October 5, 2021UTSA's NDRB program receives million-dollar gift to support doctoral student research

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The University of Texas at San Antonio has received a $1 million gift from the Semmes Foundation to establish the Semmes Foundation Graduate Student Fund in the College of Sciences' Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology (NDRB). UTSA will use the gift to grow and sustain the department's doctoral programs and position the university to better compete for external funding through agencies like the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.

The fund will create new opportunities for advancing research and raise more funding for student stipends. The grant will also help UTSA recruit and retain exceptional graduate students within the field of neuroscience and cell and molecular biology.

“We are deeply grateful to the Semmes Foundation and to Pat and Tom Semmes for their generous support of our doctoral programs,” said UTSA President Taylor Eighmy. “This investment will continue to cultivate exceptional doctoral students who will bring unparalleled research contributions to the field of neuroscience and cell and molecular biology, bolstering UTSA's reputation as one of our nation's great public research universities.”

Jenny Hsieh, chair of the Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, and the Semmes Foundation Distinguished Chair in Cell Biology, added, “I am extremely thankful to the Semmes Foundation for establishing this fund to grow and retain our pipeline of doctoral students. This fund will give us the needed flexibility to expand our programs in creative and impactful directions.”

We are deeply grateful to the Semmes Foundation and to Pat and Tom Semmes for their generous support of our doctoral programs.

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