Congratulations to Puja Bajracharya, a PhD student in Dr. Weaver’s lab, for receiving three competitive Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology (EEOB) scholarship awards: the Harry and Audrey Finch Scholarship, the Lois H. Tiffany Scholarship, and the Gilman Scholarship Award.
These awards support her ongoing PhD research on alternative oxidase (AOX)–mediated stress tolerance in Fusarium oxysporum, including up to $1,500 for travel and registration to present her research at scientific conference, as well as support to defray hourly wages for an undergraduate researcher contributing to the project. Through her work, Puja integrates fungal physiology, plant–pathogen interactions, and mitochondrial metabolism. Her research aims to advance understanding of fungal stress responses with implications for plant health and sustainable disease management.