Here's a brief list of past winners of SOMA scholarships
2022
Scholarships to PhD. Candidates for $2,500.00
- Martha "Fabiola" Pulido-Chavez, UC Riverside, Gene Zierdt Memorial Scholarship, Measuring Post-fire Resilience of Microbial Richness, Composition, and Function in Chaparral.
- Clara Qin, UC Santa Cruz, Charmoon Richardson Memorial Scholarship, Studying fungal soil biomes/composition as a function of climate change.
Scholarships to Graduates
- $2,500.00 to Jose David Castro Zabarain, Harvard University Mexico, Herbert M. Saylor Memorial Scholarship, Growth optimization and characterization of filamentous fungi Ustilago maydis mycelium and its applications as a new food ingredient.
- $1,000.00 to Brandon Stairs, Oregon State University, The effects of environmental selective pressures and bacterial endosymbionts on the molecular diversity of Rhizopus microsporus.
Scholarships to PhD. Candidates
- $1,500.00 to Birch Maxwell Lazo-Murphy, Universit of South Carolina, Mycoinsulation materials.
- $1,000.00 to Gabe Runte, UC Santa Barbara, Ectomycorrhizal neighbors: How symbiotic communities shape forest dynamics, forestry perspective, disturbance ecology as it relates to wild fire in California.
- $1,000.00 to Prasanth Prakash Prabhu, Clark University, Evolution of nematophagy in Pleurotaceae (oyster mushroom and allies).
- $1,000.00 to Carolyn Delevich, University of Oregon, Mining citizen science data to map distributions of macrofungi across the United States.
- $1,000.00 to Felipe Esteban Saez Cortez Disturbance ecology as it relates to Trichoderma and Entompathogenic micro fungi in California.
- $1,000.00 to Davy DeKrey, University of Minnesota, Studying grape vine trunk diseases.
2021
Scholarships to PhD. Candidates for $2,500.00
- Francis Grace Stark, UC Berkeley, Charmoon Richardson Memorial Scholarship, Elucidating the Fungal immune system and testing the potential role of Nucleotide-binding domain Leucine-rich repeat-like proteins (NLR-like) against bacterial antagonists.
- Daisy Hernandez, UC Davis, Herbert M. Saylor Memorial Scholarship, Assessing the transmission of Ganoderma adspersum in almond orchards.
Scholarships to PhD. Candidates for $1,000.00
- Nickolas Rajtar , U of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Detection of Invasive Tree Pathogens Using Molecular Tools for Prevention and to Mitigate Damage.
- Marcelo Bustamante, UC Davis, Controlling grapevine trunk diseases using beneficial endophytes from commercial grapevines in California.
- Max Spencer, University of Oregon, Investigating the stability of yeast communities in Oregon vineyards.
- Arik Joukhajian, UC Riverside, Linking soil microbial resilience to Joshua tree regeneration after the Dome Fire.
- Mari Irving, UC Santa Barbara, Effects of nutrient availability and herbivory on fungal endophyte diversity.
- Austin Apigo, UC Santa Barbara, How does foliar fungal endophyte diversity vary across a latitudinal gradient?
- Daniel Back, Oregon State University, Potential of using fungi as medicinal products.
Scholarships to Graduates
- $1,000.00 to Michael Bradshaw, PhD. from Harvard, A Taxonomic and Phylogenetic Manual of Powdery Mildews.
- $1,000.00 to Danielle Sublett, Masters from CSU Fresno, Cortinarius: Species Diversity in the Sierra Nevada Foothills.
- $750.00 to Alexandria Moxley, Masters from Montana State, Barriers and Opportunities for Specialty Mushroom Production in the US.
- $500.00 to Juhan Chung, Masters from CSU Fresno, Horizontal Gene Transfer of Antibiotic Activity Genes within Agaricales.
2020
Scholarships to PhD. Candidates for $2,500.00
- Robert Blundell, UC Davis, Herbert M. Saylor Memorial Scholarship, Controlling fungal pathogens that cause grapevine trunk diseases when they infect exposed pruning wounds.
- Thomas Roehl, University of Wisconsin, La Cross, Charmoon Richardson Memorial Scholarship, Genetics of mushroom development in Flammulina Velutipes.
Scholarships to PhD. Candidates for $1,000.00
- Gillian Bergmann, UC Davis, How pollinator interactions and floral traits influence mycobiome assembly during seed development.
