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16EMORY UNIVERSITYNuri Smith Donnell AwardPh.D. Candidate, Genetics and Molecular BiologyFirst Year ARCS Scholar Nuri Smith is a first-generation Ph.D. candidate at Emory University, funded by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program. She earned a B.S. in Biology and Experimental Psychology from the University of South Carolina Upstate, where she co-authored three publications exploring the impact of folate on the epigenome. Her passion for research led her to Johns Hopkins' NIH-PREP program, where she utilized CRISPR/dCas9a to enhance gene expression in schizophrenia models, presenting her findings at the Society for Neuroscience and receiving the Trainee Professional Development Award. Currently, Nuri uses spinal cord organoid models of ALS to study motor neuron degeneration at Emory University.John TalbottARCS Atlanta Century AwardPh.D. Student, ChemistryFirst Year ARCS Scholar John earned his B.S. in Chemistry with minors in Biology and Business Administration from Elizabethtown College, starting his research in organic chemistry designing novel nucleobases for selective RNA recognition. As a second-year Chemistry doctoral student at Emory University, John has shifted his research aims towards detecting biological metabolites that promote disease progression. John%u2019s work in the field of chemical biology to date has resulted in nine publications, including four first-author papers, and being named a Goldwater Scholar and an NSF GRFP honorable mention. Outside of the lab, John enjoys volunteering with local youth lacrosse organizations as well as pursuing an MBA at his alma mater.