Faculty from across Johns Hopkins University’s Advanced Academic Programs division recognized the exemplary work of students’ capstone projects, theses, research, and other work completed in the 2024-25 academic year. The student-award winners are:
Center for Data Analytics, Policy, and Government
Julia Panely received The William F. Clinger, Jr. Award for her thesis entitled The Right of Equal Access: How Public Action Doctrine Constitutionalizes The U.S. Civil Rights Framework. The award is presented annually to the student whose thesis excels at assessing a topic in institutional or representative government, using original research, and displaying superior writing. Panely’s thesis examines the constitutional, historical, and legal questions regarding equal access to public accommodation, its history in light of state action doctrine and commerce clause interpretations. She proposes an alternative path for interpreting public action doctrine built upon the firmer foundation of the original intent of the 14th Amendment and the Civil Rights Act of 1875 as well as the common law history on which much of American law is based.
Lilia Overmyer received the Outstanding Thesis in the Area of Democracy Studies. The award is presented to the student whose superior writing and research skills display exceptional insights into questions and issues impacting American democracy and its institutions. Overmyer’s thesis, The Moral and Political Necessity for a Counter-Revolution Against the Digital Degradation of Society and Humanity, offers philosophic and policy-oriented analysis of the impact digital technology is having on the institutions and citizens of democracy. Given the current backdrop of widespread institutional distrust in America, what should the government do about the challenges digital technologies pose? The paper argues for accountability for the human creators of digital systems and a reliance on American decentralization to reengage citizens and states in the processes of policymaking.
Mika Gramazio and Alyssa Hurlburt each received Outstanding Applications of Research Paper Awards.
Gramazio’s submission earned accolades for the research paper that best exemplifies original analysis of a current public policy issue based on excellent research, identification, and evaluation of possible policy solutions. Her work, Money, Money, Money: Disproportionate Effects of Cash Bail on Marginalized Communities, evaluates how bias in the cash-bail process impacts marginalized communities. Her analysis yields a comprehensive framework for addressing wealth-based detention while maintaining both court appearance rates and public safety. She identified eight potential solutions for cash- bail reform and conducted an evidence-based evaluation of them. Gramazio’s analysis led to her policy proposal of a comprehensive approach based on elements from four of the identified solutions.
Hurlburt’s work, India-U.S. Migration Patterns and National Identity: How the East-West Movements of People are Changing Power Dynamics Within and Among States, earned distinction as the work that best exemplifies an original analysis of a contemporary political issue based on excellent application of scholarship in American politics. Her paper draws on political sociology and psychology as well as political science to assess national identity, hegemony, and Indian/American immigration and how they are interconnected. She found that although initially Indian diaspora may trigger a rise in nationalism within India and recipient Western countries, eventually it inspires deeper integration and instills more inclusive and consolidated national identities.
Master of Arts in Non-Profit Management
Virginia Berman won the Outstanding Capstone Project Award. Berman’s project, A Study of the Causes of and Mitigation Strategies for Burnout in Nonprofit Employees, shared the insights of six leaders from health and human service nonprofit organizations in New York and New Jersey about how the changing political climate, work-life balance, and organizational resources and capacity affect their ability to be effective, and to contribute to the body of knowledge about ways to improve the sector. Following interviews with the leaders, Berman’s paper concluded that the most significant risk factors for nonprofit burnout were found to be limited resources, high expectations from leadership, and uncertainty due to leadership change or the political climate. To mitigate these risks, study participants emphasized the importance of connection to a meaningful mission, leadership and self-imposed interventions, internal and external inter-personal relationships, and planned and spontaneous recovery time.
Master of Arts in Public Management
Hojoon Lee received The Seidman Award for Outstanding Capstone in Public Management for his paper entitled Policy Proposal to Reduce Reliance on Foreign-Born Scientists and Engineers in the United States. Lee, who graduated in December 2024, is honored for his paper, which includes an extensively researched and detailed proposal, along with a clear, factually supported analysis. The quality of his capstone exemplifies the high-level of work needed in the conduct of public policy and administration today. To combat the reliance on foreign-born workforces, which poses threats to the U.S. economy and security, Lee proposes the “American Scientists and Engineers Fellowship” program to provide financial support to graduate students from minority groups. The grant program is expected to lower the reliance on foreign-born scientists and engineers by 0.3 percentage points in 2035 compared to the trend line. This memorandum analyzes advantages and disadvantages from policy perspectives (effectiveness, equity, efficiency, administrative capacity) and political perspectives (public opinions, interest groups, political landscapes), concluding that the proposal is effective while risks could be mitigated.
