News
For more information contact:
School of Biology, Biology
Contact School of Biology admin@biology.gatech.edu
404-894-3700
Biology Grad Student Awarded Microbiology Fellowship
Atlanta (July 22, 2009) — PhD student Shandra Justicia has been selected to receive the prestigious American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Robert D. Watkins Graduate Fellowship. ASM’s Robert D. Watkins Graduate Fellowship program is highly competitive, and is designed to increase the number of doctoral degrees awarded to members of underrepresented groups. The Robert D. Watkins Graduate Fellowship provides students with a stipend for three years, as well as travel to and accommodations at the annual ASM General Meetings and a visit to the ASM Kadner Institute one time during the three-year tenure of the fellowship.
Shandra Justicia received a dual degree in Industrial Biotechnology and Chemistry from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez. Justicia entered the School of Biology’s graduate program in Fall 2007, and is in the laboratory of Dr. Frank Löffler. Her research focuses on microorganisms that can be used in bioremediation, with a particular focus on microbes that can detoxify chlorinated methanes. These compounds have been widely used as solvents and reagents, and are widespread groundwater contaminants, posing risks to human and ecosystem health.
Related Links
Frank Löffler
http://www.biology.gatech.edu/faculty/frank-loeffler/
ASM Watkins Graduate Fellowships
http://www.asm.org/Education/index.asp?bid=6278
The Georgia Institute of Technology is one of the nation's premiere research universities. Ranked among U.S. News & World Report's top 10 public universities, Georgia Tech educates more than 16,000 students every year through its Colleges of Architecture, Computing, Engineering, Liberal Arts, Management and Sciences. Tech maintains a diverse campus and is among the nation's top producers of women and African-American engineers. The Institute offers research opportunities to both undergraduate and graduate students and is home to more than 100 interdisciplinary units plus the Georgia Tech Research Institute. During the 2003-2004 academic year, Georgia Tech reached $341.9 million in new research award funding.