IUPUI School of Science Student Successes
Frankie Wilke
Ph.D. in Biology
For me, it’s the people! Since moving here, everyone has been incredibly kind. There is always someone willing to help you out when you need it, join you on exploring the city, and to make sure you never feel alone.
Meet Frankie
Kierstin LaRoche
M.S. Geology
What I enjoy most about Indianapolis is my social life! I’ve easily made great friends in Indianapolis by being surrounded by like-minded people, and the affordability of the city allows me to have an active social life while living on a graduate student stipend.
Meet Kierstin
Sarah Langlais
Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry
My goal is to be a chemistry professor when I graduate and because of that focus, I was looking for a competitive PhD program that would have both a strong research component as well as opportunities to grow as an educator.
Meet Sarah
Lindsey Fisher
Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology
My favorite academic accomplishment has been receiving the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program award.
Meet Lindsey
Alexandra Hochstetler
Ph.D. in Biology
Indianapolis is a really accessible city with a little bit of everything – we have amazing green spaces, artists, music venues, and a growing food and drink scene.
Meet Alexandra
Danielle B. Abel
Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology
I chose graduate school at IUPUI because I am particularly interested in studying serious mental illness (SMI) and IUPUI’s clinical psychology program offers numerous clinical and research opportunities working with this population.
Meet Danielle
Hannah Zimmerman
Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry
I fell in love with Indianapolis when I visited and wanted a medium sized program. After meeting with the Chemistry Department faculty, I knew this was the right program for me.
Meet Hannah
Ian Marrs
M.S. in Geology
Indianapolis has grown tremendously in the years I lived downtown, and that growth is my favorite aspect of the city. I have seen a wealth of new projects, organizations, and communities come about due to this growth and I believe that Indy will continue this trend and the school will benefit because of it.
Meet Ian
Sailee Sham Lavekar
Ph.D. in Biology (Vision Neuroscience)
I enjoy the diversity and mixed culture in Indianapolis. I love the bike and run trails in and around campus. Various activities such as Top Golf, camping, and state parks are a good break from work life.
Meet Sailee
Annalee Johnson-Kwochka
Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology
Indianapolis really does have a vibrant city life. Coming from the east coast, I love that the low cost of living here allows me to go to concerts, go out to eat- things that I wouldn’t be able to do on a graduate student stipend in many other places.
Meet Annalee
Jasmine Beecham
Ph.D. in Applied Social and Organizational Psychology
I enjoyed how accepting my program was. My program focuses on bias and discrimination in the workforce and they practice what they study. They care about being accepting to all persons, care about your holistic well-being and that you have a balanced life, but also are motivated to help you reach whatever goals you may have determined.
Meet Jasmine
Maribel Hernandez
Ph.D. in Addiction Neuroscience
One of the biggest reasons I chose to pursue a PhD at IUPUI was because of the positive and collaborative environment between the faculty and graduate students within the Addiction Neuroscience department.
Meet Maribel
Lauren Mehok
Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology
I chose IUPUI because I was interested in health psychology. IUPUI has a great clinical program where I can focus on health psychology in research, classes, and clinical experiences. IUPUI’s clinical psychology program also has wonderful mentors in the program as well as in the community that help to create a supportive environment where learning and growth can occur.
Meet Lauren
Jay Patel
Ph.D. Clinical Psychology (Health Track)
My favorite accomplishment has been the opportunity to be a trainee on the program committee for a behavioral health conference called American Psychosomatic Society. As a part of this opportunity I have learned what it takes to plan a national level scientific conference.
Meet Jay
Aubrey L. Shell
Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology
The Clinical Psychology PhD program at IUPUI encompasses...qualities of a strong training program and affords students opportunities to get both specialized and diverse training, with access to several nearby medical centers for both research and clinical training.
Meet Aubrey
Ahmad Barhoumi
Ph.D. in Mathematics
I think becoming a PhD candidate is my proudest achievement at IUPUI (so far). It’s the culmination of everything I’ve worked for up until this point!
Meet Ahmad
Loretta Hsueh
Ph.D in Clinical Psychology
I was motivated to pursue a research and academic career focused on medically underserved populations, specifically immigrants and racial/ethnic minorities.
