Washington University in St. Louis student Beakal M. Gezahegn has been named a 2015 STRIDE Undergraduate Research Fellow by the American Physiological Society (APS).
Gezahegn, an incoming senior studying biology in Arts & Sciences, will research chronobiology and its impact on reproductive outcomes under Sarah K. England, PhD, professor of obstetrics and gynecology and the Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Professor of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine. Gezahegn’s research will focus specifically on sleep disruption and aims to understand how sleep changes during pregnancy (as a result of disruptions of sleep regulating genes) affect pregnancy outcomes.
STRIDE stands for Short-Term Research Education Program to Increase Diversity in Health-Related Research. The APS and a grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) support the STRIDE program. Gezahegn is among 21 STRIDE Fellows this year.
Undergraduate students who are selected have the opportunity to work with APS member-researchers in the areas of cardiovascular, pulmonary, hematologic and sleep-disorder research.
As part of the 10-week fellowship, Gezahegn received a $4,000 stipend and funds to travel to present her research at the Experimental Biology 2016 meeting in San Diego. In addition, Gezahegn will have the opportunity to network with other undergraduate fellows interested in biomedical research, receive career advice and mentoring and learn about ethical issues.