Putnam Research Fellowship

2025 Putnam Fellow: Dimagi Dias

Dimagi is a third-year Ph.D. candidate in the Choi lab, where she studies how viral and host proteins interact with structured RNA elements to control enterovirus replication. Beyond the lab, she has taught undergraduate students in the Microbiology Laboratory course.

2025 Putnam Fellow: Sannoong Hu

Sannoong is a fifth-year graduate student in the Danthi Lab. The main focus of his research is virus-host interactions. Specifically, he studies factors that are required for programmed cell death in response to virus infection. Outside of research, he is passionate about teaching and outreach and volunteers at local middle and high school outreach events and also teaches a summer course on virology for middle/high school students.

2025 Putnam Fellow: Averi McFarland

Averi is a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate in the Winkler lab. Her research is focused on the coordination of peptidoglycan synthesis and precursor metabolism in the major upper respiratory pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae. Alongside her research, she has taught IFLE undergraduate students in a laboratory setting as well as several semesters of Molecular Microbiology. Averi hopes to continue teaching students in a laboratory setting beyond her Ph.D. program.

2024 Putnam Fellow: Alyssa Zaye Lara

Alyssa is a third-year graduate student in the Newton lab. She studies the molecular basis of how the endosymbiotic bacterium Wolbachia blocks the replication of mosquito-borne viruses.

2024 Putnam Fellow: Averi McFarland

Averi is a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate in the Winkler lab. Her research is focused on the coordination of peptidoglycan synthesis and precursor metabolism in the major upper respiratory pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae. Alongside her research, she has taught IFLE undergraduate students in a laboratory setting as well as several semesters of Molecular Microbiology.