A scholar one professor called “one of the most accomplished people I know under the age of 30,” a recipient of 15 scholarships and academic/research awards as an undergraduate, a tutor, mentor and volunteer, Grace Jaworski now also is the 2024 James Turpen Award winner.
INBRE Scholar Jaworski received the award at the annual INBRE conference held in August at the Lied Conference Center in Nebraska City, Nebraska.
The Downers Grove, Illinois, native and Creighton University graduate now is attending the University of California, Berkeley, to pursue her PhD in biology with a long-term goal of being a biology professor.
The Turpen Award is presented annually at the INBRE conference to the top graduating student scientist who is attending graduate school. The honor, named for UNMC’s former NE-INBRE principal investigator, includes a $500 cash award.
Jaworski called the award an honor and a privilege.
“I’ve looked up to all the other scholars for the past two years,” she said. “So I would say getting the award is a little bit surprising, because I think everyone’s very qualified. But overall, it’s an honor to be recognized and to be rewarded after working very hard over the past two years.”
Jaworski worked in the laboratory of Lynne Dieckman, PhD, associate chair of the Creighton University Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, who encouraged her to apply to the INBRE program.
“She’s one who really saw my potential, before I saw it in myself,” Jaworski said. “To have someone that’s in your corner to that level and really believes in you, it made all the difference for me. I will always be grateful for her mentorship, her guidance and just pushing me to really reach for the stars.”
Jaworski’s undergraduate research work involved the study of two proteins – PCNA and CAF-1 – and the way they interact to properly organize DNA in the nucleus to avoid genome instability and disease.
“Grace is a one-of-a-kind student and researcher and one of the most accomplished people I know under the age of 30,” Dr. Dieckman said. “By the time she graduated from Creighton University, she had presented her research at 13 local, regional and national scientific conferences.”
More than half of those presentations were either invited presentations (three) or achieved top presentation awards (four), and Jaworski went on to receive a total of 15 scholarships and academic/research awards and honors during her undergraduate career. (NE-INBRE also provided funding for some of these travel experiences.)
She also recently became published as co-author on a journal article in the Journal of Molecular Biology, Dr. Dieckman said.
Other accomplishments? Jaworski was:
- A mentor to numerous younger students in the research lab
- The Honors Program president for two years
- A research student ambassador for the Center for Undergraduate Research and Scholarship
- A teaching assistant for the biology department and a tutor for the biology, physics, and chemistry and biochemistry departments
- A fitness instructor for the recreation and wellness department
- A member of the university’s dance company (she was also a dance minor), and
- A volunteer who donated more than 250 hours of community service while a student.
“On top of all this,” Dr. Dieckman said, “Grace is one of the kindest, most generous, thoughtful, honest, and humble people you’ll ever meet.”
Jaworski said the INBRE program and working with Dr. Dieckman helped confirm her decision to pursue a PhD.
“INBRE was absolutely instrumental in allowing me to see what it would mean to be at a graduate school level. So now I’m starting a PhD program … I feel like I’ve a really strong foundation and understanding of what I’m going into and what that lifestyle is going to feel like. INBRE was very instrumental in getting me ready to start.”
Jaworski says being named the Turpen Award winner leaves her feeling inspired, not pressured. “I feel that everyone’s in my corner and they want me to succeed,” she said. “It’s comforting to know that people see potential in me.”