Roger W. Russell Scholar’s Award in the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory

Purpose and Criteria: This prize is awarded in memory of Roger W. Russell, who was a Lifetime Distinguished Fellow of the CNLM. The award is funded by an endowment established in 1998 by Roger’s family, friends and colleagues. The purpose of the award is to recognize an individual who emulates and demonstrates Roger Russell’s (1) Dedication to exacting scholarship in the conduct of research, (2) Personal attributes of integrity and collegiality, and (3) Steadfast and strong support of the goals and programs of the CNLM.

Eligibility: Must be a graduate student or postdoctoral fellow who is in the laboratory of a CNLM Fellow on the UCI campus.

Awards available: 1 or more $1,000 awards

Requirements: CV/resume (max 2 pages), unofficial transcript (for graduate students only), and personal statement addressing dedication to research and scholarship, teaching or mentorship experience, and service contributions to the CNLM (500 words).

2024 Recipients

Brittney Boublil, PhD
(Advisor: Dr. Laura Ewell)
"Understanding how epilepsy affects memory"

Claire Butler, PhD
(Advisor: Dr. Kim Green)
"ABCA7 & ABI3: The ABC's of genetic risk factors for Alzheimer's disease"

Maricela Martinez
(Advisor: Dr. Stephen Mahler)
"High stakes: How adolescent THC exposure affects motivation"

2023 Recipients

Jenna Adams
(Advisor: Dr. Michael Yassa)
"Understanding how pathology leads to memory deficits in the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s disease"

Aditya Singh
(Advisor: Dr. Andre Obenaus)
"Neurovascular and behavior deficits after traumatic brain injury"

2022 Recipients

Mike Starrett Ambrose
(Advisor: Dr. Elizabeth Chrastil)
"How does the human brain navigate cognitive space?"

Ashley Keiser
(Advisor: Dr. Marcelo Wood)
"Using exercise to shed new light on molecular mechanisms underlying memory formation"

2021 Recipients

Lily Cheng
(Advisor: Dr. Elizabeth Chrastil)
"Finding the compass: Head direction signals in the human brain"

Vinicius Duarte
(Advisor: Dr. Katherine Thompson-Peer)
"Neuronal neglect: What about dendrite regeneration?"

2020

Rachael Elizabeth Hokenson
(Advisor: Dr. Tallie Z. Baram)
"Why does stress affect memory differently in women and men?"

Sarah Kark
(Advisor: Dr. Michael Yassa)
"Revealing untold stories from the healthy and diseased brain"

2019

Jonathan Hasselmann

His research is focused human microglia and mouse brains: A new direction for Alzheimer's research

Jessica Lingad

Her research focuses on examining the metabolic signatures of neural activity in aging.

2018

Alberto Lopez

His research focused on finding insights into the circuitry regulating cocaine relapse.

2017

Jacky Au

Jacky Au was a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow and received his PhD from the Cognitive Sciences Department. His interests surround the nature and enhancement of brain plasticity, including the use of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and computerized training of targeted cognitive processes such as working memory.

Ryan Lim

While at UCI, Ryan studied neurodegenerative diseases and the contributions of the microbiota to neurodegeneration using patient iPSC-derived cells, mouse models, single cell genomics, and systems/computational biology applications.

2015

Janine Kwapis

Her research was focused on investigating the epigenetic and molecular underpinnings of long-term memory