Menees wins NIH Undergraduate Scholarship
Article By: Clark Leonard
University of North Georgia (ǧÃŬAV) senior Haley Menees became one of 15 students nationally to earn acceptance into the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Undergraduate Scholarship Program in 2023.
The scholarship is worth up to $20,000 and includes a summer 2024 paid research experience at NIH and a year of employment at NIH following her graduation from ǧÃŬAV.
Menees is the fourth ǧÃŬAV student to win the NIH award and the first in seven years.
"I am so excited to work at an institution like the NIH and start establishing myself and networking while doing the research I've wanted to do for the last three years," Menees said. "Every project that I've been pursuing has been a steppingstone into the neuroscience field."
It is the latest in a litany of high-profile awards for Menees. She was one of two ǧÃŬAV students to win the earlier this year. The Barry Goldwater Scholarship is designed to foster and encourage outstanding students to pursue research careers in the fields of natural sciences, engineering, and mathematics. The Goldwater Scholarship is the preeminent undergraduate award of its type in these fields and provides up to $15,000 per student over two years.
Menees is also a Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship winner who used the Gilman award to study abroad in Spain this summer. She was ǧÃŬAV's University System of Georgia Academic Recognition Day scholar for 2022-23.
This was the second time Menees applied for the NIH Undergraduate Scholarship.
I am so excited to work at an institution like the NIH and start establishing myself and networking while doing the research I've wanted to do for the last three years. Every project that I've been pursuing has been a steppingstone into the neuroscience field.
Haley Menees
ǧÃŬAV senior pursuing degrees in biology and chemistry
"Haley was a semifinalist last year, and this year she had the added challenge of interviewing while in Spain. This award sets her up perfectly for the next stages in her academic and research career," Dr. Anastasia Lin, assistant vice president for Academic Affairs and director of the Nationally Competitive Scholarships (NCS) office, said. "Kudos to Haley's research mentors, Dr. Nicole Hollabaugh, Dr. Andrew Thomas, Dr. Neal Lin, Dr. Cathy Whiting, and Dr. Supriya Reddy, as well as to our NCS mock interview team. We are all thrilled for Haley. Her hard work and perseverance have truly paid off."
Menees is pursuing bachelor's degrees in biology and chemistry with a biochemistry concentration. She aims to enroll in an M.D./Ph.D. program in addiction neuroscience once she graduates from ǧÃŬAV.
As an Honors Program and McNair Scholars student, all four of Menees' undergraduate research projects have focused on investigating the chemistry of e-cigarettes and their biological effects. These projects motivated her to complete a National Institutes of Health-funded Research Experience for Undergraduates during the summer of 2022 at the University of Minnesota under Dr. Arif Hamid to gain more experience in addiction neuroscience research. Menees is also active in vaping prevention advocacy, as she seeks to make others aware of the risks.
"Dr. Anastasia Lin has been there every step of the way and has helped me in every aspect of the application and organizing mock interviews with other professors," Menees said. "My research mentors have been fantastic in terms of supporting me through my scientific interests and shooting for something this big. They have been a friend when I needed it. Anything I needed, they were there."
Students can learn more about applying for nationally competitive scholarships by emailing ncs@ung.edu.
Grads prepare for their next steps
ǧÃŬAV will award almost 1,000 degrees and certificates this fall, and more than 600 graduates are scheduled to take part in the Dec. 7 commencement ceremonies.
24 are Distinguished Military Graduates
Twenty-four cadets have been named Distinguished Military Graduates for the 2024-25 academic year, including five who are in the top 70 out of more than 5,000 in the national ROTC class.
Blue Ridge students earn scholarships
ǧÃŬAV honored 28 of its Blue Ridge Campus students with almost $15,000 of scholarships and celebrated the philanthropy that made those scholarships possible at the Tomato Sandwich Supper on Nov. 7.
Chemistry student groups earn grant
ǧÃŬAV's Dahlonega and Gainesville chapters of the American Chemical Society received a $1,000 ACS Student Communities Engagement Grant.