Plant biology award winners

Plant Biology award winners

Harold C. and Sonja L. Labinsky Award

This fund was established in 1999 by Harold C. and Sonja L. Labinsky in memory of Harold Labinsky’s father, Carl H. Labinsky, and in honor of Katherine M. Labinsky, Harold Labinsky’s mother. The award is to be used to provide an annual financial gift to one or more students enrolled in the Department of Plant Biology in the College of LAS.
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Winner: Angelique Acevdo
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Winner: Meghan Blaszynski
A smiling woman in a blue and white jacket sitting on a mesa with mesas behind her

Winner: Sarah Chung

John R. Laughnan Award

These awards were endowed by John’s wife and longtime collaborator, Susan Gabay-Laughnan and his fellow geneticists, friends, and colleagues in part in recognition of John’s co-founding and support of the Annual Maize Meetings. John Laughnan was a member of the faculty of the University of Illinois for most of his career. He was a member of the Department of Botany and served as both its chairman and later its head. He joined the new Department of Genetics and Development but later returned to his previous department, by then called Plant Biology. He developed the original shrunken-2 hybrids responsible for stable sweetness of popular Super-Sweet corn.
A smiling woman in a green sweater with mountains and trees behind her

Winner: Meghan Blaszynski
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Winner: Marcus Brown
A smiling woman in a long brown shirt leaning against a tree

Winner: Grace Magavern

Govindjee and Rajni Govindjee Award for Excellence in Biological Research

This award was established by Dr. Govindjee and Dr. Rajni Govindjee. Govindjee and Rajni were both UIUC PhD students of Robert Emerson. Govindjee taught at UIUC from 1961-1999 and is known as a pioneer in the area of photosynthesis research. He is currently  a Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Plant Biology. Dr. Rajni Govindjee is recognized as a distinguished photobiologist, credited with pioneering research in photosynthesis and photobiology.
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Winner: Amanda Griffin
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Winner: Lijia Guo
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Winner: August Lipari
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Winner: Blaine Martin
A smiling man in glasses wearing a blue blazer and button up shirt

Winner: Ignacio Sparrow Munoz

Dr. Fakhri and Dr. Maarib Bazzaz Plant Biology Fund 

This award was established to honor Dr. Fakhri and Dr. Maarib Bazzaz as academics, mentors, and cherished friends by supporting students in the stablished to honor Dr. Fakhri and Dr. Maarib Bazzaz as academics, mentors, and cherished friends by supporting students in the Department of Plant Biology in at the University of Illinois. Department of Plant Biology in at the University of Illinois. 
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Winner: Hridi Prova Saha
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Winner: Daniel Eneji Sani

Plant Biology Award for Outstanding Teaching in Plant Biology
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Winner: Kithmee De Silva

I am a graduate student in the Brooks Lab in the Department of Plant Biology. My research focuses on untangling gene regulatory networks to understand how plants integrate environmental signals to coordinate photosynthesis and nitrogen use. This funding will support the addition of an epigenetics component, enabling me to explore deeper layers of genetic regulation.