosciences at �Ա���Ƶ; Andrew Bell, senior lecturer at the University of Edinburgh; Peter LaFemina, professor doctor of geophysics at the University of Bremen; and Mario Ruiz, director at Escuela Politécnica Nacional, have received a Picker ISI Minor Grant award of $29,990 for their project, “Understanding Volcanic Island Evolution in the Galápagos: A Pilot Implementation of a Small, Multi-Parametric Geophysical Network.”

Assistant Professor of Chemistry Gongfang Hu and Assistant Professor of Chemistry Stephanie E. Sanders have received an award of $62,117 for their project “Sunlight-Driven Carbon Dioxide Conversion with Cost-Effective Metal Compounds.”

Ewa Galaj, assistant professor of psychology and neuroscience, and Jacob Goldberg, associate professor of chemistry, have received an award for $70,000 for their project “Investigating the Role of Zinc in Heroin Addiction.”