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Eveleigh and Cuskey
Travel AwardsRecipients

Hang Dam

PhD 2016

Hang Dam standing next to a poster.

The Douglas E. Eveleigh Travel Award allowed me to attend the 16th International Symposium on Microbial Ecology (ISME) in Montreal, Canada from August 21 to 26, 2016. At the conference, I presented a poster entitled "Metagenomic analysis of a Dehalococcoides-enriched culture," which summarized my latest research in collaboration with DSMZ, Germany. During the poster presentation, I met some people who were interested in my research project and also received valuable feedback. I attended different talks that covered many aspects of microbial ecology, from biogeochemical cycles of a variety of elements, microorganisms that are associated with contaminated environments, physiology and evolution of extremophiles, and to cutting-edge techniques to study microorganisms in their environments. Attending this ISME symposium was a great opportunity for me to expand my knowledge in microbial ecology applied to bioremediation as well as other fields of microbial ecology, which was great for me as a PhD student in my final year at Rutgers at the time. Thank you so much.


Suha Eleya

Suha Eleya standing next to a poster.

The Douglas E. Eveleigh Travel Award offered me a great opportunity to attend the ASM Microbe 2016 conference that was held in Boston MA, June 16 to 20, 2016. At this meeting I participated in the poster session to present the work that I have recently done as part of my research project. The work that I presented involved the construction of stable and unstable vectors that can be employed in the genetic manipulation of the bacterium Sphingomonas wittichii Rw1 for a deep understanding of the catabolic genes that are involved in the degradative pathways of the environmental recalcitrant compounds including dibenzo-p-dioxin and dibenzofuran. I highly appreciate the award that allowed me to attend one of the largest meetings and to network with many other professionals and scientists from all around the world. Through this meeting, I learned about others works and backgrounds by attending oral presentation sessions and seminars and I gained new information and ideas of many different aspects.


Rayan Faisal

Rayan Faisal standing next to a poster.

The Stephen M. Cuskey Travel Award made my attendance at the ASM Microbe 2016 conference possible. At this meeting held in Boston, Massachusetts, June 16-20, 2016, I was able to present my poster entitled ?Sphingomonas wittichii RW1 dibenzofuran 4,4a angular dioxygenase attacks biphenyl at a lateral position?. This conference allowed me to meet with scientists and experts in the field of my interest from all around the world. I had the chance to express my thoughts and listen to their perspectives from which many poured into the benefits of my research. As an international student, this conference was of great interest to me, as it was the largest conference I have ever attended with more than ten thousand attendees from about 100 different countries. By the aid of this travel award, I also had the opportunity to attend the PATRIC workshop from which I learned how to assemble, annotate, and analyze bacterial genomes using a specific website. At this conference there were many presentations that I was able to attend which focused on the recent developments in the field of microbiology. I feel grateful for this support and show respect for everyone who made this award possible.


Preshita Gadkari

Preshita Gadkari standing next to a poster.

The Douglas E. Eveleigh Travel Award provided me the opportunity to present my research at the 16th International Symposium on Microbial Ecology (ISME) in Montreal, Canada in the form of a poster presentation. I presented my research titled "Arctic Tundra Soil Bacterial Communities Active at Subzero Temperatures Detected by Stable Isotope Probing." I also earned a scholarship from the Canadian Society for Microbiology and ISME for my research presentation and conference travel. This conference helped boost my dissertation in ways ranging from learning from innovative conference talks to building a network with microbiologists. Thank you for the continued travel support, it helped my research immensely!


Jie Liu

Jie Liu standing next to a poster.

Funded by Stephen M. Cuskey Travel Award, I had an opportunity to attend the 16th International Symposium on Microbial Ecology (ISME) in Montreal, Canada, 21-26 August, 2016. The ISME conference is an influential conference that provides an open forum for the presentation and discussion of latest research on microbiology. I had a poster presentation at this conference, titled "Reductive Dehalogenase from the Marine Sponge Associated Bacterium Desulfoluna spongiiphila." This provided me an opportunity to introduce my research to the peers and get feedback from them. The presentations at this conference cover diverse fields. I could easily find my presentations of interest, which were either close to my own research or may inspire my research. This conference opened my mind and gained me a lot of knowledge of the latest research. I really appreciate your support, which allows me to attend this great conference.


Nicole Lloyd

Nicole Lloyd, Javiera N Morales, and Tamar Barkay standing in front of a poster.

Thanks to the Stephen M. Cuskey Travel Award, I was able to attend the 16th meeting of the International Society for Microbial Ecology (ISME) in Montr?al, Quebec, Canada. ISME is the largest society for microbial ecologists and I am very grateful to have attended the meeting. I presented my poster, "Mercury exposure selects for antibiotic resistance in the gut of the mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus)." I met several different scientists from the U.S. and around the world working on similar topics. I plan to collaborate with some of these scientists in the future. I also received valuable feedback and ideas for my research. I attended a variety of talks on various topics such as metal resistance, antibiotic resistance, and new and emerging methodologies. I had a fantastic experience exploring the city of Montr?al and Quebe?ois culture. I am very grateful to the donors who made this experience possible.


Tiffany Louie

Tiffany Louie standing next to a poster.

