Congratulations to Martindale Lab Graduate Student Lucas Guttieres for being the recipient of the Cynthia A. Melnick Memorial Fund Award! This award supports graduate students conducting research in marine biology.
Lucas' research is focused on the ancestral role of the protein ß-catenin in the metazoan evolution as viewed through the lens of embryogenesis in the ctenophore species Mnemiopsis leidyi.
Cynthia A. Melnick was a student at the University of Florida (she received her M.S. in Zoology) who was interested in the interface of marine biology and engineering. After her death, her parents established an endowment fund for graduate students in marine biology/engineering at UF.