11 UB students receive SUNY GREAT awards

Inside the clean room at Davis Hall. Two students look through microscopes while one student looks on. They are wearing protective white lab suits.

Funding will support their work in neuroscience, cancer research, biomedical engineering and other fields

By Grace Gerass

Release Date: March 19, 2025

“These awards provide our students with the opportunity to leverage the funds to enhance their research and professional development. I am proud of the exceptional work being accomplished by our students. ”

Graham Hammill, vice provost for academic affairs and dean of the Graduate School

University at Buffalo

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The State University of New York (SUNY) has presented 11 UB students with Graduate Research Empowering and Accelerating Talent (GREAT) awards.

The SUNY GREAT award provides $7,500 in funding from the SUNY Office of Research and Economic Development that students can use for research expenses, related travel, professional development and stipend augmentation.

“I would like to congratulate our students on this honor and express my gratitude to SUNY for supporting our graduate students’ success,” Graham Hammill, vice provost for academic affairs and dean of the Graduate School, says. “These awards provide our students with the opportunity to leverage the funds to enhance their research and professional development. I am proud of the exceptional work being accomplished by our students.”

The following students received SUNY GREAT awards:

Verenice Ascencio Gutierrez, Department of Psychology. Hometown: Norwalk, California.
Riley Blasiak, Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering. Hometown: Rochester, New York.
Mary D'Angelo, Department of Microbiology and Immunology. Hometown: Agawam, Massachusetts.
David Goich, Department of Microbiology and Immunology
Dayron Leyva Rodriguez, Department of Oral Biology
Ariel Lighty, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. Hometown: Kitsap County, Washington.
Sarah MacDougall, Department of Psychology. Hometown: New York City, New York.
Zahid Manzar, Department of Biomedical Engineering. Hometown: Mountain Top, Pennsylvania.
Leah Maykish, Department of Engineering Education. Hometown: Columbus, Ohio.
Brian Morreale, Cancer Sciences, Roswell Park Cancer Institute Graduate Division
Steven Taddei, Department of Microbiology and Immunology. Hometown: Detroit, Michigan.

Student abstracts can be found on SUNY GREAT’s website.

Recipients of the SUNY GREAT award have been honored by the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Department of Defense. SUNY presented the award to 37 students in total.

UB students are encouraged to work with the Office of Fellowships and Scholarships when applying for nationally competitive scholarships, fellowships and awards.