On August 21-26, 2016 I was able to attend and present a poster at the 16th Meeting of the International Society of Microbial Ecology thanks to funds from the Stephen M. Cuskey Travel Award. I presented my poster entitled ?Not So bad, bcr Genes and the Central Pathway of (An)aerobic Benzoyl-CoA Degradation in Sedimenticola selenatireducens strain AK4OH1?. In addition to the opportunity for presenting my poster at such a large conference, I attended a myriad of interesting talks. The conference hosted many speakers from all over the United States, Canada, and other countries including Israel and Qatar to Japan. This allowed me exposure to innovative research on topics such as cryomicrobiology, methanogenic hydrocarbon degradation, gut microbiomes, and single-cell genomics of difficult-to-culture-microbes to name a few. Not only did the conference host amazing speakers but also offered a professional development workshop for early career scientists, which was also extremely helpful. This was my first time attending a conference this large and it was truly an amazing experience. I am really thankful to the donors of this travel award that made attendance to this conference possible for me.


Thamer Mutter

Thamer Mutter standing next to a poster.

The Stephen M. Cuskey Travel Award was used to attend the annual conference of the American Society for Microbiology, June 2016 in Boston, Massachusetts. I presented my findings on the role of ring cleavage enzymes involved in dioxins pathway. I enjoyed presenting my work and received many ideas from other scientists that will help continue my project. In this conference, I attended many lectures with different microbiological topics that expanded my knowledge in understanding subjects related to microbial genetics and microbial physiology. Also, I made many connections with many people including students and scientists in the same field through explaining my work and watching their works. I really enjoyed being part of this international conference and I appreciate the award that helped me to attend this conference. Thank You.


Javiera Norambuena Morales

Javiera N Morales standing next to a poster.

The Douglas E. Eveleigh Travel Award was used to attend the ISME 2016 meeting held in Montreal, Canada from August 21-26th. I presented my poster based on Hg(II) responses triggered on the extremophile Thermus thermophilus. This conference gave me the opportunity to learn more about current research in ecology around the globe and metal research. It also allowed me to meet many people from my country that are planning to organize the following ISME meeting there and creating our own ecology association. This is of great help for my reinsertion when I finish my PhD, I have many contacts for possible collaborations. I really appreciate your monetary contribution, it made this trip possible. Thank you so much.


Sushmita Patwardhan

Sushmita Patwardhan standing next to a poster.

Thanks to the Stephen M. Cuskey Travel Award, I was able to attend the 16th meeting of the International Society for Microbial Ecology (ISME) in Montr?al, Quebec, Canada. ISME is the largest society for microbial ecologists and I am very grateful to have attended the meeting. I presented my poster, "Mercury exposure selects for antibiotic resistance in the gut of the mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus)". I met several different scientists from the U.S. and around the world working on similar topics. I plan to collaborate with some of these scientists in the future. I also received valuable feedback and ideas for my research. I attended a variety of talks on various topics such as metal resistance, antibiotic resistance, and new and emerging methodologies. I had a fantastic experience exploring the city of Montr?al and Quebe?ois culture. I am very grateful to the donors who made this experience possible.


Aakansha Roberts

Aakansha Roberts standing next to a poster.

I am extremely grateful for the Douglas E. Eveleigh Travel Award which helped me attend my first ASM conference, the inaugural ASM Microbe, June 16-20, 2016, in Boston. I presented my work ?Characterization of three different diphenylmethane degrading Pseudomonas species from the New Jersey Passaic River? during the poster session and received valuable comments. I was also able to network with a number of people from Professors at other universities to scientists working for the government and industry. This taught me a lot about the opportunities available to me. I was also fortunate to attend a workshop on PATRIC, a Bacterial Bioinformatics Resource Center, titled ?Assemble, Annotate and Analyze Your Own Genome using PATRIC, the All Bacterial Bioinformatics Resource Center?. This workshop taught me how to assemble, annotate and analyze genomes which will be very useful as I continue my research involving the analysis of the different diphenylmethane degraders that we have sequenced. The conference also provided me with a different seminars and talks to attend and learn from. The two that I will always remember were the talk by Jennifer Doudna about CRISPR and the interview of Bill Gates about the opportunities to make a difference through science. I really appreciate the opportunity to participate and learn so much and will be ever thankful.


Lele Zhao

Lele Zhao standing next to a poster.

Thanks to the Douglas E. Eveleigh Travel Award, I was able to attend ASM Microbe 2016 in Boston, Massachusetts, June 16-20, 2016. I presented a poster on "Host Range Mutation Narrows Further Host Range Mutation Spectrum of Bacteriophage phi6." These were results from my PhD thesis project and I received valuable comments and feedbacks on my findings. ASM Microbe 2016 provided a "big-tent" for over 11,000 attendees from across the globe. It integrated ASM?s General Meeting and ICAAC to provide a platform for the complete spectrum of microbiology from basic science to translation and application. The meeting attendees had access to great talks, forums and workshops led by experts from the field. I especially enjoyed attending the President's Forum, where Marilyn J. Roossinck and Herbert W. Virgin IV discussed "Viruses: Vital Members of Polymicrobial Communites." This grand meeting provided ample resources and I enjoyed all of the session that I attended, to name a few: "Friends, Foes and Foils: Defining Microbial Interactions," "Friends, Foes and Frenemies: Phage-Host Dynamics," and "Viruses as Master Manipulators." In addition to attending all the symposia and talks, I met other scientists in the field, received enlightening suggestions on my research project and my future pursuits. I really appreciate the monetary support from the Travel Award for making my wonderful experience possible.

The Eveleigh and Cuskey Travel Awards

The Douglas E. Eveleigh and Stephen M. Cuskey Travel Awards enable graduate students in the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology to present their research at conferences across the country and around the world.