Carolina Franco and Esau Medina, students in the UC Irvine School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences’ PhD in Pharmacological Sciences program, have been selected as 2023-2024 Henry Wood Elliott Graduate Student Award recipients!
The Henry Wood Elliott Graduate Student Award recognizes excellence in research among graduate students who work with faculty members in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Franco and Medina were nominated by Dr. Lauren Albrecht and Dr. John Chaput, respectively, and are both the first people in their families to pursue PhD degrees.
Franco, a native of Brazil, earned her bachelor’s degree in biotechnology from Penn State. As a researcher in the Albrecht Lab, she works to develop a novel proximity labeling tool to track protein arginine methylation and catalog proteins that are methylated at arginine residues for degradation in lysosomes, allowing for a greater understanding of how different cellular contexts modulate and shape the cellular proteome in health and disease. She previously worked at Seagen, on a team that conducted tests of the FDA-approved drug, PADCEV. Upon graduation, she plans to enter the biotechnology industry, as well as serve as a mentor to international students, women, and underrepresented minorities.
“Being chosen for this award is a tremendous honor, especially considering the past awardees. It inspires me to continue working hard, and I am honored to know that my contributions to the department, and to science, are recognized,” she shared. “My experience in the PhD program has been incredibly rewarding. I have learned so much from my mentor and colleagues, formed lifelong friendships, and grown significantly as a scientist.”
Born and raised in Orange County, Medina transferred to UCI from Fullerton College. He participated in the National Institutes of Health’s Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (NIH-IMSD) as an undergraduate student before entering the PhD program and joining the Chaput Lab, where his research centers on the development of AI-predicted therapeutic aptamers, using XNA to produce antibody mimics, and re-engineering DNA polymerases via directed evolution techniques. In April, Medina was honored with a Graduate Student Excellence Award from the Latino Excellence and Achievement Awards Dinner (LEAD).
“I am very grateful for this award, and I’m glad that the UCI School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences community acknowledges the work done by myself and my coworkers in the Chaput Lab,” he said of his reception of the Henry Wood Elliott Graduate Student Award. “This award serves as a reminder of the contributions our lab has made to the fields of synthetic genetics and synthetic biology.”
Franco and Medina were presented with their awards on June 7th. In addition to recognizing their achievements, the award also provided both students with scholarships.
