Alumni Award of Distinction

Established in 1997, the Weill Cornell Graduate School Distinguished Alumnus award is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to biomedical research and education.

Distinguished Alumni

2023: Cheryl Dreyfus, PhD, '76

2022: John MacMicking, PhD ‘97

2021: Eric Huang, MD '86, PhD '93

2020: Kornelia Polyak, MD '91, PhD '95

2019: Katharine Hsu, MD '94, PhD '93

2018: Janet Braam, PhD '85

2017: Bruce Sullenger, PhD '91

2016: Lisa Staiano-Coico, PhD ‘81

2015: Avery August, PhD '94

2014: M. Elizabeth Ross, MD ’79, PhD ‘82

2013: James Di Santo, MD ‘91, PhD ‘89

2012: Carlos Cordon-Cardo, MD, PhD ‘85

2011: Kathleen Scotto, PhD ‘83

2010: Christopher Ross, MD'83, PhD ‘82

2009: Geoffrey Ling, MD, PhD ‘82

2008: Amir Askari, PhD ‘60

2007: Terry Magnuson, PhD ‘78

2006: Emilio Emini, PhD ‘80

2005: Ellen Goldberg, PhD ‘71

2004: Herbert Rosenkranz, PhD ‘59

2003: Abel Robertson, MD, PhD ‘59

2002: Bonnie Mathieson, PhD ‘75 

2001: Hazel Szeto, MD '77, PhD ‘77

2000: June Biedler, PhD ‘59    

1999: Priscilla Schaffer, PhD ‘69

1998: Jeffrey Bluestone, PhD ‘80

1997: Albert Kuperman, PhD ‘57               

 

If you would like to nominate an outstanding alumnus, please email wcgs-awards@med.cornell.edu with a nomination letter that summarizes why this individual is deserving of such a distinction. Please make sure to include the nominee’s name and contact information. In your letter, please describe the nominee’s impact and significant contributions to any/all of the following:

  • Science & Scholarship
  • Leadership
  • Mentoring and/or Teaching
  • Service to Society
Julian R. Rachele Prize
 Julian Rachele, PhD

Julian Rachele, PhD

Named for a former Dean of the Graduate School, the Rachele Prize is the highest student award presented by the school. It is awarded to students who have published significant research in a scientific journal.

2023

Nakul Yadav (Conor Liston, MD, PhD, mentor): "Prefrontal feature representations drive memory recall." Nature 608.7921 (2022): 153-160.

Jiang Yining (Simon Scheuring, PhD, mentor): "Membrane-mediated protein interactions drive membrane protein organization." Nature Communications 13.1 (2022): 7373.

2022

Bianca Diaz (Lukas Dow,  PhD, mentor): "Base Editing Sensor Libraries for High-Throughput Engineering and Functional Analysis of Cancer-Associated Single Nucleotide Variants." Nature Biotechnology (2022).

Joshua Weiss (Richard White, MD, PhD, mentor)  “Anatomic Position Determines Oncogenic Specificity in Melanoma." Nature, Vol 604 (2022).

2021

Gary Dixon, (Danwei Huangfu, PhD, mentor): “QSER1 protects DNA methylation valleys from de novo methylation.” Science 372 (2021).

Ke Xu, (Ming Li, PhD, mentor): “Glycolysis fuels phosphoinositide 3-kinase signaling to bolster T cell immunity.” Science 371 (2021).

2020

Jenny Yaohua Xue, (Piro Lito, MD, PhD, mentor): “Rapid non-uniform adaptation to conformation-specific KRAS (G12C) inhibition.” Nature 577, 421–425 (2020).

Ryan Ries, (Samie Jaffrey, MD PhD, mentor): “m6A enhances the phase separation potential of mRNA.” Nature 571, 424–428 (2019).

2019

Jacob Litke, (Samie Jaffrey, MD, PhD, mentor): "Highly efficient expression of circular RNA aptamers in cells using autocatalytic transcripts." Nature Biotechnology, 2019 Jun;37(6):667-675.

