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Graduate Student Awards
FACULTY AWARD WINNERS
Outstanding Teaching Award
The Outstanding Teaching Award honors faculty who demonstrate their commitment to teaching and ability to deliver an excellent undergraduate learning experience.
Lynn Atkins, M.S., CAGS
Much like the clay students mold in her Human Anatomy course, Lynn Atkins aims to make a lasting impression on the minds of her students.
“A year after my course is over, what will the students remember? What do I want them to remember? I try to build my courses with the lasting message or skill in mind,” Atkins said.
The instructor for the School of Biology and Ecology has established a record of success in teaching advanced anatomy, physiology, and biology to undergraduate students. She also mentors a full roster of advisees and coaches students through their capstone projects and theses for the Honors College.
Students attested in letters of support for her nomination that her enthusiasm for teaching is unsurpassed. Her scores from anonymous course evaluations are also consistently high, regardless of class size and whether the course is designed for students enrolled in a related major or general education.
A lifelong student herself, Atkins continually seeks to deepen her knowledge base, both in her course subjects and the science and art of teaching. Over the past 18 years she has completed 27 courses—the equivalent of the coursework required for a doctoral degree—in her pursuit of developing engaging, memorable life science courses for her students. Atkins goes on to share her thoughtfully-curated expertise with teaching assistants and faculty. She offers regular seminars through the School of Biology and Ecology.
Atkins is the Faculty Advisor for Partners for World Health and serves the School of Biology and Ecology as Assessment Coordinator, and the University of Maine as a member of the Remote Laboratory Teaching Task Force and Health Professions Committee. She previously served on her school’s peer, curriculum, and website and public relations committees, as well as on UMaine’s Faculty Senate, a laboratory teaching space committee, and initiatives that aimed to improve first-year student success.
Through all these activities, it seems what drives Atkins most is her desire to help students cultivate their personal and intellectual growth.
As one undergraduate student, Amber Benway, recalled, “I always would think about Professor Atkins’ words of wisdom, ‘Learning isn’t about cramming as much information in the shortest window, it’s about finding connections, being able to take a deeper look into the materials. But you have to put yourself first, you are the priority, not the grades.’” n
GRADUATE STUDENT AWARD WINNERS
Edith M. Patch Outstanding Ph.D. Student Award
The Edith M. Patch Outstanding Ph.D. Award recognizes a Ph.D. student with a distinguished record in areas that Dr. Edith M. Patch, a pioneering entomologist, excelled in during her long and important career at UMaine.
Outstanding Service Award
The Outstanding Service Award recognizes a graduate student who has been exceptionally successful in fulfilling UMaine’s service mission to the university, stakeholders, and their field of research.
Michael Wilczek
Michael Wilczek came to the University of Maine to investigate how viruses infect our cells and cause disease.
With the guidance of his advisor, Melissa Maginnis, associate professor of microbiology, Wilczek works to characterize how JC polyomavirus, which is harmless to most of its human hosts, can cause an incurable, fatal brain disease. His research, which marks a new focus of study at UMaine, uncovered the virus’ ability to hijack numerous pathways and influence many of the hosts’ genes in a specific type of brain cell, targeted by the virus, to eventually produce viral progeny. His findings may ultimately help develop treatments to help prevent or treat infections in immunocompromised patients.
Wilczek first-authored a manuscript that was published in a seminal journal in his field, the Journal of Virology, which has also featured his graphic art on its cover. He has three additional papers in preparation, and has presented his research at ten conferences, and authored more than 35 abstracts. He won Best Presentation by a Graduate Student in Biomedical Sciences at the 2018 UMaine Student Research Symposium.
When the COVID-19 pandemic upended life at UMaine, Wilczek stepped in to support Maine’s response, testing for SARS-CoV-2 in samples taken from hospital environments and evaluating a novel liquid surface designed to enhance the efficacy of facemasks.
Wilczek is also notable for his efforts to mentor burgeoning scientists. As Grant’s Officer for Graduate Student Government, Wilczek was responsible for coaching UMaine’s graduate students as they applied for grants. He organized and led more than 20 review sessions and provided personalized feedback on more than 200 grant applications.
He taught the experiential undergraduate course Genome Discovery: From Dirt to DNA for five years, and spearheaded the development of a Phage Enrichment Peer Mentoring Program to help students navigate this rigorous class. Many of his undergraduate student mentees have won awards at UMaine Student Research Symposiums, a testament to his efficacy as a research mentor. In addition to his on-campus activities, Wilczek volunteers as a judge at middle school and high school science fairs.
