Two graduate students at Texas State University and two undergraduate alumni were selected as awardees or recognized with an honorable mention during the National Science Foundation (NSF) 2026 Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) competition.
Fellows receive three years of funding for their graduate education during a five-year period. For each year of support, NSF provides a $37,000 stipend and a $16,000 cost of education allowance for the fellow's tuition and fees.
Among this year's recipients is Carly Travers, a master's student in biology. Travers received her associate in arts from Broward College in 2022 and her bachelor of science in biological sciences from Florida International University in 2025. As an undergraduate student at FIU, she participated in the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program and the NSF-funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences. She is a member of the Symbiommunity Lab at TXST directed by Lauren Fuess, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Biology.
The other graduate student honoree, Kara James, is also mentored by Fuess. A doctoral student in aquatic resources and integrative biology hailing from Antigua and Barbuda, James received her bachelor of science in marine biology summa cum laude from the University of Rhode Island in 2024. She was awarded the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Ernest F. Hollings Scholarship as an undergraduate student and was the recipient of a grant from NSF's Research and Mentoring for Postbaccalaureates in Biological Sciences program. James received the commendation of honorable mention in this year's NSF GRFP competition.
Two undergraduate alumni, Alanna Melchor and Addison Parker, were also selected as awardees in this year's competition.
Melchor received her bachelor of science magna cum laude in 2025, with a major in anthropology and a minor in biology. A native of Houston, she is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in anthropology at the University of Oregon. Melchor previously served in the Army National Guard as a medic.
Parker received her bachelor of science summa cum laude in 2022, with a major in biology and a minor in psychology. A native of Cedar Park, she is currently participating in the Postbaccalaureate Intramural Research Training Award program at the National Institutes of Health, where she conducts research in the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.