2025-2026 Dissertation Fellowship Awardees
The Graduate and Professional School offered 10 fellowships for the fall and spring semester. Awardees are listed below:
Round One
Mohamed Ali is a doctoral candidate in the Zachry Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in the College of Engineering. His research focuses on developing new and efficient anchoring systems to support Floating Offshore Wind Turbines (FOWTs), which are an important source of clean energy in deep ocean waters. His work aims to improve how anchors are designed and installed, making them stronger, more cost-effective, and better for the environment. Ali’s dissertation introduces an unconventional type of anchor system called the Deeply Embedded Ring Anchor (DERA), which can be used with multiple mooring lines and causes less disturbance to the ocean floor. His research is aimed at helping engineers and energy companies build better offshore wind farms while protecting the marine environment. It also supports global efforts to expand clean energy, fight climate change, and create a more sustainable future.
Prapanna Bhattarai is a doctoral candidate in the Department Pharmaceutical Sciences in the Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy. His research aims to tackle the major issues of anticancer therapies: non-specific toxicity, multi-drug resistance, and poor tumor penetrability by using novel targeted nanoparticle systems. The strategy involves synthesis of novel nanomaterials capable of delivering drugs to the tumor cells as well as its supporting cells in the tumor microenvironment. Through several in-vitro and in vivo studies, Bhattarai’s dissertation will explore the possibilities of selectively targeting tumor and tumor-associated macrophages. The dissertation will demonstrate the drug delivery systems’ ability to utilize both anticancer (Doxorubicin) and non-anticancer (Maraviroc, Vicriviroc) drugs’ in controlling tumor growth and progression. Bhattarai hopes to overcome the shortcomings of anticancer drugs as well as add additional molecules in the fight against cancer through his smart nanoparticle systems.
Zehao Chen is a doctoral candidate in the interdisciplinary Water Management and Hydrological Science program in the College of Arts and Sciences. Her research focuses on aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES), a promising subsurface geothermal technology designed for seasonal energy storage that supports the decarbonization of building heating and cooling systems. By integrating analytical solutions, numerical simulations, and field data analysis, Chen investigates the thermal performance and recovery efficiency of ATES systems, particularly under challenging conditions such as ambient groundwater flow, well clogging, and unbalanced thermal injection. Her work aims to improve the operational resilience and long-term sustainability of ATES in regions with asymmetric seasonal energy demands. Chen’s findings advance energy-efficient, low-carbon thermal storage strategies and provide critical insights for the practical implementation of ATES in real-world geologic environments.
Li Deng is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning in the College of Architecture. Her research focuses on employing innovative, interdisciplinary approaches to address environmental and societal challenges, with the goal of fostering sustainable, resilient, and healthy communities. Her dissertation examines how the design and planning of university campus environments can enhance campus life experiences and promote physical, mental, and behavioral health among college students. Her work will contribute valuable evidence for designing environments that support student well-being, complement existing healthcare services in the short term, and improve environmental health while reducing economic and social burdens in the long term.
Samantha Higgins is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology within the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Her research investigates the biological response to voluntary alcohol consumption in genetically diverse male mice and the resulting effects on their offspring. This work expands the understanding of how a father’s environment prior to conception can influence the next generation, furthering the discovery of mechanisms underlying paternal, epigenetically induced Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASDs). Her dissertation research uses a novel mouse model known as the Simplified Diversity Outcross (SDO) strain, developed at Texas A&M University by the Threadgill Laboratory. The SDO model offers a more translatable approach to studying the paternal contributions to FASDs. Her research highlights the importance of incorporating genetic diversity in biomedical studies and expanding public health messaging about FASDs to acknowledge paternal influences.
Maureen Kelly is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Veterinary Pathobiology in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Her research aims to investigate the epidemiology and biology of zoonotic canine vector-borne parasites through the development of novel molecular diagnostic assays. Kelly's dissertation will also utilize active surveillance methodology to fill existing knowledge gaps including assessing risk factors that could be associated with infection. Her doctoral research aims to contribute to the knowledge of the biology and epidemiology of these rapidly emerging, zoonotic parasites and hopes to advance the field of veterinary medicine and public health by providing novel diagnostic methods. Her overall goal is that her research will inform veterinary, medical, and public health communities, and enable the implementation of disease control and prevention strategies through a One Health approach.
Zhihai Lin is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the College of Engineering. His research aims on the development of photonic integrated circuits, with a focus on integrating material that possess novel functionalities, particularly for applications in sensing and optical communication. His dissertation will present a comprehensive methodology that covers material synthesis and device fabrication, as well as an in-depth analysis that bridges theoretical modeling and experimental validation. By enhancing photonic circuits with advanced functionalities, his work seeks to drive the development of next-generation photonic devices, such as high-sensitivity, low-cost sensors for chemical monitoring and point-of-care diagnostics, with the goal of improving public health and quality of life.
Zahra Mohebbi is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Food Science and Technology in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Her research focuses on improving food safety by examining how Listeria monocytogenes interacts with the surfaces of avocado rinds and packaging materials. Through her work, Mohebbi aims to better understand how this pathogen attaches, spreads and forms biofilms during produce handling and storage. Her dissertation uses advanced microscopy and experimental methods to analyze bacterial behavior. The outcomes of her research will support the development of safer food packaging and handling practices, with the goal of reducing foodborne illness and protecting public health. Mohebbi’s academic background has provided her with a strong foundation to investigate critical food safety challenges and contribute valuable insights to both scientific and industry communities.
Ana-Luisa Ortiz-Martinez is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Communication and Journalism in the College of Arts and Sciences. Her dissertation, When the Border Crossed Them: Jovita González’ Rhetorical Legacies of the Border, 1898–1943, is an archival study that examines the rhetorical contributions of Jovita González in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands. González was one of the first Mexican American women in Texas to document the border from both academic and creative perspectives. Ortiz-Martinez’s research focuses on immigration, border rhetoric and identity formation through a decolonial lens. Her work contributes to Latino/a/x studies and rhetorical theory by highlighting the lived experiences and cultural narratives of the borderlands. Through González’s legacy, she explores how environments, bodies, lands and communities are transformed by borders and shifting nation-states. This research offers a powerful and often overlooked narrative of transnational feminist survival, resistance and advocacy. By recovering and contextualizing González’s work, Ortiz-Martinez provides insight into the complex identity and power negotiations in the Rio Grande Valley a century ago, dynamics that continue to shape the region and broader discourses today.
Jenna Turpin is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Her research investigates how environmental stressors affect the behavior and physiological responses of birds. By focusing on both wild and captive populations, Turpin’s dissertation bridges ecological and animal welfare concerns to address pressing questions in urban ecology, conservation, and applied wildlife science. By identifying thresholds of environmental tolerance this work supports efforts to build biodiverse communities. Turpin ultimately aims to guide conservation practices that are both scientifically grounded and ethically mindful, ensuring that environmental decisions benefit the ecosystems we depend on and the species with whom we share our environments.