April 15, 2025

We're excited to announce that three Drexel students and recent alumni and one staff member received the prestigious NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, and five received Honorable Mentions. The National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and STEM education fields. GRFP provides up to three years of support for individuals with potential for significant achievements in science and engineering research.

We're very proud of Drexel's honorees, who have demonstrated exemplary commitment to their research. We also extend our thanks to the 37 faculty members who helped Drexel’s GRFP candidates strengthen their applications by contributing feedback during the campus anonymous review process this year, as well as to the many faculty who supported candidates through mentorship and letters of support. Special thanks go to Drs. Sean O'Donnell, Rick McCourt, Bakhtier Farouk, and Shelby Rinehart, who offered insight at our GRFP Reviewer Q&A in the fall.

Yoongyeong Baek
PhD student in chemistry
NSF GRFP Honorable Mention

Yoongyeong Baek is a PhD student in the Chemistry program at Drexel University, where she conducts research in Prof. Myungwoon Lee's lab. Her work focuses on the structural polymorphism of a-synuclein fibrils and their interactions with lipid membranes, aiming to better understand the molecular basis of synucleinopathies such as Parkinson's disease. She earned her BS in Chemistry with a minor in Biological Sciences in 2023 and is now continuing her academic journey at Drexel. 

Sneha Boda
BS psychology '23, Honors
NSF GRFP Honorable Mention

Sneha Boda is a Drexel University alumna who graduated in Spring 2023 with a Bachelor's degree in Psychology. Sneha had been involved in the Pennoni Honors College through the Honors Program. She currently serves as a project coordinator at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the CIRCLE Lab, led by Dr. Margaret Sheridan. Sneha aims to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology, with a research focus on improving mental health access in underrepresented communities through school- and community-based settings. 

Tiara Bounyarith
PhD student in clinical psychology
NSF Graduate Research Fellow

Tiara Bounyarith is a full-time Research Coordinator in the Dynamic Brain and Mind Lab (led by Dr. Aaron Kucyi) in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences. She currently leads an NIMH-funded project that aims to investigate the neural bases of spontaneous thought using a novel real-time fMRI-triggered experience sampling paradigm. Her research interests include using fMRI to study the brain dynamics underlying ongoing maladaptive self-generated thinking, a hallmark of numerous internalizing mental disorders. Before working at Drexel, Tiara received her BA in Psychology with a minor in Cognitive Neuroscience from Temple University in 2023. She will begin her PhD in Clinical Psychology and Applied Cognitive Brain Sciences at Drexel in the Fall of 2025.

Hunter Cheng
psychology '25
NSF Graduate Research Fellow

Hunter Cheng (he/they) is a fourth-year student pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, with a minor in Criminal Justice. After graduation, he hopes to enter a PhD program in Social Psychology to study intergroup relations and identity formation. Hunter began working at the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute during his first co-op and has since been working with Dr. Ashley de Marchena to study nonverbal communication and gender diversity in autistic adults. In the past, he worked with Dr. Nancy Raitano Lee to study Down syndrome and mind-mindedness; he has also volunteered with Dr. Naomi Goldstein's expungement clinic evaluation study and Dr. Jordan Hyatt's Scandinavian Prison Project.

Outside of research, Hunter has been working at the Drexel Climbing Wall since they started at Drexel; as such, in their spare time they enjoy rock climbing, in addition to playing indie video games, learning queer theory, and trying to be funny in their academic biography.