After he graduates with a Ph.D. in Microbiology, Wilczek plans to find a position that will let him help expand Maine’s biotechnology sector. n
GRADUATE STUDENT AWARD WINNERS
The Doctoral Student Graduate Research Excellence Award recognizes a student who has an exemplary record of research and scholarly activity.
Isaac Shepard
Isaac Shepard came to the University of Maine to transform how scientists think about ecological principles in the context of climate change.
With the guidance of his advisor Hamish Greig, associate professor of stream ecology, Shepard explores the idea that interactions among species are relatively more important for determining habitat limitations at the fringes of their geographic range—a first in aquatic ecosystems. If proven true, future models designed to predict where species are headed in response to climate change will need to account not only for their interactions with their environments, but also other species.
Shepard’s novel hypothesis was published in the leading journal Global Change Biology. He has been first- or co-author on two additional papers —one in the seminal journal Ecology Letters—and has four more in development. He has also served as an expert reviewer for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
After he graduates with a Ph.D. in Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Shepard plans to continue to push our understanding of the dynamics between life and the landscapes it inhabits. n
The Master’s Student Graduate Research Excellence Award recognizes a student who has an exemplary record of research and scholarly activity.
Melissa Macphee
Melissa Macphee aims to understand why mental health services are underutilized by law enforcement and how they can be better delivered which, in turn, will help first responders better serve vulnerable populations and communities.
The Marine Corps Veteran’s mixed-method investigation of mental health issues and the needs of law enforcement officers was so rigorous that Macphee’s research mentor, Elizabeth Depoy, professor of social work, encouraged her to submit it for publication—rare among social work researchers before receiving a doctorate, let alone a master’s degree. Her manuscript is currently under review in the seminal Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology.
Macphee managed this research amid the demands of maintaining a 4.0 and the 900 hours of field experience required by her program. She was so impactful during her field placement with the Veteran’s Affairs Caregivers Program that she was invited to present at the National Caregivers Month Colloquium.
After she graduates with a Master’s of Social Work, Macphee plans to pursue a doctorate that focuses on mental health services and a clinical social service provision. n
GRADUATE STUDENT AWARD WINNERS
Norris Charles Clements Graduate Student Award
The Norris Charles Clements Graduate Student Award was established to recognize an outstanding graduate student in agricultural sciences, whose research has the potential to significantly shape the future of Maine agriculture.
Tongling Ge
Tongling Ge came to the University of Maine to unravel the origins and explore potential control methods of potato blackleg and soft rot. The pathogen behind the diseases, Dickeya dianthicola, has caused catastrophic potato crop failures—resulting in multimillion dollar losses for Maine’s most valuable vegetable industry.
With the guidance of her advisor, Jianjun Hao, associate professor of plant pathology in the School of Food and Agriculture and School of Biology and Ecology, Ge has mentored students, led field trials, and assumed responsibility for processing samples to help Maine’s potato farmers monitor for disease.
Ge’s forthcoming papers in the journals Plant Disease and Microorganisms represent breakthroughs in understanding of where and how the outbreaks of blackleg and soft rot may have originated.
After she graduates with a Ph.D. in Ecology and Environmental Sciences this May, Ge plans to return to China to pursue a career as a plant pathologist. n
Fred Griffee Memorial Award
The Fred Griffee Memorial Award recognizes an outstanding graduate student associated with the Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station. Candidates are evaluated by their research ability, character, and scholarship.
Allison Brehm
Allison Brehm aims to unravel the mysteries behind why animals do what they do, and how that behavior influences their environment.
With the guidance of her advisor Alessio Mortelliti, associate professor of wildlife habitat ecology, Brehm studies the consequences of behavioral variation, or personality, in small mammals. Her research is rapidly advancing her field’s ability to make predictions about the natural world.
Brehm has first- or coauthored six papers in top-ranking ecology and animal behavior journals including Ecology Letters and Proceedings of the Royal Society B. She has four additional papers under revision, and two more in development.
Brehm has presented at national and international conferences on eight occasions, and received an additional six awards. She has also served as a reviewer for five international peer-reviewed journals and mentored more than 40 undergraduate students.
After she graduates with a Ph.D. in Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Brehm plans to pursue a postdoctoral position that lets her continue to indulge her curiosity about the minds of animals and share that interest with students. n
