AWARDS

2025

2025 Dr. Afonin has been elected as a Senior Member of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI)

2025 Dr. Afonin has been honored with the Harshini V. de Silva Graduate Mentor Award in recognition of his outstanding mentorship

2025 Dr. Afonin and Yasmine (Ph.D. Candidate): Awarded Invention of the Year at UNC Charlotte

2025 Laura Rebolledo (Ph.D. student): Awarded graduate student summer fellowship (GSSF) from UNC Charlotte for $8,000

2025 Leyla Danai (Ph.D. Candidate): Awarded graduate student summer fellowship (GSSF) from UNC Charlotte for $8,000

2025 Yasmine Radwan (Ph.D. student) received a highly prestigious 6-month internship at MIMETAS

2025 Elizabeth Skelly (Ph.D. student) received a highly prestigious 5-month internship at GSK

2024

2024 Laura Rebolledo (Ph.D. student): Awarded a highly competitive scholarship to attend the SACNAS conference in Arizona --all expenses are fully covered!

2024 Yasmine Radwan (Ph.D. student) received a highly prestigious 3-month internship at Viiv Healthcare, a proud subsidiary of GSK

2024 Leyla Danai (Ph.D. student): Awarded graduate student summer fellowship (GSSF) from UNC Charlotte for $8,000

2024 Yelixza I. Avila (Ph.D. student): First place for their poster presentation at the ANGS Research Symposium

2024 Elizabeth Skelly-Miles (Ph.D. student): Second for their oral presentation in the category of Interdisciplinary at the Graduate Research Symposioum at UNC Charlotte

2024 Yelixza I. Avila (Ph.D. student): Selected as an iCURE scholar and will be awarded three-years of funding as a postdoctoralresearcher at the National Cancer Institute

2023

2023 Brandon Rawlins (Undergraduate student): Received Outstanding Undergraduate Poster Award at Biological Sciences Symposium

2023 Jose Reyna (Undergraduate student): Received Outstanding Undergraduate Poster Award at Biological Sciences Symposium

2023 Celine Ortiz (Undergraduate student): Received a travel Scholarship to attend the 2023 National Diversity in STEM (NDISTEM) Conference from SACNAS

2023 Laura Rebolledo (Undergraduate student): Received the 2023 UNC-Charlotte Award in Biochemistry

2023 Best Paper Award for "The Application of Light-Assisted Drying to the Thermal Stabilization of Nucleic Acid Nanoparticles," published in Biopreservation and Biobanking

2023 Laura Rebolledo (Undergraduate student): awarded the Science Technology and Engineering oral award at the UNC Charlottte Undergraduate Research Conference (URC)

2023 Yasmine Radwan (Ph.D. student): awarded graduate student summer fellowship (GSSF) from UNC Charlotte for $8,000

2023 Damian Beasock (Ph.D. student): places 2nd at the ANGS Research Symposium at UNC Charlotte

2023 Celine Ortiz (Undergraduate student): places 3rd in the NC-LSAMP conference

2023 Yelixza I. Avila (Ph.D. student): gets accepted to participate at Graduate Student Recruitment day at the National Cancer Institute

2023 Dr. Kirill Afonin: First Citizens Scholars Medal

2023 Yelixza I. Avila (Ph.D. student): Travel Fellowship from the RNA Society for participation in the 2023 GRC on RNA Nanotechnology

2023 Yelixza I. Avila (Ph.D. student): Invited to give a talk at the 2023 GRC on RNA Nanotechnology

2023 Alex Rolband (Ph.D. student): Awarded a fellowship for participation in the GRS on RNA Nanotechnology

2022

2022 Alex Rolband (Ph.D. candidate): 2022 Dissertation Completion Fellowship, UNCC
2022 Yelixza I. Avila (Ph.D student): F31 NRSA Pre-doctoral Fellowship, NIH