Ashley Chui and Sahana Rao, (Daniel Bachovchin, PhD, mentor): "N-terminal degradation activates the NLRP1B inflammasome."
Science. 2019 Apr 5;364(6435):82-85.

2018

Asaf Poran and Christopher Nötzel, (Olivier Elemento, PhD & Björn F.C. Kafsack, PhD, mentors): “Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals a signature of sexual commitment in malaria parasites.” Nature, Nov 2;551(7678):95-99 (2017).

Theodoros Giavridis, (Michel Sadelain, MD, PhD, mentor): “CAR T cell-induced cytokine release syndrome is mediated by macrophages and abated by IL-1 blockade.” Nature Medicine, Jun;24(6):731-738 (2018).

2017

Daniel Thengone, (Nicholas Schiff, MD & Jonathan D. Victor, MD, PhD, mentors): Thengone DJ, Voss HU, Fridman EA, Schiff ND “Local changes in network structure contribute to late communication recovery after severe brain injury.” Science Translational Medicine, 8:368re5 (2016) 

Guanshi Wang, (Alexandros Pertsinidis, PhD, mentor): Wang G, Hauver J, Thomas Z, Darst SA, Pertsinidis A, “Single-molecule real-time 3D imaging of the transcription cycle by modulation interferometry.” Cell, 167(7):1839-1852 (2016)

2016

Kari Fischer, PhD (Vivek Mittal, PhD, mentor) for "Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition is not required for lung metastasis but contributes to chemoresistance”, Nature.

Faranak Fattahi, PhD (Lorenz Studer, MD, mentor) for "Deriving human ENS lineages for cell therapy and drug discovery in Hirschsprung disease”, Nature.

2015

Andrew Tokay Drysdale, PhD (B.J. Casey, PhD, mentor) for "FAAH genetic variation enhances fronto-amygdala function in mouse and human." Nat Commun. 2015 Mar 3;6:6395.   

Peng Kate Gao, PhD (Songhai Shi, PhD, mentor) for "Deterministic Progenitor Behavior and Unitary Production of Neurons in the Neocortex." Cell. 2014 Nov 6;159(4): 775-88.

Honorable Mention: Adam M. Levinson, PhD (Samuel Danishefsky, PhD) for "Total Synthesis of Asperverin via an Iodine(III)-Mediated Oxidative Cyclization." Org. Lett. 16, 4904-4907 (2014).

2014

Joseph Justin Mulvey, PhD (David Scheinberg, MD/PhD, mentor) for "Self-assembly of carbon nanotubes and antibodies on tumours for targeted amplified delivery." Nature Nanotechnology 8, 763–771 (2013).

Nurunisa Akyuz, PhD (Olga Boudker, PhD, mentor) for "Transport dynamics in a glutamate transporter homologue." Nature 502, 114-118 (2013). 

2013

Elissaveta Petrova, PhD (Marilyn Resh, PhD, mentor) for “Inhibitors of Hedgehog Acyltransferase Block Sonic Hedgehog Signaling.” Nature Chem.Biol. 9: 247-249. 

Christopher Kloss, PhD (Michel Sadelain, PhD, mentor) for “Combinatorial Antigen Recognition with Balanced Signaling Promotes Selective Tumor Eradication by Engineered T cells.” Nature Biotechnology. 31: 71-75. 

2011

Eduardo F. Gallo, PhD (Constantino Iadecola, MD, mentor) for "Neuronal Nitric Oxide Contributes to Neuroplasticity-Associated Protein Expression through cGMP, Protein Kinase G, and Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase." Journal of Neuroscience 31(19):6947-6955, May 11, 2011.

Polloneal Ocbin, PhD (Kathryn V. Anderson, PhD, mentor) for "Complex interactions between genes controlling trafficking in primary cilia." Nature Genetics, published online May 8, 2011 .

2010

Asif Maroof, PhD (Stewart Anderson, MD, mentor) for "Prospective Isolation of Cortical Interneuron Precursors from Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells." Journal of Neuroscience 30(13):4667-4675, March 31, 2010 .

