Yerex Fellowship funds groundbreaking disease research
Working with the acclaimed biochemistry/biophysics professor Joe Beckman, graduate student Kristine Robinson recently made a major discovery. She uncovered a way to more accurately detect a molecule called superoxide that is thought to play a significant a role in many diseases.
Her work will have a ripple effect throughout the medical research field with possible implications for treating a wide range of diseases, such as Lou Gehrig’s disease, diabetes and even problems associated with aging.
Robinson’s achievement was also one of the reasons she was chosen for the P.F. Yerex Graduate Fellowship, a highly competitive OSU graduate award.
When she heard she would be receiving the Yerex Fellowship, Robinson was excited and relieved. “It’s like a huge burden has been lifted off of me,” she said.
While Robinson is a talented biochemistry/biophysics doctoral student who just made a discovery that is gaining international attention, she needed the fellowship to help pay her bills.
Private fellowships can recruit and sustain top graduate students like Robinson who are critical to the university’s research and education. Graduate students may receive stipends for work as research or teaching assistants, but the hours are long, and the take home pay, after subtracting tuition and fees, often amounts to little more than minimum wage. So when selecting a place for advanced study, prospective students look closely at the fellowship opportunities a university can offer. Receiving a fellowship is also a great honor for a young innovator at the start of a promising career.
“A lot is expected of graduate students in terms of the time and the work you put in,” said Robinson. “It feels like all those extra hours of hard work finally paid off. It was definitely a huge encouragement.”
