The funds will help train tomorrow’s science and health leaders.
The Linus Pauling Institute has awarded its 2026-2027 fellowships to support the training of several promising student scientists. These students demonstrate a commitment to exploring how healthspan, not just lifespan, can be extended. More than just scholars, they are helping create a future where aging involves more vitality and less decline.
Tepary Cooley and Nadia Gonzalez are the recipients of fellowships that include full tuition support, enabling them to focus on their PhD training and research in healthy aging and disease treatment.
Cooley, a Biochemistry and Biophysics PhD student in Dr. Maria Purice’s lab, is particularly interested in how genetics can help others, which grew out of seeing how genetic tests guided treatments for family members suffering from chronic migraines.
“The regulation and function of cellular communication that I am unraveling now could be key in my ultimate goal of developing more precise and effective strategies to help those who suffer from chronic migraines,” he said.
Working in the Purice lab, Cooley uses the tiny roundworm (C. elegans) as a model for investigating interactions between glial cells and neurons. Glial cells are specialized nervous system cells that are essential for nerve function and brain health.
Cooley is currently researching the functional role of a glial-derived pro-aging neuropeptide called nlp-16. By better understanding nlp-16’s role in aging, this work contributes to the Institute’s healthy aging research mission.
“As a student in a newly established lab, this support directly relieves financial pressures during my critical early training period. I’m very grateful for this support for my learning and long-term career development,” Cooley said.
Gonzalez, a Biochemistry and Biophysics PhD student in Dr. Alysia Vrailas-Mortimer’s lab, is exploring how environmental stressors affect molecular mechanisms that can trigger neurodegeneration.
In the Vrailas-Mortimer lab, Gonzalez uses the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) as a model to understand how toxins and oxidative stress lead to neurodegeneration.
She is currently investigating the role of p38, a stress-activated kinase, in environmentally induced Parkinson's disease. Kinases are proteins that act like “on/off switches” for essential cellular processes. The research could lead to therapeutics that better treat or even protect against Parkinson's disease.
Gonzalez said the fellowship support is essential for pursuing her goals. “I’m financially independent, so this support is important to me as it reduces financial pressure and allows me to dedicate greater time and focus to research, publication, and completing my degree,” she said.
Following graduate school, Gonzalez plans to pursue a career in industry developing therapeutic strategies to treat age-related diseases.
Congratulations to All of Our Awardees!
The following graduate students are receiving financial assistance during the 2026-2027 school year thanks to donor support:
Mark Sponenburgh and Caron & Donald Reed fellowships:
Tepary Cooley
Marion T. Tsefalas and Simone & Balz Frei fellowships:
Nadia Gonzalez
Tory Hagen & Judy Butler LPI Legacy Fund:
Bianca Flores and Kristen Snitchler
Audrey & George Varseveld and Healthy Aging Research fellowships:
Mahak Hosseinikia
George Bailey Graduate Fellowship:
Mahya Payazdan, Daniel Simchuk, and Sima Ziyaee
Healthy Aging Research fellowships:
Cameron Call, Emilia Egbe, Isabella (Izzy) Montini, and Eleni (Elli) Vickers
Created by and named after dedicated Institute supporters, the annual fellowships are for high-achieving graduate students who are training with Institute faculty. Donor support helps make it possible for these passionate students to pursue their goals in the Institute’s internationally renowned research environment.
Gifts to several of these funds can be made online at lpi.pub/SupportLPI. To learn more about creating a new fellowship for student training at the Institute, please contact [email protected].