- Dylan Enright, UC Riverside, The effects of mega-fire on Redwood Tan-Oak Forest soil microbial communities.
- Gabe Runte, UC Santa Barbara, How different species of ectomycorrhizal fungi support the growth and persistence of trees.
- Dylan Baldassaris, University of Wisconsin, La Cross, Researching what species of fungi are living inside the needles of white bar pine which is a food source of grizzly bears and other wildlife threatened by changing climate and fungal disease.
Former winners whose applications convinced the committee that additional funds were appropriate for them to continue their studies.
- $1,000.00 to Christopher Bivins, Fresno State, The ecology of mycoheterotroph plants. They cannot photosynthesize and depend of mycorrhizal fungi in order to obtain carbon.
- $1,000.00 to Glade Dlott, Stanford, Studying unique soil features as a growth medium and how it influences fungal and bacterial ecology.
2019
Scholarships to PhD. Candidates for $3,000.00
- Dilan Ozkan, Newcastle University, Herbert M. Saylor Memorial Scholarship, Demonstrating a Material Making Process Through the Cultivation of Mycelium Growth.
- Glade Arthur Dlott, Stanford, Charmoon Richardson Memorial Scholarship, Implications of the Fungal Highway: soil moisture controls microbial community dynamics across scales.
Scholarships to PhD. Candidates for $2,000.00
- Taryn Farber, UC Santa Cruz, The Mycobiome from Urban to Non-Urban on Sycamore and Plane Trees.
- Laura Bogar, Stanford, Understanding the ectomycorrhizal symbiosis, a widespread mutualism between soil fungi and temperate forest trees.
- Kyle Gervers, Oregon State, The effects of seed source and site factors on the foliar fungal communities of Coastal Douglas-fir.
Former winners whose applications convinced the committee that additional funds were appropriate for them to continue their studies.
- $1,500.00 to Heather Slinn, Oregon State University, Cryptic plant-colonizing fungi alter secondary metabolites in the chemically diverse tropical plant Piper.
- $1,500.00 to Jackie Shay , UC Merced, Endophytes of moneyflowers across the species range.
Graduate Scholarships to MBS Candidates for $1,500.00
- Christopher Bivens, Fresno State, Investigating the Mycorrhizal Ecology of four California Mycoheterotrophs.
Junior Scholarships (1 day Offsite attendance at SOMA Camp, with chaperone)
- Justine Martelli
- Karlie Keaveney
2018
Scholarships to PhD. Candidates for $2,500.00
- Gabriel Smith, Stanford , Herbert M. Saylor Memorial Scholarship, How mycorrhizal fungi in soil at Trione-Annadale and Hood Mountain parks assist ecosystems to recover after wild fires.
- Akiko Carver, UC Berkeley, Charmoon Richardson Memorial Scholarship, Studying pyrophilous fungi (fungi that fruit only in burned soils) and comparing the genomics of this class of fungi.
Scholarships to PhD. Candidates for $1,500.00
- Michael Bradshaw, University of Washington in Seattle, Evaluating the epidemiology and biology of powdery mildew.
- Carolyn Paez, Oregon State University at Corvallis, Investigating how a Rhizopogon located in Arizona and Mexico differ from each other due to migration and weather changes.
Former winners whose applications convinced the committee that additional funds were appropriate for them to continue their studies.
- $1,500.00 to Robert Tehan, Oregon State University, Studying a new species of Cordyceps.
- $1,500.00 to Briana Boaz, UC Berkeley, Studying the longevity and function of ectomycorrizal of spore banks.
- $1,500.00 to Jackie Shay, UC Merced, Studying the evolution, ecology, and taxonomy of Monkey flower endophytes at its range limits.
Graduate Scholarships to MBS Candidates for $1,500.00
- Dan Lenz, Cal State Sacramento, How a damaged plant will trigger a defense mechanism and pass that information onto other unaffected plants.
- Susan Henson, Cal State East Bay, Researching the fungal community found in the three distinct habitats at Sonoma County's Pepperwood Preserve.
- Brian Clauss, Cal State East Bay, Comparing the European Alnicola fungi with its American cousin.
2017
Healdsburg Science Fair winners
- Allison Frank, 8th grade, Home schooled (Mr. Enders) Which greywater is the safest?
