Interim President J. Larry Jameson and Provost John L. Jackson, Jr. have announced the 2024 cohort of Presidential PhD Fellows.

Drawn from the incoming class of PhD students, this year’s seven Presidential Fellows come from six different schools, representing the wide range of academic areas at Penn. Each fellow receives a three-year fellowship, including a 12-month stipend, tuition, fees, research funds, and Penn Student Insurance coverage.

“A foremost priority for Penn is robust support for our talented graduate students,” said Interim President Jameson. “They are the future vanguard of academic excellence and knowledge creation, none more so than our Presidential PhD Fellows. This initiative helps advance the work of extraordinary scholars at Penn, and I look forward to the difference these fellows will go on to make.”

The 2024 Presidential PhD Fellows are:

• Raisa Elia Achiriloaie, School of Engineering and Applied Science
• Saron Akalu, Perelman School of Medicine
• Miller Celestin, School of Nursing
• Iris Horng, Wharton School
• Anna Kasper, Perelman School of Medicine
• Thomonique Moore, Annenberg School for Communication
• Clarisse Figueiredo de Queiroz, Weitzman School of Design

The President’s PhD Initiative is a $30 million initiative to support doctoral education at Penn. The Presidential PhD Fellows are drawn from among the most accomplished and diverse doctoral students at or newly recruited to Penn.

The first group of fellows was announced in 2021, and this year’s group will be the final cohort named under the initiative.