Simons Foundation Announces Latest Class of SURFiN Fellows
The Simons Foundation is pleased to announce the most recent recipients of its Shenoy Undergraduate Research Fellowship in Neuroscience (SURFiN). Named in memory of neuroscientist Krishna Shenoy, this program aims to spark and sustain interest in neuroscience among undergraduate students without access to research training opportunities.
The 84 members of this year’s SURFiN class will work in laboratories supported by the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI), the Simons Collaboration on the Global Brain (SCGB) and the Simons Collaboration on Plasticity and the Aging Brain (SCPAB). Each student will work under the mentorship of early-career scientists, including graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, during the 2025–2026 academic year. This opportunity will provide these talented undergraduates with invaluable firsthand laboratory experience and the chance to make significant contributions to neuroscience research from an early stage of their careers.
In addition to financial support, the SURFiN program engages fellows and mentors through virtual and in-person career development and community-building activities, including a virtual coding boot camp and a scientific symposium in New York City in Spring 2026.
The members of the 2025–2026 SURFiN class are listed below.
Arina Baranoff
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Sahana Bettada
University of Washington
Caroline Bishop
Washington University in St. Louis
Nandini Bohra
University of California, San Diego
Brady Borchelt
University of Washington
Thomas Breslin
University of Utah
Ainsley Brockman
Gonzaga University
George Cardenas
University of Southern California
Gwynn Chio
University of Michigan
Katelyn Chiurri
Stevens Institute of Technology
Adéla Chraścinová
University of Sussex
Leo Chung
University of British Columbia
Jared Darlington
University of Washington
Juan Diaz Villarreal
Rutgers University
Alannah Edwards
Rutgers University
Rita Ekwo
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Sophia Espaldon
Wellesley College
Kip Faison
Washington University in St. Louis
Charlotte Fenna
Birkbeck, University of London
Praise Fujamade
University of Michigan
Tiago Miguel Gomes de Sousa
University of Lisbon (Universidade de Lisboa)
Alejandro Guevara Padrón
Florida Atlantic University
Stephanie Habach
York University
Abigail Ham
Drexel University
Thomas Heeps
University of Florida
Julia Hellin Lopez
Michigan State University
Marie Hernandez
Nova Southeastern University
Isabella Hoeger-Pinto
University of Iowa
Brandon Hu
Georgetown University
Kamran Hussain
University of California, Santa Cruz
Graciela Izabal
University of California, Davis
Chenyu Ji
Washington University in St. Louis
Tina Johnston
University of California, San Diego
Sia Joshi
Trinity University
Medyen Jubran
University of Miami
Maria Junaid
Duke University
Sarayu Kalavapalli
Johns Hopkins University
Nikhita Kaushik
University of California, Irvine
Medinat Kilroy
Northeastern University
Colette Kim
University of California, Los Angeles
Tioluwani Ladipo
University of Miami
Eojin Lee
University of Utah
Taokorng Lim
University of Washington
Jonathan Ly
University of Southern California
Fadumo Mahamud
University of Washington
Gabriel Marquez
University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio
Hanna Masri
University of California, Los Angeles
Gabriel Mendoza
University of Texas, San Antonio
Redait Mengist
George Mason University
Sara Merhi
Boston University
Jesus Morales Santos
Nassau Community College
Louisa Moyer
Foothill College
Nila Murugan
University of Massachusetts Boston
Rachel Nokku
Georgetown University
Charles Ian Ocampo
San Francisco State University
Lisette Octaviano-Francisco
University of Washington
Madison Olson
University of California, San Diego
Rory O’Shea
Washington University in St. Louis
Orianna Osorio
University of Miami
Tiffany Palacios
University of Utah
Surabhi Pandey
University of California, San Diego
Helen Perris
University of Sussex
Anselmo Rivera
Johns Hopkins University
Zehavi Rodriguez
Duke University
Gwendolyn Roter
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Nasteha Sahal
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Simmone Sallo
University of Florida
Isabelle Solages
Florida Atlantic University
Ashley Sosa Rodriguez
University of San Francisco
Nicole Staggs
University of Washington
Nicole Treece
George Washington University
Vinh Truong
Augustana College
Sansu Tun
Hunter College
Sai Verma
University of British Columbia
Andrea Villamizar
University of Florida
Junyi Wang
Georgetown University
Ashleigh Waterman
Duke University
Angelika Wodzisz
University of Vienna
Marcus Wong
University of Toronto
Rachel Yin
University of Washington
Angela Yu
Florida Atlantic University
Nadja Zeillinger
University of Vienna
Jessica Zhuo
Harvard University
Alexandra Zuniga
University of Texas, San Antonio
