by Bill Snyder
Katherine Rothamel, a PhD student in the Department of Biochemistry at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, has been selected as the 2017 Vanderbilt Prize Student Scholar.
She will be mentored by Lynne Maquat, PhD, an internationally known scientist at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry who received the 2017 Vanderbilt Prize in Biomedical Science.
Rothamel will be recognized during Maquat’s Flexner Discovery Lecture on Nov. 29.
Established in 2006, the Vanderbilt Prize honors women scientists with a “stellar record” of research accomplishments who have made significant contributions to mentoring other women in science. Recipients mentor female graduate students — Vanderbilt Prize Student Scholars — who are pursuing their doctorates in the biomedical sciences in the School of Medicine.
Rothamel received her Bachelor of Science degree in Neuroscience from Brown University in 2010 and was a research assistant at Harvard Medical School before entering the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program at Vanderbilt in 2014.
She was nominated by her graduate studies mentor, Manuel Ascano, PhD, assistant professor of Biochemistry, who described her as “an exceptional graduate student with the talent and potential to become an outstanding young scientist.”
Rothamel has published 13 peer-reviewed articles in major journals including Science, Cell, Nature Communications, and Nature Immunology.
To be eligible for the Vanderbilt Prize Student Scholar, candidates must be enrolled in the medical school’s PhD track (includes PhD and MD/PhD trainees), have completed the qualifying exam and have at least one year left to complete the PhD degree.
Nominations are accepted from department chairs or program directors in the biomedical sciences, as well as from directors of graduate studies and faculty mentors.
Competitive nominees demonstrate excellent leadership qualities through their research and service to the scientific community as well as characteristics that exhibit outstanding potential to impact medicine through research during their careers.
For more information on the Vanderbilt Prize Student Scholar, visit https://www.vumc.org/oor/vanderbilt-prize-student-scholar.
