Texas A&M Genetics and Genomics

It's Feature Friday and today's spotlight goes to Shakshi Desai!

Please visit our GGEN website to learn more about Shakshi's interests, fun facts, and why she enjoys the field of Genetics and Genomics.

https://genetics.tamu.edu/featuring-shakshi-desai/

Remember, each week we'll feature one of our 10 incoming GGEN PhD students. Stay tuned for next week's feature!

Today is our first "Feature Friday" and the SPOTLIGHT goes to Kevin Bolwerk from Texas A&M University!

Be sure to click here for more information on Kevin:
https://genetics.tamu.edu/featuring-kevin-bolwerk/

** Each week, we will feature one of our 10 incoming GGEN Ph.D. students, including their fields of interest, role models, and why they are attracted to Genetics and Genomics **

Stay tuned and don't miss them!

Join us in celebrating Mayra Mendoza as she defends her dissertation on Wednesday, June 10!

Congratulations Mayra and good luck!

Join us in celebrating Samantha as she prepares to defend her dissertation next week! Good luck Samantha, you're going to do great!

Join us in celebrating Andres Barboza as he defends his dissertation on Thursday, May 28!

Congratulations Andres and good luck!

Congratulations to all of our Spring 2026 graduates! We are so proud of everything you’ve accomplished and can’t wait to see where your journeys take you. Wishing you all the success and happiness in your futures!🎓

We are very happy to announce that we have a full class of new GGEN Ph.D. students starting in the fall of 2026! Ten highly qualified students accepted our offer to join TAMUGENE!

Feature Fridays will be back starting on June 5! We will be featuring one student each week throughout the summer so you can get to know them before the fall semester starts.

Stay tuned and don't miss them!

Congratulations to the 10 students that were selected to participate in our 2026 Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURGe)! We’re very excited to host them for 10 weeks over the summer and look forward to their presentations at the end🎉

Thank you to everyone who came out to the GGSA 2026 Student Appreciation event at Grand Station last Friday!

Here are the award winners for this year:

2025-2026 Student Choice Award for Teaching:
Valeria Duran Salas

2025-2026 Award for Teaching Excellence:
Veronika Mojik

2025-2026 Research Excellence Award:
Aaron DeSalvio & Mayra Mendoza

2025-2026 Faculty Success and mentorship Award:
Dr. Masako Suzuki

**Superlative Awards**

Most likely to win a Nobel Prize:
Tyler Chan

Most likely to publish in Cell, Science, or Nature:
Tyler Chan

Most likely to fist fight IT:
Doris Migliaccio

Most likely to bring their dog:
Emily Raiff

Most approachable:
Doris Migliaccio

Most caffeinated:
William Fortun

Most fashionable:
Veronika Mojik

Most likely to brighten your day:
Lance Nuique and Jacob Risch

Most likely to troubleshoot your code:
Andres Barboza and Emmarie Alexander

Most likely to troubleshoot your experiment:
Tyler Chan

Most likely to come for free food:
Dante Lopez

Most likely to say just one more experiment:
Charles Mitchell

Most likely to use memes in their talk:
Doris Migliaccio

Most likely to open a bakery:
Natalie Wideman

Most likely to become everyone’s favorite professor:
Charles Mitchell

Most likely to take a lab animal home as a pet:
Emily Castillo

Most likely to be mistaken as a professor:
David Suarez-Salazar

Most likely to respond to an email in a minute:
Hussain Alcassab

Most likely to make a Tiktok or Reel in lab:
Lance Nuique

Most likely to become a great mentor:
Andrew Eastland

Exciting news! You are invited to the dissertation defense of Isabella Childers!

Date: Thursday, May 7, 2026
Time: 11:00 AM
Location: VENI 101A
Host: Dr. Bill Murphy

Email [email protected] for the Zoom link