NIH Undergraduate Scholarship

University of Rochester undergraduates are eligible for this annual program offered by the National Institutes of Health.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Undergraduate Scholarship Program offers competitive scholarships to students from disadvantaged backgrounds who are committed to careers in biomedical, behavioral, and social science health-related research. Applicants must also have a minimum GPA of 3.3 to be considered.

The program was established by Congress in 1994 and provides up to $20,000 per academic year in tuition, educational expenses, and reasonable living expenses to scholarship recipients. Scholarships are awarded for one year and can be renewed up to a maximum of four years.

Learn more about the NIH Undergraduate Scholarship and other fellowship, scholarship, and award opportunities available to Rochester students and alumni.

Recent NIH Undergraduate Scholarship winners

Congratulations to the most recent NIH Undergraduate Scholarship recipient from the University of Rochester!

Dabne Herrera Guerra ’25
Area of study: Biochemistry (BS)
Details: 2023 Scholar

Herrera Guerra is one of 15 recipients chosen nationwide from about 100 candidates. A transfer student from Chabot College, a community college in Hayward, California, she was born and raised in Peru and arrives in Rochester with an impressive record of research participation at Stanford University. Her resume includes working as a research intern at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, as part of a clinical neuroscience lab, and at CogTLab, which focuses on brain aging and cognitive decline. She is the recipient of two NSF S-STEM scholarships and an NIH fellowship/grant to support mentored research experience.

“My fervent passion for my field motivated me to apply to diverse research opportunities at an early stage of my career,” she says.

Her passion for biochemistry and molecular and cell biology date to her childhood when she heard the word “chromosome.” Her mother gave her the book Molecular Biology of the Cell, a classic text in the field, when she was five years old—and it remains her favorite book to this day.

While a student at Chabot, she participated in the MESA/TRiO-STEM academic enrichment and career exploration program. She was also active in student life as a member of the pre-health club, an English tutor for ESL students, a tutor for STEM classes, and Chemistry Club vice president.

As a junior, Herrera Guerra is eligible for up to two years of funding.

Past winners

Bilal Moiz ’16
Area of study: Computer science (BA) and biology (BA)
Details: 2014 and 2015 Scholar

Diamond Ling ’10
Area of study: Neuroscience (BS)
Minor: Religion
Details: 2009 Scholar

Brian Palmisano ’09
Area of study: Biochemistry (BS) and chemistry (BA)
Details: 2008 Scholar

Annie M. Le ’07
Area of study: Cell and developmental biology (BS)
Minor: Medical anthropology
Details: 2004 and 2005 scholar