- Clausse Anderton, 4th grade, St. John’s (Ms. Oseguera) Acidity of Vegetables
- Kaylin Smith, 6th grade, Healdsburg School (Mrs. Leslie) How different plants affect purity of water.
Graduate Scholarships to PhD. candidates for $2,000.00
- Jennifer Harrower, UC Santa Cruz, Herbert M. Saylor Memorial Scholarship, Impacts of climate change on Joshua trees and their mycorrhizal fungi.
- Richard Tehan, Oregon State, Charmoon Richardson Memorial Scholarship, How secondary metabolities produced by fungi can be used in life-saving medicines.
Graduate Scholarships to PhD. candidates for $1,000.00
- Korena Mafune, University of Washington, Fungal mutualists in canopy soil.
- Kelsey Crutchfield-Peters, University of California Berkeley, Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in cycling of nitrogen and phosphorus in coast redwoods.
Former winners who are taking their previous studies to another level.
- $1,000.00 to Briana Boaz, Oregon State University, PhD candidate
- $1,000.00 to Heather Slinn, University of Nevada, Reno, PhD. candidate
Graduate Scholarships to MBS Candidates for $1,000.00
- Hannah Soukup, University of Oregon, How fire alters fungal communities.
- Catherine Callaway, San Francisco State University, Porphyrelles of California.
- Craig Ennis, University of California Merced, How fungal biofilms (on items that are transplanted into humans) are resistent to antifungal agents.
Graduate Scholarships to MBA Candidates for $500.00
- Carolyn Delevich
- Kennan Mighell
- Devin Schaefferkoetter
Graduate Scholarships to MBA Candidates for $100.00
- Jell Stallman
- Alexandra Cooper
2016
Science Scholarships for $1,500.00
- Heather Slinn, University of Nevada, Reno, PhD. candidate
- Dan Thomas, University of Oregon, PhD. candidate
- Briana Boaz, University of California, Berkeley, PhD candidate
- Dabao Lu, Oregon State University, Master's Candidate
- Paige Elizabeth Mandelare, Oregon State University, PhD candidate
2015
Graduate Scholarships for $1,500.00
- Jackie Shay, Master's Candidate at San Francisco State University, Phylogeny and Evolution of Marasmius from Madagascar.
- Jade Florence, PhD Candidate at Oregon State University, Investigation into the Overwintering of Monilinia vaccinii-corymbosi.
- Anne Kakouridis, Master's Candidate at University of California Berkeley, The Role of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi in the Carbon Cycle and the Mitigation of Climate Change.
K-12 Scholarships
Sonoma County Science Fair
- Jessica Gonzalez, Roseland Collegiate Prep, Grade 7, The wildflower effect
- Noah Kovacs, The Presentation School, grade 8, Creating a functioning prosthetic hand
- Zachary Miller, Technology High School, grade 11, The effects of Gibberellic Acid amounts and hydroponic growing on plant growth
- Katherine Baney, Technology High School, grade 11, Testing for P. ramorum using infrared spectrum
Healdsburg Science Fair
- Logan Jones, St. John's Academy, grade 1, How long will it take for a banana and kiwi to spoil
- Ian Stuart, St. John's Academy, grade 3, Where does mold grow best?
- Brooke O'Connor, St. John's Academy grade 4, Which container prevents fruit from spoiling quickly
- Sofia Sarshar, St. John's Academy grade 6, Does scent affect memory
- Lucas Huang, The Healdsburg School, grade 8, Which sweetner tastes the sweetest?
2014
Graduate Scholarships for $1,500.00
- Claire Willing, PhD student of UC Berkeley, Fungal ecology and plant ecophysiology of the coast redwood system.
- Anna Bazzicalupa, PhD from University of British Columbia, Russulas of the Pacific NW
- Fletcher Halliday, PhD from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Studying fungal infections in wild grasses for his PhD thesis.
- Christopher Grace, MS at California State University East Bay, The taxonomy and systematics of 32 different Marasmius from Africa.
- Joshua Harrison, PhD University of Reno, The diversity, distribution, and the ecological role of fungal endophytes.
- Natalie Humbalek, PhD candidate of Oregon State University, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (chytoid fungus) which is wiping out populations of amphibians.
K-12 Scholarships
Healdsburg Science Fair
- Jennifer Doherty, Adriana Novak, and Genevieve Gentry, 4th grade, Fitch Mountain School project that examined the fastest way to ripen an avocado.
