Graduate Teaching Assistant of the Year Awards recognize the accomplishments of GTAs who have demonstrated unusual excellence and creativity in their teaching and commitment to student learning. Outstanding GTAs are nominated by their programs and departments.

Sarah Days-Merrill, Mathematical Sciences Ph.D. Program:
Lecture Instruction Category

Sarah Days-Merrill recently defended her Ph.D. dissertation in Mathematics at the University of Vermont (UVM). Sarah’s passion for teaching developed in high school where she studied Early Childhood Education and Teaching. From there, Sarah taught as an undergraduate Peer Leader in the Mathematics Department while completing her Bachelor’s degree at Bridgewater State University. Sarah has been a Graduate Teaching Assistant since beginning her PhD at UVM in 2019. During this time, she joined the Graduate Teaching Program, and recently, began working with the Center for Academic Success as an Academic Support Program Assistant. Sarah’s teaching philosophy is centered on the belief that everyone can learn and succeed in a math course at every level. Sarah strives to make math fun and exciting in a positivity-filled classroom. Sarah will start a lectureship in the Mathematics Department at Yale University in Fall 2024.

Bertrand Black, Plant Biology Ph.D. Program:
Laboratory/Field Instruction Category

Bertrand is a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. He graduated from Cal Poly Humboldt with a BSc in Botany and Biology. He is interested in plant evolution and biogeography, with a particular focus on fern biodiversity in the Americas. In 2021, Bertrand co-described a new species of rare fern endemic to Panama, Lellingeria cantarensis. His Ph.D. research integrates collections of preserved herbarium specimens housed at the UVM’s Pringle Herbarium with the latest genetic sequencing techniques to investigate species boundaries and relationships in one of the most abundant ferns in North America, the lady fern (Athyrium filix-femina). For the last five years, Bertrand has been sharing his knowledge and passion for plants with students. In collaboration with instructor Dr. Laura Hill and UVM Greenhouse facilities, Bertrand designed a new plant-animal interaction lab, where students utilize the exotic living plants and preserved specimens to explore the coevolutionary relationships between plants and other organisms. In field-based labs, Bertrand led students across the landscapes of the Champlain Valley, ensuring an accessible hands-on experience for all students to the diverse flora of the region. His passion for paleobotany is visible in his teaching of this subject, where students in his lab used UVM’s collection of plant fossils to explore plant anatomy and development over the 450 million years of evolution. Bertrand will defend his thesis in Summer 2024 and plans to relocate to Washington DC. He hopes to one day become a professor and start his own fern research lab.

Brett Meyer, Ph.D., (Senior Data Scientist, Medidata Solutions)
Ph.D. in Complex Systems and Data Science

Dissertation: “Applications of a Wearable Sensor Platform for Remotely Monitoring Impairment in Persons with Multiple Sclerosis”
Advisors: Nick Cheney, Ph.D., Ryan McGinnis, Ph.D.

Brett Meyer first arrived at UVM in 2016, earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Engineering in 2020, and continued for his Ph.D. in Complex Systems and Data Science.

Researching in Dr. Ryan McGinnis’s M-Sense Research Group and Dr. Nick Cheney’s Neurobotics Lab, Brett’s doctoral research focused on answering practical questions about using wearable sensors in practice in partnership with Medidata Solutions. This work was grounded in data Brett had previously collected and a framework he built to analyze data collected from participants’ home environments. Contributions include demonstrating the importance of walking duration on how we walk along with changes in clinical utility; establishing a method to determine the appropriate length of time for a participant to wear a sensor; introducing a new sensor location and computational approach to increase the sensitivity of sensor-based balance assessment; and introducing balance assessment from home environments during daily activities.

Dr Meyer is continuing to learn and innovate in the space of wearables as a Senior Data Scientist in Medidata Solution’s SensorCloud team. He applies his knowledge of data science, biomechanics, and study design to engineer new algorithms and digital biomarkers for the clinical trial space.

The Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award recognizes exceptional work on behalf of a doctoral student, as demonstrated by their dissertation, including significant contributions to their field of study.

Juniper M. Oxford, M.A.
Master of Arts in History

Thesis: “Declarations of Womanhood: Trans Lives, Livelihoods, and Afterlives of American Women, 1890-1954” (2023)
Advisor: Paul Deslandes, Ph.D.

Juniper Oxford (B.A., History, Southern Illinois University) pursued the M.A. in History at UVM with a focus on women’s history, trans femininity and trans feminism, third party politics, and political discontent in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Her thesis focuses on the social dimensions of trans feminine lived experience in the late nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries. By examining the trans lives, livelihoods, and afterlives of nine subjects from 1890-1954, Oxford moved away from approaching trans femininity as “cross-dressing”—a lens that essentialized its subjects as men—to bringing into view the subjects in the manner consistent with they viewed themselves, as women. By unmooring medicalized accounts of trans lives as foundational to trans history, she pushes trans history beyond the 1950s. Her thesis highlights trans lived experience and the social aspects of trans lives across the United States – from rural communities to metropolitan areas, considering family and community, and elucidating the roles of the local press, law enforcement, and the federal government.

Juniper is currently working at the Southern Illinois University as its LGBTQ Resource Center Coordinator. In October 2023, her article “Draft Dodger, Soldier’s Wife: Trans Feminine Lives, Civic Duty, and World War II,” based on the second chapter of her thesis, was published in the Graduate History Review special issue “Trans Histories by Trans Historians” at the University of Victoria.

The Outstanding Master's Thesis Award recognizes exceptional work on behalf of a Master’s student, as demonstrated by their thesis, including significant contributions to their field of study.

First Place - Alison Hall (Biology):  “The World is Changing; How Do the Littlest Cope?”