Master of Arts in Science Writing
Emile Brammer and Charlotte Stevenson each won The David Everett Award for Outstanding Thesis. The award is given annually to graduating MA in Science Writing students who are recognized by the faculty as having an outstanding thesis with promising prospects for publication.
Selections from Brammer’s thesis have already been accepted for publication, a testament to the work’s superior quality. In nominating Brammer for this award, a faculty member praised her writing for the “literary depth, strength of research and reporting, and self-analysis and understanding that former faculty member David Everett encouraged and nourished.”
Stevenson’s thesis focuses on what people can learn from the natural world, including “lowly” species such as lichen. Every essay in the collection has been published in a literary journal. She is receiving this award for a thesis that a review called “exemplary, from structure to theme to verb choices to evocative details.”
Gaea Dill-D’Ascoli and Alyssa Traitz each won Outstanding Student Awards.
Dill-D’Ascoli’s selection was for her spirited engagement in all course activities. As one faculty member wrote in nominating her for this award, “Gaea is an especially gifted writer, and an inspiring leader in class. She offered some of the most insightful and creative responses to various readings, and her work was always a joy to read.”
Traitz drew praise for her deep commitment to improving her craft, and her creative approaches to science storytelling. She has a knack for finding interesting, unusual science stories, such as a piece she wrote on social virtual sleeping. As one faculty member said, “Her pieces have a clear direction and point of view — and they’re just fun to read.”
Master of Arts in Teaching Writing
Benjamin Mackay and Brianna Foster each won Outstanding Student Awards.
Mackey was an outstanding student in every course he took in the Teaching Writing program and produced an exceptional thesis. He hopes to use his Teaching Writing degree to teach at the United States Air Force Academy, his alma mater, from where he earned a BA in English. He currently works as an Air Force rescue helicopter pilot.
Faculty lauded Foster’s Teaching Writing thesis as among the best ever submitted to the program. It included a series of beautifully written excerpts from a novel in progress, and a publishable article entitled, “Genre-Based Pedagogy and the Gothic Tradition: Writing Instruction for Multilingual Students.” A high school English Language Arts teacher, Foster’s early interests in the natural world continue to influence her approach to literature, particularly in her exploration of how Gothic texts often contrast natural beauty with societal dysfunction.
Master of Arts in Writing
Melissa DaCosta Brown received The David Everett Award for Outstanding Thesis, Fiction. The David Everett Award is given annually to a student graduating from the MA in Writing program who is recognized by the faculty as having an outstanding thesis with promising prospects for publication.
Faculty praised Brown as a rare and tenacious writer who takes real risks when revising, because she knows that sometimes a story “has to go in the wrong direction before finding its groove.” They complimented her grit and perseverance, and “her commitment to crack open even her best stories, attuned to ways large and small that they might become a little more perfect.” Brown’s fearlessness in taking on sensitive topics and her “lush, surprising, funny, and controlled prose” was also noteworthy. Brown has won contests and placement in competitive literary journals and has already garnered attention from a handful of editors who love her work.
Nicole Choi received The David Everett Award for Outstanding Thesis, Nonfiction. Choi’s thesis consisted of memoir chapters which one Thesis Committee member described as “an absorbing, searching work of personal writing.” She drew praise for “rich, layered, and vivid writing, as well as skilled research and expansive storytelling,” and for mastering the skill of composing their experiences in evocative detail with “curiosity, imagination and ambition.”
Rachel Lastra and Eloise Keary each received Outstanding Student Awards.
Faculty lauded Lastra as a “rising star” and “an exemplary literary citizen” after reading her thesis – a collection of shorts stories and novel excerpts – that were “suffused in sorrow and longing and regret” and provided a “juxtaposition of the real and surreal” that kept the reader on edge. Lastra also earned praise for the generous, thoughtful, and insightful feedback she provided to classmates.
