Students Receive Prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships
Kaila Frazer. Photo by Stephanie Steele.
Two UNH students — integrative biology Ph.D. student Kaila Frazer and bioengineering major Jack Reynolds ’26 — have received prestigious Graduate Research Fellowships (GRFP) from the National Science Foundation. Awarded to students pursuing master’s and doctoral degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, the five-year fellowship includes three years of financial support, with an annual stipend and tuition allowance.
Kaila Frazer
Frazer, from Seattle, Washington, will forecast marine heatwave occurrences in the Gulf of Maine to model their economic impacts on the region. She is studying with assistant professor of biology Easton White.
After completing her Ph.D., Frazer hopes to pursue a faculty position at a teaching-focused institution, where she's particularly interested in teaching environmental modeling techniques from an interdisciplinary, management-oriented perspective.
"I'm grateful to have the time to get to know local farmers, managers, and scientists who have been working on the topics that interest me for decades, and to ground my work in their perspectives," Frazer says.
Jack Reynolds '26
Reynolds, a bioengineering major from Concord, New Hampshire, will use the fellowship to pursue graduate study in neurosciences at the Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences in Jacksonville, Florida.
His proposal centered on neural network development and biomaterials research.
“At UNH, my research has focused on biomaterials and neural cell encapsulation, including a focus on developing microgel and hydrogel systems and optimizing models of myelination,” he says.
Jack Reynolds '26. Photo by Brooks Payette.
Reynolds was mentored in professor Kyung Jae Jeong’s lab, and he gained additional research at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas exploring antibody binding to neurons and its relationship to genetic variation in neuroimmunological disease.
“The fellowship will allow me to pursue ambitious, early-stage ideas in neuroimmunology without the immediate constraints of external funding,” Reynolds says. “It will accelerate my growth as an independent investigator and position me to contribute meaningfully to scientific advancement.”
In addition, three UNH alumni, Ella Caughran ’22 (biology), Jake Gehrung ’20 (environmental science, currently at the University of Strathclyde in Scotland on a Fulbright), and Holly Hoag ’21 (zoology, currently at University of Massachusetts – Lowell), also received GRFPs. Four UNH students received honorable mentions: graduate students Alanna Nenadich-Alvarez (Earth sciences), Margaret Krein (natural resources), Torin Scalora (natural resources), and undergraduate Jack Sullivan ’26 (chemical engineering).