Congratulations to 2021 Hagadorn Award recipient Ralph Alberto and runner-up Lauren McCormick!
In the words of Professor Mark Peifer, “The Biology Department at UNC-Chapel Hill is fortunate to have many remarkable students. In addition to Awards given to seniors on the basis of their undergraduate research, each year the Hagadorn Award is given to an outstanding junior Biology major. The recipient is selected on the basis of academic achievement, excellence in biology research and contributions to the Biology Department. This award was established in 1983 in honor of Dr. Irvine Hagadorn, former Chair of the Department of Zoology at UNC.
“Each year this is a challenging task for the selection committee, as we consider many outstanding students. After considering a slate of more than a dozen highly qualified students based on their academic record, their undergraduate research and their service to the Department as TAs, Supplemental Instructors Peer mentors and Biology Ambassadors, we narrowed the field to two finalists and asked them for one-page summaries of their research and service, and also reached out to their faculty research mentors for recommendations. Both finalists were outstanding. After extensive deliberations we selected Ralph Alberto as the 2021 Hagadorn Award winner. His 3.94 GPA, his research in the lab of Dr. Richard Loeser in the Thurston Arthritis Research Center, and service as the Research Executive Head of the UNC Biology Ambassadors and as a Biology TA were remarkable. The runner-up was Lauren McCormick. Her 4.0 GPA, research in the lab of Dr. Jonathan Juliano in the Infectious Diseases Epidemiology and Ecology Lab, and her service as a Supplemental Instructor and TA were also very impressive. We’re fortunate to have such outstanding students in our Department.”
To learn more about the various Chancellor’s Awards at UNC, click here.