
ANSC Graduate Student Accolades
Recent Awards, Accolades & Honors

Trushenkumar Shah, PhD Student
Trushenkumar Shah was selected for the USDA FSIS - ORISE Fellowship Program for the year 2023-2024. Throughout the fellowship, Shah will collaborate with FSIS scientists, leveraging their scientific and technical expertise to contribute to FSIS decision-making and enhance the overall safety of the food supply.
Jodie Allen, PhD Student
Jodie Allen was the recipient of the Eastern States Exposition Trustees Scholarship for the 2023-2024 year. The ESE Trustees Scholarship is offered to students residing in New England who have participated in the Exposition’s youth programs. Learn more...


Sulthana Humayoon Muttathukonam, MS Student
Sulthana Humayoon Muttathukonam was awarded 1st Place during the Institute of Food Technologists Hacking Single Servings, A Food Waste Conundrum: International Division Student Hackathon competition, where IFT student members from across the world participated in a single day, engaging hackathon style event to develop innovative solutions to help address the worldwide challenge of food waste.
2023
ANSC Outstanding Graduate Student Award
Recipients
- Amanda Reiter, PhD
- Brindhalakshmi Balasubramanian, PhD
- Chetna Shah, MS
Nutmeg IFT Graduate Student Scholarship
Recipients
- Ragini Reddyvari, PhD
- Yuying Ren, PhD
Poultry Science Association Graduate Student Travel Award
Recipient
- Praveen Kosuri, PhD
IFT Leadership Travel Award
Recipient
- Brindhalakshmi Balasubramanian, PhD
AG2PI Student Conference Travel Award
Recipients
- Bruna Santana, PhD
- Gaurav Dutta, PhD
- Issabelle Ampofo, PhD
American Society of Animal Science H. Allen Tucker Graduate Student Travel Scholarship
Recipients
- Bruna Santana, PhD
- Gaurav Dutta, PhD
- Issabelle Ampofo, PhD
IAFP 3MT Graduate Student Division Competition
Oral Competition - Finalist
- Brindhalakshmi Balasubramanian, PhD
PSA Graduate Student Division Competition
Oral Competition - Finalist
- Mairui Gao, PhD
- Yuying Ren, PhD
- Praveen Kosuri, PhD
Previous Awards & Honors
2022
ANSC Outstanding Graduate Student Award
Recipients
- Emily Everhart, MS
- Atul Walunj, MS
- Mairui Gao, PhD
UConn Graduate School Conference Participation Award
Recipients
- Nicole Tillquist, PhD
- Brindhalakshmi Balasubramanian, PhD
- Molly Riser, PhD
- Bruna Santana, PhD
- Jiaqui Zhu, PhD
- Mia Kawaida, PhD
American Society of Animal Science H. Allen Tucker Graduate Student Travel Scholarship
Recipients
- Nicole Tillquist, PhD
- Mia Kawaida, PhD
Xiangzhong (Jerry) Yang Research Excellence Award
Recipient
- Saurav Ranjitkar, PhD
UConn Mentorship Excellence Award for Graduate Students
Recipient
- Mia Kawaida, PhD
International Association for Food Protection Trial Scholarship
Recipient
- Mairui Gao, PhD
UConn Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship and Student Travel Scholarship
Recipient
- Yue Su, PhD
2021
UConn Graduate School Conference Participation Award
Recipient
- Yue Su, PhD
ASAS/CSAS Annual Meeting
Poster Competition - 1st Place
- Nicole Tillquist, PhD
MS Poster Competition - 2nd Place
- Ella Dodd, MS
2020
ANSC Outstanding Graduate Student Award
Recipients
- Si Lu, MS
- Sulaiman Aljasir, PhD
ASAS/CSAS Annual Meeting (Virtual)
Poster Competition - 2nd Place
- Alexis Trench, MS
American Society of Animal Science H. Allen Tucker Graduate Student Travel Scholarship
Recipient
- Brandon Smith, PhD
UConn Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship and Student Travel Scholarship
Recipient
- Lang Sun, PhD
2019
ANSC Outstanding Graduate Student Award
Recipients
- Lang Sun, MS
- Poonam Vinayamohan, PhD
Nutmeg Institute of Food Technologist Student Night of Academic Excellence Scholarship
Recipient
- Sulaiman Aljasir, PhD
NIH-USDA Young Investigator Travel Award
Recipient
- Brandon Smith, PhD
2018
ANSC Outstanding Graduate Student Award
Recipients
- Catherine Gensler, MS
- Ellie Duan, PhD
Nutmeg Institute of Food Technologist Student Night of Academic Excellence Scholarship
Recipients
- Catherine Gensler, MS
- Deppah Kuttappan, PhD
Chicagoland Food Industry Scholarship
Recipient
- Catherine Gensler, MS
Xiangzhong (Jerry) Yang Research Excellence Award
Recipient
- Ling Wang, PhD