The University Undergraduate Research Fellowship provides funding and support to a select group of Krieger School undergraduates, identified in their first year, who carry out an independent research project over a period of three years. The program enables students to pursue unique research opportunities that exceed what is typically available to undergraduates. This fellowship was renamed in 2024, from the Woodrow Wilson Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program.
Fellowship details
Each fellow receives up to $12,000 of funding over three years to be spent on research costs, which may include travel, equipment, and use of archives or laboratories. Fellows focus on their undergraduate fields of specialization to pursue one or more intensive research projects, crafted in conjunction with URSCA staff and the fellow’s faculty mentor. Fellows are expected to dedicate at least two full summers to their research projects.
Eligibility
All KSAS first-year students are invited to apply to the University Undergraduate Research Fellowship. Approximately 10 fellows will be chosen each year.
Strong candidates for this award will demonstrate an active interest in conducting their own research. The selection of University Fellows is based on academic merit and the strength of the applicant’s proposal for an independent project or projects. Awards are given out across all majors, and projects range from lab investigations to film productions, creative writing to exhibition curation. Interdisciplinary work is highly valued, but projects should also tie into a student’s major(s) so that they are well trained to pursue the project.
All fellows must remain KSAS majors throughout their participation in the program because the program is funded by generous donations to the Krieger School. However, fellows are encouraged to conduct interdisciplinary research within other divisions at Johns Hopkins, and mentors do not need to be KSAS faculty members. See the list below of current fellows and their research topics for more ideas.
Application process
Click the button below and submit a pre-application by December 21, 2025, and a final application by January 25, 2026. Click here for detailed application instructions.
Current University Fellows’ Projects
- Spirit Possession or Depression? Black Immigrants’ Alternative Mental Health Healing Strategies: An Ethnographic Case Study
Rachel Baffoe-Bonnie ’26: Medicine, Science, and the Humanities - Examining barriers for curative treatment in adults with Sickle Cell Disease at Johns Hopkins Sickle Cell clinic
Julius Coker ’26, Molecular and Cellular Biology and Public Health Studies - Retinoic Acid Insufficiency on Cardiac Function
Muadh Elyamani ’26, Biophysics - U.S. Foreign Policy Shifts Post-Yugoslav Wars
Arusa Malik ’26, International Studies and Political Science - Identifying MIF Nuclease and Aging Relationship
Ramazan Solak ’26, Biophysics - Investigating a Bidirectional Relationship between Sleep and Frontotemporal Dementia in Drosophila
Miguel Velasco ’26, Neuroscience - The molecular and cellular impact of relapse, a key determinant of poor prognosis of schizophrenia and psychotic disorders
Sophia Wu ’26, Neuroscience - Expression of Tau Mutations in Drosophila
Brandon Yoo ’26, Neuroscience and Public Health Studies - Auditory and Cognitive Function in Mouse Models of Alzheimer’s Disease Across Lifespan
Suhani Aggarwal ’27, Neuroscience - Harmony in Diplomacy: The Effect of Western Musical Engagement on East Asian Soft Power Diplomacy
Henry Hung ’27, International Studies and Viola Performance - Identifying Neural Populations Involved in Opioid Addiction Via the Novel Optogenetic Technique iTango and Increasing Accessibility to Addiction Research
Veronica Jung ’27, Neuroscience and English - The Role of Mrgpra Receptors in Bacterial Meninigitis
Henry Le Chang ’27, Neuroscience - Navigating Medical Systems in Complex Humanitarian Crises: Justifications and Impacts of the Extent of Foreign Medical Team Integration with Local Medical Systems in Syria (2011-) and Gaza (2023-)
Eli Lesher ’27, Biophysics and Critical Diaspora Studies - Analyzing the Role of Eye Movements in Ataxia Diagnoses
Emin Soguktas ’27, Neuroscience and Public Health Studies - Investigating the Mechanism Behind the Failure of Nerve Regeneration Following the Ablation of Monocarboxylate Transporters in Schwann Cells
Mamadou Thiam ’27, Molecular and Cellular Biology and Neuroscience - What is the Current Scope of Partnerships Between Community-Based Doulas and Healthcare Systems to Promote Maternal Health Equity for Black Women and Birthing People?
Omotara Tiamiyu ’27, Molecular and Cellular Biology and Public Health Studies - Referrals to Appointment Process for sickle cell disease patients at a SCD center
Naga Veeramallu ’27, Biophysics and Anthropology - Mechanisms of Irisin-Induced Cognitive Benefit in Parkinson’s Disease
Imad Ahmed ’28, Public Health Studies - Liquid biopsy analyses to characterize and monitor small-cell lung cancer during therapy by cell-free DNA next-generation sequencing
William Bowers ’28, Molecular and Cellular Biology - Testing the Principles of Wilkommenskultur and Leitkultur: The Reception of Ukrainian Refugees in Germany Since 2022
Romy Detering ’28, International Studies and German - MAP4K4 Inhibition as a Promising Treatment for Chemo-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy: Effects of MAP4K4 Inhibition on Paclitaxel Antineoplastic Capabilities
Angelina Dong ’28, Neuroscience and Medicine, Science, and the Humanities - Determining how MEIS2 regulates cell fates in human retinal organoids
Alessia Iannuzzi ’28, Molecular and Cellular Biology - Policy Insights from Navigating Opioid Settlement Funds
Shreya Kesarwani ’28, Public Health Studies - Uncovering the genetic mechanisms underlying poor sleep in neurodegenerative diseases using a forward genetic screen in Drosophila
Gio Kim ’28, Medicine, Science, and the Humanities - US Influence on South Korean Gender Policy From 1945-1987
Olivia Lowry ’28, International Studies - The Role of the Gut Mycobiome in Mediating the Impact of Non-nutritive Sweeteners on Metabolic Health
Weili Lu ’28, Biophysics - Comparing different Patient Centered Outcomes related to Visual Performance with Imaging
Sean Park ’28, Molecular and Cellular Biology