Meet the inaugural Wei-Shou Hu Fellowship cohort

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (09/28/2026) — Five exceptional Ph.D. students have been selected as the inaugural cohort of the Wei-Shou Hu Fellowship. Named after Distinguished McKnight University Professor Wei-Shou Hu, and enabled by a $2.5 million private philanthropic gift from Stéphane Bancel, Moderna Therapeutics CEO and alumnus (M.S. Chemical Engineering ’95), and Brenda Bancel, the fellowship provides an unprecedented five years of secure financial support to five Ph.D. candidates as they pursue cutting-edge, often unexplored research alongside experienced faculty.

Faculty fellowship supervisor Kelsey Stoerzinger said, “CEMS is so excited to welcome this cohort of innovative fellows committed to interdisciplinary research in the areas of sustainability and human health. We look forward to working with them as they pursue this impactful work and are grateful for the opportunity to honor Wei-Shou Hu's legacy with this fellowship program.”

Meet the inaugural cohort of Wei-Shou Hu Fellowship, five outstanding researchers who chose CEMS to pursue ambitious work at the intersection of human health and sustainability.

Gunnar Dunahoo (B.S., Iowa State University)
Research Focus: Sustainable Ammonia Production 
Inspired by witnessing the local impacts of nitrate pollution in his youth, Gunnar plans to work with Professors Ferry and Stoerzinger to develop optical microscopy to study local variation in electrocatalytic environments. His initial goal is to leverage this unique approach to facilitate scaleup of catalytic processes to convert hazardous contaminants into sustainable chemical feedstocks.

Alyssa Hicks (B.S., University of Washington)
Research Focus: Wearable Health Monitoring 
Alyssa aims to engineer self-powered wearable devices that harvest vibrational energy under the guidance of Professors Holmes and Frisbie. By investigating the use of anisotropic organic thin films, she seeks to develop a framework for continuous, accessible health monitoring that reduces global reliance on batteries and minimizes electronic waste.

Zoe Lipton (B.S., University of Florida)
Research Focus: Neurological Damage Mitigation 
Zoe plans to partner with the Hackel, Bates, and Azarin research groups to develop novel synthetic copolymers to treat blood-brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction. She intends to investigate how precise molecular design can rescue neurological function following strokes or the onset of degenerative diseases.

Jules Stahler (B.S., University of California, Berkeley) 
Research Focus: Plastic Upcycling 
Shifting gears from his background as a professional sheet metal fabricator, Jules intends to collaborate with Professors Bhan and Ellison to transform waste polyolefin plastics into valuable light olefins. His proposed work will combine reactor design and polymer physics to create new pathways for catalytic transformations that address the global crisis of polymer waste.

Miao Zhang (B.S., Nankai University; M.S., Johns Hopkins University, Fudan University) 
Research Focus: AI-Driven Biomanufacturing & Immunometabolism 
Miao’s initial research interests explore two high-impact paths: leveraging Machine Learning to accelerate biologics production with Professors Azarin and Zhang; or utilizing metabolic engineering to enhance cancer immunotherapies with Professors Azarin and Lee. Her overarching goal is to expand patient access to life-saving treatments through more efficient bioprocessing.