Keary drew praise for her “absolutely publishable” writing that detailed a fictional family facing a slew of trouble. Faculty noted her writing is “vivid and lyrical with characters who are authentic and convincing” and described her as “an excellent writer who has worked especially hard on her thesis, rewriting whole chapters to get things right” and for creating “absolutely smashing stuff.” Keary’s commitment to the Hopkins literary community was also noteworthy.
Master of Liberal Arts
Thomas Finser, Lee Casson, Eugene T. Luning II, Kevin Siegel, Joshua Chambers and Michael Emmet earned admission to the Association of Graduate Liberal Studies Programs’ National Honor Society. The AGLSP National Honor Society is a network designed to recognize and promote the academic excellence, leadership, and involvement of scholars in graduate liberal studies.
Center for Biotechnology Education
The Patrick Cummings Research Award recognizes students for exceptional research in the field of biotechnology during their graduate studies.
1st Prize
Pei-Chin (Melody) Chou, in the MS in Biotechnology program, won the First Prize for her research work, Repurposing Triazoles in Acute Myeloid Leukemia: Inducing Cytotoxicity Through Hedgehog/SMO-Independent Mechanism in FLT3-ITD which sought strategies to overcome resistance to AML. The study investigates triazole antifungals, such as itraconazole and posaconazole, and their potential for anti-cancer activity in carcinoma and sarcoma models, potentially through inhibition of Hedgehog (Hh) signaling, as therapeutic agents targeting FLT3-ITD+ AML cells, focusing on their impact on Hh-dependent and independent pathways. Findings highlight ITZ and PCZ as promising candidates for targeting FLT3-ITD+ AML through FLT3 and STAT5 pathway inhibition. Further investigation of their mechanisms may reveal new strategies to overcome resistance in AML.
2nd Prize
Mia Da Rosa, in the MS in Biotechnology program, won Second Prize for her Investigation into gene therapy for biological pacing using optical mapping of myocyte cell cultures and animal hearts. Based on the sometime ineffectiveness of pacemakers in regulating the heart’s rhythm, and the complications, including infections, that the implants can present, Da Rosa used discoveries in gene therapies and early development of cardiomyocytes to develop a novel gene therapy, called TST, to remodel heart muscle cells into pacemaker-like cells that can pace the heart without a device implant. The study shows TST’s effectiveness in remodeling neonatal ventricular cardiomyocytes into functional pacemaker-like cells in vitro and its ability to safely improve electrical conduction in vivo in pigs.
3rd Prize
Andrew Smith, in the MS in Bioinformatics program, won Third Prize for his research Bridging Quantum and Classical Computing in Drug Design: Architecture Principles for Improved Molecule Generation. This research systematically identifies the optimal quantum-classical bridge architecture for generative models in drug discovery by employing a multi-objective Bayesian optimization framework. Smith’s research advances our understanding of quantum-classical information transfer and demonstrates a validated methodology to accelerate the practical application of quantum computing in drug discovery pipelines.
Honorable Mentions (in alphabetical order)
Drew Smith, in the MS in Biotechnology program, won Honorable Mention for his research Establishing a Role for Protein Arginine Methyltransferase 5 in Human Vascular Pericytes. Protein arginine methyltransferases (PRMTs), a family of enzymes involved in post-translational arginine methylation, have recently been implicated in cellular stress and inflammation, suggesting their potential relevance to Alzheimer’s disease. Study findings suggest that PRMT5 may influence pericyte-mediated neurovascular function and cellular stress responses, providing a foundation for further exploration of PRMT5 as a novel target for Alzheimer’s disease therapeutics.
Marie Vallens, in the MS in Bioinformatics program, won an Honorable Mention for her research Optogenetic Analysis of Fear-Induced Visually Guided Collision Avoidance in Mice. Animals can evade an active threat as an instinctual response or as a learned response. This study evaluates the ability to optogenetically activate retinal ganglion cells to determine which types of RGCs are involved in detecting a looming stimulus at the retina before triggering the initiation of an avoidance behavior.
