Pictured: Jacob Dohl, second-year PhD student.
Jacob Dohl received a prestigious Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) award from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Dohl is a second-year PhD student in Dr. M. Christina Kenney’s lab. He is currently studying the interplay between mitochondrial function and age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of vision loss among the elderly in the United States.
Dohl is currently working to validate the Kenney’s lab cytoplasmic hybrid model as an accurate in vitro model of in vivo age-related macular degeneration metabolic hallmarks. In the future, Dohl hopes to investigate mitochondrial retrograde signaling, uncovering the ways in which the mitochondria influence nuclear gene expression.
The NSF GRFP recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported STEM disciplines who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees at accredited US institutions. The five-year fellowship includes three years of financial support including an annual stipend of $34,000 and a cost of education allowance of $12,000 to the institution.