Owen Goodchild
BS geoscience '23
NSF GRFP Honorable Mention

Owen Goodchild earned his BS in Geoscience at Drexel University in December 2023. Goodchild's undergraduate experience took full advantage of Drexel’s affiliation with the Academy of Natural Sciences, beginning with his attendance of Drexel’s Environmental Leadership Academy summer course as a high school student. As an undergraduate Goodchild completed at least part of all three co-op experiences working for both the vertebrate and invertebrate paleontology departments at the Academy of Natural Sciences. Goodchild gained firsthand experience in museum collection management, public outreach, and research during his co-ops. Goodchild's research experiences at the Academy resulted in authorship on three papers, including one first author publication. Additionally, the Drexel/Academy partnership empowered Goodchild to pursue external opportunities such as an NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) in New York at his eventual graduate institution and the Koobi Fora Research and Training Program in Kenya. Goodchild won best undergraduate oral presentation at Drexel’s 2023 College of Arts and Sciences Research Day presenting his research from his REU. In recognition of his undergraduate research at Drexel and elsewhere, Owen was accorded the Marion Espenschade Outstanding Achievement Award. Owen continues his career at the distinctive intersection of science and society provided by natural history museums as he pursues his PhD in comparative biology at the American Museum of Natural History’s Richard Gilder Graduate School.

Sky Harper
BS chemistry '24, Honors
NSF Graduate Research Fellow

Sky Harper is a first-generation student, who graduated with his BS in chemistry (biochemistry concentration) and a biology and interdisciplinary problem-solving minor in 2024 (with honors with distinction from the PHC). After graduating from Drexel, he participated in the Mayo Clinic post-baccalaureate research and enrichment program and will be pursuing graduate studies Fall 2025.

During his time at Drexel, he founded Drexel Indigenous Students of the Americas (the first Native American-serving group on campus), was an avid DEI advocate, and conducted research in multiple labs on and off campus. His goal is to use research to minimize health disparities in low-resource communities and improve Indigenous health through biomedical science. He is the current National Student Representative and a Sequoyah member of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES), an American Indian College Fund Student Ambassador, a Cobell, Barry Goldwater, Udall Foundation, and Harry S. Truman Scholar, and NSF Graduate Research Fellow.

He is the eldest of six boys and comes from the Navajo Nation, near Chinle, AZ. He wants to show his five younger brothers that it is possible to succeed in whatever field you pursue. He would like to thank his mom and dad for their support and encouragement and for always being invested in his and his brother's education.

Sky has been involved in the Pennoni Honors College through the Honors Program, STAR Scholars, Aspire Scholars, Supernova Undergraduate Research Fellows, and fellowships advising. He also wants to say that the staff in the Pennoni Honors College along with Ms. Marisol Rodriguez-Mergenthal (with LSAMP) are what made his Drexel experience awesome.

Lotus Shareef-Trudeau
PhD student in clinical psychology
NSF Graduate Research Fellow

Lotus Shareef-Trudeau is a first-year student in Drexel's hybrid Clinical Psychology PhD and Applied Cognitive and Brain Sciences track. She is co-mentored by Dr. Aaron Kucyi and Dr. Kirk Heilbrun. Her research interests include investigating the influence of carceral contexts on individual differences on a neural level, with an emphasis on how internal thoughts arise in the brain and their subsequent influence on mental health and behavior. She is currently leading a project examining electroencephalographic (EEG) ability to measure anticorrelated activity between the default mode and dorsal attention networks using a simultaneous EEG-fMRI design.

*​This announcement does not include students who declined publicity.

The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master's and doctoral degrees at accredited United States institutions.

As the oldest graduate fellowship of its kind, the GRFP has a long history of selecting recipients who achieve high levels of success in their future academic and professional careers. Fellows share in the prestige and opportunities that become available when they are selected. Fellows benefit from a three-year annual stipend along with a cost of education allowance for tuition and fees, opportunities for international research and professional development, and the freedom to conduct their own research at any accredited U.S. institution of graduate education they choose.

NSF Fellows are anticipated to become knowledge experts who can contribute significantly to research, teaching, and innovations in science and engineering. These individuals are crucial to maintaining and advancing the nation's technological infrastructure and national security as well as contributing to the economic well-being of society at large.

For more information about the NSF GRFP, visit nsfgrfp.org. To learn more about applying for this award through Drexel, please email fellowships@drexel.edu.