Meet Loretta
Danielle Tometich
Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology
"I chose to come here because of the high caliber of training in the clinical psychology doctoral program. I also wanted to work with Dr. Catherine Mosher in her behavioral oncology laboratory, and train under several experts in cancer-related cognitive impairment."
Meet Danielle
Sara Dille
Ph.D. in Chemistry
"It has been clear from day one that all of the professors want the students to succeed and they cultivate a supportive atmosphere for graduate students to learn and grow as scientists."
Meet Sara
Igor Ogashawara
Ph.D. in Applied Earth Sciences
"I would definitely encourage prospective graduate students to visit the facilities, to personally talk to their prospective advisor and understand what the graduate program can offer."
Meet Igor
Christine Kassab
Ph.D. in Applied Earth Sciences
"I had the opportunity to spend 8 weeks in Antarctica conducting field work for my dissertation research. It was an experience to be relatively isolated from the rest of the world as we camped in tents on the side of the Law Glacier in the Transantarctic Mountains."
Meet Christine
Asma Beiraghi Salek
Ph.D. in Biology
"There have been many great opportunities at IUPUI to help me excel at being the best scientist possible."
Meet Asma
Melanie Perello
Ph.D. in Applied Earth Sciences
"It is nice that even though IUPUI is a large campus, the departments themselves are much smaller which provides students with a close-knit academic family."
Meet Melanie
Lauren Luther
Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology
"IUPUI’s proximity to several hospitals and medical centers such as the Richard L. Roudebush Veterans Affairs Medical Center provides students with a wealth of research and clinical opportunities that I did not find at other schools."
Meet Lauren
Megan M. Miller
Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology - Alumna
My favorite academic accomplishment was defending my preliminary exam research project, having it accepted for publication in a top-tier journal in the field of pain research, and winning the Elite 50 Award over the course of several months.
Meet Megan
Kelsey A. Bonfils
Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology - Alumna
"I was excited to engage in clinical work with complex cases, embedded in community agencies where I could learn how to work on multidisciplinary teams. IUPUI is really a cut above most graduate programs both in their research emphasis and their clinical training opportunities."
Meet Kelsey
Sarah Ohlemacher
Ph.D. in Biology - Alumna
"Indianapolis is a great city to live on a budget. Having relocated from Dallas, it’s nice that traffic is rarely an issue. I also enjoy the availability of outdoor activities like hiking and running."
Meet Sarah
Fotios-Christos A. Kafantaris
Ph.D. in Applied Earth Sciences - Alumnus
"I like that Indianapolis is such a diverse place where I can interact with people from all over the world, but on the same time it holds its own traditional identity which passes in a lovely way when one interacts with the local people of Indiana."
Meet Fotios
Kathryn (Kat) Holper
M.S. in Geology - Alumna
"We literally live at the crossroads of America! Since I have lived here, I have traveled to Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Minnesota, Colorado, Montana, California, Hawaii, and the Bahamas."
Meet Kat
Sarine Janetsian-Fritz
Ph.D. in Addiction Neuroscience - Alumna
"When I interviewed at IUPUI, I felt that the faculty and graduate students in this program were not competing with one another but rather working together and collaborating on projects, making it a very enjoyable working environment."
Meet Sarine
Krystal Breslin
M.S. in Biology - Alumna
"I am incredibly passionate about Forensic Science and when I read about the work that Dr. Susan Walsh and her collaborators were doing, I knew I wanted to be a part of that kind of advancement in the field."
Meet Krystal
Kimberly Dreison
Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology - Alumna
"IUPUI’s connection to multiple medical centers, such as Eskenazi Health, Riley Hospital for Children, and the Roudebush VA Medical Center, offers a range of diverse research and clinical training opportunities that I did not find at any other graduate schools."
Meet Kimberly
Megan Stringer
Ph.D. in Addiction Neuroscience - Alumna
"I was instantly attracted to the friendly and collaborative nature of the faculty and graduate students in the program at IUPUI."
Meet Megan
Akshayalakshmi Sridhar
Ph.D. in Biology - Alumna
"When I first moved here, the biology department members and fellow students helped me immensely in getting settled in. Over the last 5 years, I have made some long-lasting friendships and professional relationships that I will always cherish."
Meet Akshaya
Thakshila Liyanage
Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry
"IUPUI has the resources required to work on ground breaking research to lead the world in science, and I wanted to be a part of that."
Meet Thakshila