2021

2021 Alex Rolband (Ph.D. student): winner of the Mining for GOLD competition, UNCC
2021 Melina Richardson (Undergraduate student): UNC Charlotte Award in Biochemistry
2021 Doaha Awad (Undergraduate student): best oral presentation in Science, Technology, and Engineering at 2021 Undergraduate Research Conference (URC), UNC Charlotte
2021 Morgan Chandler (Ph.D. student): 2021 Dissertation Completion Fellowship, UNCC
2021 Preston L. Tolley (undergraduate), J.J. Hendley Scholarship, UNCC
2021 Jonathan Black (undergraduate): best oral presentation in Cellular/Molecular Biology at 82nd Annual Southeastern Biologists

Research Conference
2021 Seraphim Kozlov (High school student): 2nd place in Biomedical Engineering at the Frederick County Science and Engineering Fair
2021 Seraphim Kozlov (High school student): US Public Health Service Meritorious Award
2021 Seraphim Kozlov (High school student): US Air Force Award
2021 Seraphim Kozlov (High school student): US Agency for International Development Award
2021 Seraphim Kozlov (High school student): 2nd place at the International Biotech Symposium

2020

2020 Morgan Chandler (Ph.D. student): Graduate Student Poster Talk Award Winner, NC Photochem 2020 (virtual)
2020 Weina Ke (Ph.D. student): 2020 Dissertation Completion Fellowship, UNC Charlotte
2020 Justin Halman (Ph.D. student): 2020 Dissertation Completion Fellowship, UNC Charlotte
2020 Morgan Chandler (Ph.D. student): 2020-21 Thomas L. Reynolds Graduate Student Research Award

2019

2019 Morgan Chandler (Ph.D. student): First Place at Poster 2.0 Competition, UNC Charlotte
2019 Dana Elasmar (Undergraduate student): James Hovick Memorial Award, UNC Charlotte
2019 Alex Rolband (Undergraduate student): 2019 Undergraduate Award in Analytical Chemistry, ACS Division of Analytical Chemistry and the Journal of Analytical Chemistry, UNC Charlotte
2019 Justin Halman (Ph.D. student): First Place Overall in the 9th Annual CBES Graduate Student Poster Competition
2019 Morgan Chandler (Ph.D. student): CBES MED Associate Winner in the 9th Annual CBES Graduate Student Poster Competition
2019 Justin Halman (Ph.D. student): Graduate School Summer Fellowship, UNC Charlotte
2019 Allison Tran (Undergraduate student): Best Oral Presentation Award at the 2019 Undergraduate Research Conference, UNC Charlotte
2019 Morgan Chandler (Ph.D. student): Second Place in CLAS Oral Presentations at the 2019 Graduate Research Symposium, UNC Charlotte
2019 Morgan Chandler (Ph.D. student): Best Oral Presentation Award at Gordon Research Seminar on RNA Nanotechnology (Ventura, CA)

2018

2018 Justin Halman (Ph.D. student): First Place for Oral Presentation at the Multifunctional Materials Workshop, NC State University
2018 Morgan Chandler (Ph.D. student): Second Place for Oral Presentation at the Multifunctional Materials Workshop, NC State University
2018 Melina Richardson (Undergraduate student): Second Place in the Summer Research Symposium, UNC Charlotte
2018 Sameer Sajja (M.S. student): Summer Graduate Fellowship Award from the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, UNC Charlotte
2018 Lauren Lee (undergraduate): UNC Charlotte Award in Biochemistry

2017

2017 Strahinja Talic (Undergraduate student): ACS Division of Inorganic Chemistry Award
2017 Morgan Chandler (Undergraduate student): UNC Charlotte Award in Biochemistry
2017 Justin Halman (Ph.D. student): First Place in CLAS Oral presentations at UNC Charlotte’s 2017 Graduate Research Symposium
2017 Justin Halman (Ph.D. student): CiRA Research Internship for Summer 2017, used for travel and one month of work at Kyoto University (Kyoto, Japan)

2017 Justin Halman (Ph.D. student): Second Place overall in the 7th Annual CBES Graduate Student Poster Competition

2016

2016 Justin Halman (Ph.D. student): Second Place overall in the 6th Annual CBES Graduate Student Poster Competition
2016 Kyle Roark (M.S. student): Herschel and Cornelia Everett Foundation First Year Graduate Fellowship