{"id":24677,"date":"2026-09-09T10:16:32","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T14:16:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/graduate-school\/?p=24677"},"modified":"2026-09-10T15:05:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T19:05:15","slug":"24677-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/graduate-school\/24677-2\/","title":{"rendered":"RI-NEST Graduate Completion Fellowship Supports Three URI Doctoral Researchers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Doctoral researchers advance work in ocean health, coastal resilience, and personalized medicine<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The University of Rhode Island Graduate School has named three doctoral candidates as recipients of the 2026-27 RI-NEST Graduate Completion Fellowship, recognizing outstanding graduate researchers whose work addresses pressing challenges facing Rhode Island and communities worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supported through the Rhode Island Network for Excellence in Science and Technology (RI-NEST)<\/a>, the fellowship provides doctoral students in the final stages of their degree with dedicated time and resources to focus on dissertation completion while advancing research with real-world impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2026-27 fellows are Nicole Lengyel Costa of the Marine Affairs program, Bryan Plankenhorn of the Graduate School of Oceanography, and Teresa Sierra of the Pharmaceutical Sciences program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nicole Lengyel Costa<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Nicole Lengyel Costa, a doctoral candidate in Marine Affairs, studies how extreme storms affect Rhode Island’s commercial fishing industry and coastal communities. Her research focuses on the Port of Galilee and seeks to identify ways to strengthen the resilience of working waterfronts through informed planning and investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“Receiving this graduate fellowship is an incredible honor and provides critical support for the completion of my Ph.D. by covering my tuition and helping offset the financial demands of graduate school<\/em>. This support will allow me to remain focused on conducting high-quality research and completing my dissertation, bringing me closer to my long-term goal of advancing science-based fisheries management and mentoring the next generation of marine affairs professionals.”<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Nicole Lengyel Costa is advised by Austin Becker and expects to complete her doctorate in May 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bryan Plankenhorn<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Bryan Plankenhorn is a doctoral candidate 2026-27 RI-NEST whose research focuses on harmful algal blooms and the factors that influence toxin production. By combining molecular biology techniques with Indigenous and Western scientific knowledge, his work aims to improve understanding, forecasting, and management of toxic bloom events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“Receiving the RI-NEST Graduate Completion Fellowship is an incredible opportunity to join a community of scholars who are at a similar stage in their graduate journey and are committed to advancing impactful research<\/em>. The fellowship will provide me with the time and support needed to focus on completing my dissertation and reaching the final milestones of my Ph.D. Equally important, it will allow me to dedicate time to translating my research into forms that are accessible and meaningful to the broader public.”<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Plankenhorn conducts his research under the mentorship of Bethany Jenkins and plans to defend his dissertation in spring 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Teresa Sierra<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Teresa Sierra, a doctoral candidate in Pharmaceutical Sciences, researches how nonalcoholic fatty liver disease affects the way medications are processed in the body. By combining biological data with computational modeling, her work aims to improve medication safety and support more personalized treatment approaches for patients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“I am grateful to have had the support of a graduate teaching assistantship throughout my doctoral training, and I am humbled to receive the RI-NEST Fellowship as I prepare to graduate<\/em>. This fellowship will provide invaluable time to focus on finalizing my manuscripts, advancing ongoing research collaborations, and supporting my peers, both within my lab and across the College of Pharmacy. I am especially grateful for the opportunity to continue contributing to the research community that has supported me throughout my doctoral training.”<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Beyond her research, Sierra participates in artist-scientist collaborations Rhode Island School of Design Vis-a-thon and the Art League Rhode Island\u2019s Synergy Project that help make scientific concepts more accessible to broader audiences through visual storytelling and creative interpretation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She is advised by Brahim Achour and expects to graduate in May 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Congratulations to all 2026 Rhode Island Network for Excellence in Science and Technology Fellows!<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

The RI-NEST Graduate Completion Fellowship reflects URI’s commitment to supporting graduate student achievement and research excellence. This year’s fellows are advancing research while creating knowledge that benefits communities in Rhode Island and beyond.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Doctoral researchers advance work in ocean health, coastal resilience, and personalized medicine The University of Rhode Island Graduate School has named three doctoral candidates as recipients of the 2026-27 RI-NEST Graduate Completion Fellowship, recognizing outstanding graduate researchers whose work addresses pressing challenges facing Rhode Island and communities worldwide. Supported through the Rhode Island Network for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5370,"featured_media":24653,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[129,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/graduate-school\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24677","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/graduate-school\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/graduate-school\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/graduate-school\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5370"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/graduate-school\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24677"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/graduate-school\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24677\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24699,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/graduate-school\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24677\/revisions\/24699"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/graduate-school\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24677"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/graduate-school\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24677"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/graduate-school\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24677"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}