Awards Inaugural Presidential PhD Fellows Announced

May 4, 2021 

President Amy Gutmann, Provost Wendell Pritchett, and Deputy Provost Beth Winkelstein today announced the recipients of the inaugural class of Presidential Ph.D. Fellows. Drawing from the most accomplished and diverse Ph.D. trainees, the 2021 Presidential Ph.D. Fellows come from across the nine schools at Penn that offer Ph.D. programs.

“Our Ph.D. students embody our profound mission of creating new knowledge, understanding, and teaching that will shape the future,” said President Amy Gutmann upon the launch of the President’s Ph.D. Initiative last fall. “They make a tangible impact by tackling the world’s most significant challenges and most perplexing questions. Sustaining their world-changing scholarship will be more important than ever in a post-pandemic world.”

Each Presidential Ph.D. Fellow will receive a three-year fellowship, including summer support and funds to support their research. The Fellowship includes a 12-month stipend, tuition, fees, Penn Student Insurance coverage, and research funds. In 2021-22, the annual stipend will be $38,000 with research funds of $10,000/year. The Fellowship will renew automatically for students in good academic standing.

The inaugural class of 33 Presidential Ph.D. Fellows are:

• Jenea Adams, Perelman School of Medicine
• Helena Addison, School of Nursing
• Estevan Aleman, School of Arts & Sciences
• Mary Andrews, Annenberg School for Communication
• Abdul Manan Bhat, School of Arts & Sciences
• Justin Bracks, School of Arts & Sciences
• Jose Campos, Perelman School of Medicine
• Aisha Chughtai, School of Arts & Sciences and Perelman School of Medicine
• Ashley Cooper, School of Nursing
• Kimberly Edwards, Perelman School of Medicine
• Linnea Gandhi, The Wharton School
• VanJessica Gladney, School of Arts & Sciences
• Shaquilla Harrigan, School of Arts & Sciences
• Antoine Haywood, Annenberg School for Communication
• Christopher Johnny, School of Arts & Sciences
• Nazar Khalid, School of Arts & Sciences
• Jessica Kim, School of Social Policy & Practice
• Maya Lassiter, School of Engineering and Applied Science
• Yeonhwa Lee, Stuart Weitzman School of Design
• Zain Rashid Mian, School of Arts & Sciences
• Seble Negatu, Perelman School of Medicine
• Kimberly Noronha, Stuart Weitzman School of Design
• Marielle Ong, School of Arts & Sciences
• Danielle Perry, School of Arts & Sciences
• Sean Plaskett, Graduate School of Education
• McKenzie Preston, The Wharton School
• Giovani Rocha Batista Santos, School of Arts & Sciences
• Kimberly St Julian Varnon, School of Arts & Sciences
• Rachael Stephens, Graduate School of Education and School of Arts & Sciences
• Tianwei Wu, School of Engineering and Applied Science
• Stephanie Yang, School of Engineering and Applied Science
• Liangcheng Yu, School of Engineering and Applied Science
• Sharon Zanti, School of Social Policy & Practice

Originally published in Penn Today

The Presidential PhD Fellowship is part of the President's PhD Initiative, a 6-year, $30M initiative to support doctoral education at Penn announced in fall 2020. The inaugural group of Fellows in the 2021-22 academic year was selected from PhD students at Penn. Fellows receive a three-year fellowship, including summer support and funds to support their research. Learn more about the President's PhD Initiative.