Undergraduate Biology announces Fall 2022 Scholarship Winners

Congratulations to the University of Kansas students who received scholarships from Undergraduate Biology in Fall of 2022.

Makenna Orton is a junior who is studying Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and minoring in French. She is in Tunisia along with other members of the Erell Institute researching the ecology of the desert monitor and other lizards of the region. In her free time, she enjoys rock climbing and listening to true crime podcasts.  

Makenna was awarded the Ida H. Hyde Scholarship for Women and received $3000 for her research trip to Tunisia in Spring of 2023.

The Ida H. Hyde Research Scholarship fund provides an annual award to an (upper-class or graduate) woman student in biology to provide an opportunity “…to study in the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, or any other marine laboratory, or any biological, chemical, or physical research laboratory, offering environment and advantages different from those found in the University of Kansas….”

Johnny Dinh-Phan is a senior double majoring with a B.S. in Biochemistry and a B.F.A. in Dance. He is also minoring in French and is pursuing a career in medicine. He has spent the past three summers under the mentorship of Dr. Sharma at the Kidney Institute of the KU Medical Center. Where he has done research on Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) to assess the effects of potential treatments as well as researching the underlying pathobiology of the disease. In his free time, Johnny choreographs musicals, plays tennis, and drinks plenty of coffee.

Johnny received $1000 from the Erma Reed Peterson Scholarship for Pre-medicine Seniors for his outstanding academic record and work in undergraduate research.

Established through the generosity of the Peterson Family, the Erma Reed Peterson Scholarship for Pre-medicine Seniors provides partial tuition for a pre-medicine student for the final semester of study at KU. The scholarship gives preference to a Genetics major from either Saline or McPherson County, Kansas.

The Undergraduate Biology department is able to offer these awards and scholarships due to the donations from alumni and friends, made through KU Endowment Association.