Master of Science in Energy Policy and Climate
Venera Naila Anderson and Theodore Henry each received Outstanding Capstone Project Awards.
Anderson’s research study, Comparative Analysis of Green and Pink Hydrogen Production in Japan based on a Partial Circular Economy Approach, seeks to explore the best reasonable, practical, and economic future (2040-beyond) source of clean hydrogen (green or pink) for Japan if produced based on a partial circular economy approach. The paper explains the capstone’s background and rationale, Japanese energy and environmental security, resilience and reliability situations, types of hydrogen production, and the current state of clean hydrogen development in Japan.
Henry’s research study, Strategic Vulnerabilities of U.S. Offshore Wind Assets: A “New” U.S. Border Requires a Long-Term Security Plan, investigates how climate change and the multi-polar geopolitical landscape will likely translate into significant physical vulnerabilities, particularly in the Atlantic, for the budding U.S. offshore wind industry. It explored how the ‘Great Power Competition’ in the Arctic will bring near-peers close to U.S. waters, and how our future offshore wind distributed throughout the U.S. economic exclusion zone will be attractive targets for hybrid warfare tactics, while wind farm developers and the U.S. government have limited risk analysis frameworks and maritime capacity to protect those assets.
Master of Science in Environmental Science and Policy
Assile Beydoun received recognition for her Outstanding Capstone Thesis. Beydoun’s time in the program resulted in a professional portfolio that reflects a transformative journey marked by growth, resilience, and a deep commitment to driving change. Through a series of diverse projects — from exploring geological foundations in Cincinnati to examining climate justice, sustainability, and global crises — the experience has instilled valuable skills, confidence, and a collaborative spirit. Each project captures small yet meaningful victories that collectively contribute to a greater goal: creating a better, more just world. The lessons learned and connections made will continue to inspire and guide future efforts toward positive change.
Master of Science in Geographic Information Systems
Brianna Phuong Minh PhamTuong and Karolina Wolowiec each won Outstanding Student Awards.
PhamTuong’s capstone explores the intersection of public health, environmental studies, and GIS to address rising rates of heat-related and respiratory illnesses in California, particularly Chronic Pulmonary Obstructive Disease. With heat-related deaths projected to significantly increase by the end of the century, and research showing a strong link between heat and respiratory health, this project integrates socioeconomic, demographic, environmental, and hospitalization data into a comprehensive vulnerability index. The capstone aims to achieve two main goals: developing this index for heat-related and respiratory illnesses and creating a GIS-based portfolio of maps to help policymakers identify at-risk populations and efficiently allocate resources for targeted interventions across California.
Wolowiec’s capstone analyzes how Avian Influenza outbreaks differ by location and time from 2022 to 2025 and assesses their impact on egg prices to support informed policy and industry responses. AI is a highly contagious virus that primarily affects wild waterfowl but can spread to domestic birds, mammals, and humans, posing significant public health and economic risks. Driven by rapidly evolving strains like H5N1, the virus spreads through contact with infected animals, contaminated environments, and asymptomatic migratory birds.
Master of Science in Intelligence Analysis
Leon Niemoczynski won the Outstanding Capstone Project award for his work How Epistemology Can Improve Intelligence Analysis. Niemoczynski argues that intelligence analysis is fundamentally epistemological. It can be improved by a deeper methodological awareness and by applying the logical concept of abduction, or inference-to-best explanation, as discovered by the American philosopher C.S. Peirce. To demonstrate his concept, Niemoczynski invented a structured analytic technique called the Abductive Hypothesis Matrix to evaluate how hypotheses best correspond with evidence. His capstone makes a unique and valuable contribution to the literature of intelligence.
Matthew Morrison, Cody Peterson, and Courtney Vigil earned admission to the Order of the Sword and Shield Honor Society. The Order of the Sword and Shield is the first and only academic and professional honor society dedicated exclusively to homeland security, intelligence, emergency management, cyber and information security, and all protective security disciplines. The Society promotes critical thinking, high scholarship, and professional development to further enhance the ethical standards of the protective security professions and to cultivate a high order of personal living.