Anton Rosenbaum, PhD (Frederick Maxfield, PhD, mentor) for "Endocytosis of P-Cyclodextrins is Responsible for Cholesterol Reduction in Niemann-Pick Type C Mutant Cells." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 107:5477-5482, March 23, 2010.

2009

Andrea T. Hooper, PhD (Shahin Rafii, MD, mentor) for "Engraftment and Reconstitution of Hematopoiesis is Dependent on VEGFR2-Mediated Regeneration of Sinusoidal Endothelial Cells." Cell Stem Cell 4, 263-274, March 6, 2009.

Gloria Kwon, PhD (Anna-Katerina Hadjantonakis, PhD, mentor) for "The Endoderm of the Mouse Embryo Arises by Dynamic Widespread Intercalation of Embryonic and Extraembryonic Lineages." Developmental Cel/15, 509-520, October 14, 2008.

2008

Meera Mani, PhD (Timothy Ryan, PhD, mentor) for "The Dual Phosphatase Activity of Synaptojanin l Is Required for Both Efficient Synaptic Vesicle Endocytosis and Reavailability at Nerve Terminals." Neuron , 56: 1004-I 018, 2007.

Matthias T. Stephan, PhD (Michel Sadelain, PhD, mentor) for "T cell-encoded COSO and 4-lBBL Induce Auto- and Transcostimulation , Resulting in Potent Tumor Rejection ." Nature Medicine, 13: 1440-1449, 2007.

Student Service Award

The WCGS Student Service Award recognizes a WCGS student or a group of WCGS students who have distinguished themselves in service to the graduate school,  WCM, MSKCC, HSS, the larger community, or beyond.

2023

Josue Barnes 
Physiology, Biophysics and Systems Biology Graduate Program
Iman Hajirasouliha and Olivier Elemento labs

Josue is being recognized for his leadership as president for two years of the Tri-Institutional Minority Society, and involvement in the Social Justice and Anti-Racism Taskforce.

2022

Ifeh Akano
Pharmacology Graduate Program
Yael David Lab

Ifeh is being recognized for her outreach and work with the Tri-I Outreach Club, Tri-I Mentorship Initiative, Community Leader Fellowship Program, andTri-I Outreach Fair.

Thais Klevorn
Immunology and Microbial Pathogenesis Graduate Program
Sabine Ehrt Lab

Thais is being recognized for her outreach and work with the Tri-Institutional Minority Society (TIMS).

2021

Krysta DiKun
Pharmacology Graduate Program
Lorraine Gudas Lab

Thomas Rossetti (no picture available)
Pharmacology Graduate Program
Jochen Buck and Lonny Levin Lab

Krysta and Thomas are being recognized for co-chairing the 40th Annual Vincent du Vigneaud Research Symposium.

2020

Pedro Silberman
Pharmacology Graduate Program
David Scheinberg Lab

Pedro is being recognized for his outreach to high school students through the founding of the High School Catalyst Program.

2019

Jordana Thibado
Physiology, Biophysics and Systems Biology Graduate Program
Lonny Levin Lab

Jordana is being recognized for her outreach to children and young adults in the activities of the Tri-Institutional Outreach Committee, including Family Science Day, “STEM DAY” and other initiatives.

2018

Thomas Galassi
Physiology, Biophysics and Systems Biology Graduate Program
Daniel Heller Lab

Thomas is being recognized for being a leader in developing a biomedical entrepreneurship ecosystem at Weill Cornell.

2017

Suvey Pandey
Cell and Developmental Biology Graduate Program
Todd Evans Lab

Suvey is being recognized for his outstanding service as a GSEC wellness representative and his leadership role in founding Peers Advocating Wellness (PAWs).

2016

Alexandra Cohen, PhD
Neuroscience Graduate Program
BJ Casey Lab

Sara DiNapoli
Pharmacology Graduate Program
Yariv Houvras Lab

Michael V. LeVine, PhD
PBSB Graduate Program
Harel Weinstein Lab

Alexandra, Sara, and Michael received the 2016 Student Service Award for founding the “Tri-Institutional Outreach Committee.”

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