Skip to Main
Grad School Commencement 2026 banner

Commencement

Congratulations to our graduates!

The 2026 Commencement exercises celebrate a remarkable class whose determination and brilliance will shape the future of science, healthcare, and innovation.

Date: May 21
Location: Tom and Lula Gooch Auditorium
Time: 7 p.m.
Keynote speaker: Eric Olson, Ph.D.

*Presented in person and virtually

Recognizing 2025-2026 Graduates

  • Biological Chemistry

    Program Director: Glen P. Liszczak, Ph.D.

    Doctor of Philosophy

    • Ryan Loneil Beckner
    • Aubrie Blevins
    • Daniel Aaron Caballero
    • Holly Huizi Guo
    • Cristina Rae Hofman
    • Joshua Jordan Robinson
  • Biomedical Engineering

    Program Director: Ian R. Corbin, Ph.D.

    Doctor of Philosophy

    • Kara Poole Acevedo
    • Esther Oluwadamilola Alao
    • Woo Yong Chang
    • Yan Dai
    • Lixiang Guo
    • Yunxiang Li
    • Austen Matthew Maniscalco
    • Austin Thomas Marckx
    • Roshan Ravishankar
    • Yehui Sun
    • Amogh Atul Vaidya
    • Hui-Ju Wang
    • Maggie Wang
    • Hengrui Zhao
    • Banghao Zhou

    Master of Science

    • Junru Jin
    • Shiqiu Yu
    • Yuchen Zhang
  • Cancer Biology

    Program Director: Rolf A. Brekken, Ph.D.

    Doctor of Philosophy

    • Sarah Catherine Elliott
    • Justin Engel
    • Julisa Gizelle Gonzalez
    • Meng-Hsiung Hsieh
    • Hai Cheng Huang
    • Nicole Lyn McCuen
    • Hari Shankar Sunil

    Master of Science

    • Tina Andoh
  • Cell and Molecular Biology

    Program Director: Angelique W. Whitehurst, Ph.D.

    Doctor of Philosophy

    • Hannes Buck
    • Morgan Elaine Crewe
    • Priscilla Del Valle
    • Harshel C. Patel
    • Sarah Amber Ware

    Master of Science

    • Luis Orlando Cabrera Hernandez
  • Clinical Psychology

    Program Director: Richard C. Robinson, Ph.D.

    Doctor of Philosophy

    • Adriana Cabrales
    • Hudaisa Fatima
    • Briana Katja Horrocks
    • Alyssa Nicole Kaser
    • Julia Rose Livingstone
    • Molly Mary Michaels
    • Emma Darnell-Turner Reutimann
    • Deborah Shear
  • Genetics, Development, and Disease

    Program Director: Ondine B. Cleaver, Ph.D.

    Doctor of Philosophy

    • Mateusz Zbigniew Durbacz
    • Mikayla Rose Eppert
    • Hyung Bum Kim
    • Kartik Neil Kulkarni
    • Collette LaVigne
    • Peter M. Luo
    • Gianna Maggiore
    • Madison Joy Martinez
    • Elizabeth Grace Maurais
    • Emily Rose Nettesheim
    • Chase Arthur Pagani
    • Menaka Sanghvi
    • Jordan McCall Wall
    • Jane Nesbitt Warshaw
    • Yihe Zhang
  • Immunology

    Program Director: Anne B. Satterthwaite, Ph.D.

    Doctor of Philosophy

    • Mridula Annaswamy Srinivas
    • Gabrielle Marie Lessen
    • Joshua Roy Miles
    • Zhen Tang
    • Cong Xing
    • Ziang Zhu
  • Molecular Biophysics

    Program Director: Lukasz A. Joachimiak, Ph.D.

    Doctor of Philosophy

    • Matthew Cameron Amato
    • Lifeng Chen
    • Ilona Kamila Gaszek
    • Jaime Eduardo Guerrero
    • Elisia Ariana Paiz
    • William Michael Trenfield
    • Pawel Mariusz Wydorski

    Master of Science

    • Jerry Cooper Dinan
    • Ashley Vu
  • Molecular Microbiology

    Program Director: Don B. Gammon, Ph.D.

    Doctor of Philosophy

    • Stacey L. Crockett
    • Aaron Jason Embry
    • Mehmet Ali Hoşkan
    • Valerie Joan Rodriguez Irizarry

    Master of Science

    • Elizabeth Murguia
  • Neuroscience

    Program Director: Maria H. Chahrour, Ph.D.

    Doctor of Philosophy

    • Daniela Barbosa
    • Srijani Biswas
    • Andrea Rose Boitnott
    • Meghan Marie Eller
    • Gulhumay Gardashova
    • Caitlin Elizabeth Leedy
    • Haley DeAnne Moore
    • Carlos Giovanni Orozco
    • Harshida Pancholi
    • Lupita Jassmin Rios
    • Shayal Sunita Vashisth
    • Yoheilly E. Velázquez Gonzalez
    • Mahak Virlley
    • Rachael Marie Vollmer
    • Xinke Wen

    Master of Science

    • Alyssa Megan Garner Ross
  • Organic Chemistry

    Program Director: Uttam K. Tambar, Ph.D.

    Doctor of Philosophy

    • Tiffany Ann Brisco
    • Cecilia Catherine Morgenstern
    • Andrew Patrick Morrow
    • Nathan Schmitt

    Master of Science

    • John Parker Frank
    • Kristiana Kasper
    • Vaidehi Deepakkumar Patel

2026 Commencement Stories