Second Place - Amber Goerner (CMB):  “Investigating Host Pathogen Interactions in Chronic Toxoplasma Gondii Infection”

People’s Choice Award - Morgan Southgate (Plant Biology): “Branching In As Well As Out: An Ecological Story of Fern Hybridization”

Lillian Russo-Savage, Neuroscience Graduate Program

Lily is a third-year PhD candidate in the Neuroscience Graduate Program at the University of Vermont, working towards completing her dissertation in the laboratory of Dr. Gary Mawe and under the mentorship of Dr. Brigitte Lavoie and Dr. Sayamwong Hammack. After graduating with honors from Trinity College, Hartford, with a B.S. in Neuroscience and Psychology (2018), Lily conducted research at UCONN Health as well as at the University of Virginia before beginning her graduate studies at UVM. Expanding on her interests in diet, the microbiome, and the effects on brain and behavior, her dissertation research seeks to build on the laboratory’s understanding of the impacts of a specific bacteria, Bacillus Subtilis, on the gut microbiome and general gut function by exploring the effects on the neurochemistry, neuronal activity, and anxiety-related behavior of mice treated with the bacteria.

In addition to a strong passion for her research, Lily has a long history of teaching both in the classroom and anatomical laboratory settings. Before coming to UVM, Lily taught as an undergraduate TA for two courses at Trinity College, as well as teaching in multiple non-science-related fields such as climbing and the outdoors. Since joining the Neuroscience Graduate Program at UVM in 2021, she has had the incredibly rewarding opportunity of teaching both in an official capacity as a teaching assistant for two classes (Exploring Neuroscience and Human Neuroanatomy undergraduate laboratories), as well as in a temporary capacity for specific events and outreach purposes (Vermont Brain Bee “Bootcamp” hosted for high school aged students). These opportunities have allowed Lily to explore her love of anatomy, especially neuroanatomy, and combine it with her passion for teaching which has provided invaluable additional understanding of the systems and circuits she works with in her daily research.

Dr. Rodney L. Parsons joined UVM as Assistant Professor of Physiology in 1967. In 1979, he became chair of the then Department of Anatomy and re-purposed it to establish one of the first Anatomy and Neurobiology departments in the country. He was the founding and only chair of that department, which merged with the Department of Neurology in 2012 to become the Department of Neurological Sciences, integrating basic and clinical science under one department. The goal of the Parsons Award is to support outstanding graduate students who demonstrate excellence in both neuroscience research and teaching in any broadly defined anatomical science, the disciplines which Dr. Parsons played a key role in the growth and evolution of at UVM.

Anna Schmidt, Biology Ph.D. Program

Anna Schmidt is a third-year Ph.D. candidate in UVM's Department of Biology, she is advised by Dr. Jason Stockwell in the Rubinstein Ecosystem Science Laboratory. She is interested in aquatic ecology, particularly the role that zooplankton play in freshwater food webs and ecosystem functioning. Anna’s Ph.D. research has involved fieldwork at experimental ponds in France, where she is investigating the impact of depleted oxygen and predation by fish on the vertical and horizontal migration behaviors of zooplankton in shallow ponds. Last year, Anna performed five months of fieldwork at an experimental mesocosm facility at the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries in northeastern Germany to examine the contribution of zooplankton diel vertical migration to downwards carbon fluxes in lakes. This project was supported through the UVM Quantitative and Evolutionary STEM Training (QuEST) internship program as well as funded proposals through the AQUACOSM-plus Transnational Access program.

Anna is originally from Rochester, Minnesota. She received her B.S. in Biology and Environmental Sciences in 2020 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she first became interested in freshwater ecology research through working in a microbial ecology lab. Anna then worked as a Food Web Laboratory Analyst at the University of Michigan’s Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research before beginning her Ph.D. at UVM in fall 2021. In addition to her graduate research, Anna is the current co-chair elect of the Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network (GLEON) Student Association, where she provides leadership and training opportunities for students across the globe studying aquatic sciences. She is also passionate about science communication and outreach and is involved with the Biology Department Social Committee. Outside of work, Anna enjoys reading, indoor rock climbing, and spending time by Lake Champlain.

The Fialho Research Award is given annually to a University of Vermont doctoral student in support of their research in areas related to ecology, evolution, population genetics, or animal behavior. The funds are awarded in memory of Roberto Fabri Fialho, Ph.D., Biology.

Meg Fay, Master of Science Program in Civil and Environmental Engineering

Meg Fay is a first year Civil and Environmental Engineering MS student originally from Plymouth, Massachusetts. They hold undergraduate degrees in Environmental Science and Chemistry from Brown University where their work focused on low-cost air quality monitoring and community outreach. At UVM, their work with Dr. Greg Rowangould focuses on how transportation, electric vehicle adoption, and air quality legislation can be translated into environmental justice and public health impacts. Meg’s current research project focuses on forecasting transportation emissions to assess the effect of electric vehicle adoption on traffic-related criteria air pollutant exposure and identify disproportionate exposure impacts on overburdened communities. Meg is further investigating planning for private industries that use public infrastructure and generate public externalities; they are examining practices of integrating truck activity forecasting models, urban planning practices, and their implications for air quality analyses. Through research, Meg hopes to advance community-engaged practices, cumulative impact analyses, and data transparency and availability.  In their free time, Meg enjoys bird watching, hiking, and roller skating.

The Thomas J. Votta Memorial Fund has been established by the friends and family of Tom Votta to provide annual scholarship assistance to UVM graduate students in the Grossman School of Business, College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, or Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources who, like Tom, wish to make a difference in solving environmental problems and using environmental best practices to meet this goal.