Andres Villalobos
Congratulations to Andres Villalobos, one of two current University of Georgia undergraduate students among the 10 campus recipients of 2023 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships. A fourth-year biological engineering major from Warner Robins, Andres has been working with a research lab on campus with the goal of understanding how signaling molecules called neuropeptides regulate stem cell function and promote brain regeneration.
After graduation, Andres will be pursuing a PhD from Northwestern University in Developmental Biology. His long-term plans include becoming a faculty member and researching regenerative therapies for neurodegenerative diseases. Equally important to his academic goals, he hopes to mentor the next generation of scientists from underrepresented backgrounds.
Andres commented, “I’m thrilled to be selected for the GRFP. It was a lot of hard work, and I’m proud that my idea was recognized by great scientists and researchers that I look up to in the field of developmental biology. Of course, I had a great deal of help from my research mentor, Dr. Roberts-Galbraith, and faculty at the College of Engineering, like Dr. Cheryl Gomillion. I’d like to thank them, as well as my family, for the sacrifices that made this amazing accomplishment possible.”
