Two EITS Students Receive Awards

May 6, 2025

Two Environmental and Integrative Toxicological Sciences (EITS) graduate students, Joel Marty and Jacob Reynolds, recently received prestigious awards from their respective departments and colleges.

Joel Marty, training with Dr. Norbert Kaminski, received the Eleanor L. Gilmore Endowed Excellence Award from the Microbiology, Genetics and Immunology Department. The award was established by Eleanor L. Gilmore, class of 1943, to benefit research and scholarships in the Department of Microbiology and Public Health in the College of Natural Science. The intent of this endowed fund is to encourage and support excellence in research by students and faculty. Marty's research investigates the contribution of CD8+ T cells to chronic inflammatory conditions associated with HIV infection, and how these responses can be modulated with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) treatment. The CD8+ T cell population can promote inflammation through interactions with other immune cells, monocytes, and resident cells of the central nervous system, astrocytes. The goal of this research is to improve the understanding of  CD8+ T cells and their interactions with other cells on neuroinflammation associated with chronic HIV infection and THC-mediated suppression of excess inflammation.

Jacob Reynolds, training with Dr. Brian Johnson, received the Outstanding Graduate Student Award from the College of Engineering. This annual award recognizes the most outstanding graduate student from each doctoral program in the college. Reynolds was selected by faculty within his program of Biomedical Engineering and will recieve a $1,000 stipend, certificate and medal to be worn at graduation. Reynolds research focuses on engineering and applying new approach methods to facilitate drug and chemical testing. His thesis work has centered around applying a cellular model of orofacial development to help study disruption of the Sonic Hedgehog signaling pathway in the context of orofacial cleft formation.