Smruti Kedarnath Mahapatra, a rising third-year medical student at Tulane University School of Medicine, recently received the prestigious Graduate Women in Science National Fellowship. This award is granted to women conducting hypothesis-driven research in STEM and social science fields. For the 2023-2024 funding cycle, 206 applications were submitted, with only nine fellowships awarded.
The fellowship provides $8,000 in research funding for one of Mahapatra’s upcoming projects, which focuses on 3D printing patient-specific brain tumor models. Her project abstract and bio have been published on the GWIS website, and you can view them here.
Mahapatra also received the AANS/CNS Joint Section Tumor Neuro-Oncology Trainee Award for her abstract submitted to the upcoming Congress of Neurological Surgeons meeting in Houston. She will present her abstract Prospective Study of Minimally Invasive Keyhole Craniotomy and Stereotactic Brachytherapy for Large Brain Oligometastases at the CNS annual meeting on October 2. This prestigious award is for a high-ranking brain tumor clinical or basic science abstract submitted by a resident or medical student from a rising program defined as an institution that has received two or fewer Section on Tumors awards over the previous 5 years, emphasizing the importance of emerging programs.