- Zuzu T. Morgan, Healdsburg Middle School, for her project The Yeast Beast, examined which sugar enabled yeast to grow the quickest.
- Abigail Cody, 8th grade, studying The Affects of Orange Juice on Blood Sugar Levels.
2013
Graduate Scholarships ($1500)
- Sydney Glassman, UC Berkeley, PhD. candidate. Cascading effects of the invasive pathogen Phytophthora ramorum (Sudden Oak Death) on the ectomycorrhizal fungal communities in redwood-tanoak forests.
- Arthur C. Grupe II, Humboldt State University, Master Degree candidate. Execute a systematic study of several undescribed neotropical Basidiomycetes.
- Roo Vandegrift, University of Oregon, PhD. candidate. Dispersal ecology of Xylaria endophytes in the cloud forest of Equador.
- Ben Waitman, UC Davis, PhD. candidate. Does anthropogenic nitrogen deposition alter ectomycorrhizal function in addition to ectomycorrhizal diversity?
K-12 Scholarships
Sonoma County Science Fair 2013
- Alessandro Brown, 9th grade, Maria Carrillo High School: Burn Factor.
- Aidan McCuan, 11th grade, Technology High School: Testing and Comparing Wolbachia Infections in Terrestrial Anthropod Classes.
- Sierra Winter, 9th grade, Maria Carrillo High School: The Toxic Lake - Study of Effect of Microcystis on Plant Life.
Healdsburg Science Fair
- Lilla Nagy and Natalia Querez, 8th grade, Healdsburg Jr. High: Growth of plants using a 9V battery.
- Aidan Perez, 4th grade, St. John's School: Developing best conditions for composting.
- Nicole Rauch, Tanya Carrado, Andrea Moya, Onaka Lutz, 7th grade, Healdsburg Jr. High: Dispersal of seeds.
- Sofia Sarshar, 4th grade, St. John's School: The strength of different spider webs.
2012
Graduate Scholarships ($1,500)
- Alija Bajaro Mujic, Oregon State University, PhD dissertation. Evolutionary biology of mutualistic ectomycorrhizal symbioses between plants and fungi.
K-12 Scholarships
Sonoma County Science Fair
- Garrett Soiland, 12th grade: Carnivorous Plants and How They React to Different Conditions.
Healdsburg Science Fair
- Sam Nautokas, 8th grade: Is There Life Out There?
- Adam Perez, 3rd grade: Mold Growth of Cheese.
- Jacqueline Sandoval, 6th grade: Fruit Molds.
- Joey Seghesio, 6th grade: Monster Mushrooms.
- Joe Tomerlin, 8th grade: Vinegar in the Vineyards.
2011
Graduate Scholarships ($1,500)
- Nhu Nyugen, University of California at Berkeley. Diversity of fungi in beetle guts.
- Jessie Uehling, Humboldt State University. Examining systematics and molecular ecology of Cantharellales from Guiana Shield.
K-12 Scholarships
Sonoma County Science Fair
- Grace Avellar, 7th grade: Hold The Mold
- Harlin Falejczyk, 11th grade: Analysis of Variance of Effluent Testing Method.
Healdsburg Science Fair
- Mathew Ferrari, 3rd grade: Which bean will grow fastest?
- Jake Gordon, 1st grade: Do plants treated with music grow taller?
- Hannah Klisura, 11th grade: Does Ultraviolet Light affect fermentation of yeast in grape juice?
- Aaron Miller, 10th grade: Does similar forest ecosystems produce similar macro-fungi?
- Kirsten Smith, 11th grade: Does Ultraviolet Light affect fermentation of yeast in grape juice?
2010
Graduate Scholarships ($1,500)
- Mia Rose Maltz, Master student at Sonoma State University: Bioremediation for ecological restoration.
- Valerie L. Wong, Ph.D. candidate at the University of California at Berkeley: Fungal genomics and symbioses.
2009
Graduate Scholarships ($1,500)
- Stephanie Jarvis, San Francisco State University: Monograph of the Lycoperdaceae and Geastraceae of California.
- Mia Rose Maltz, San Francisco State University: Use of fungi in bioremediation.
K-12 Scholarships
- Katie Petnic, St. Francis High School: Drawing of basidiomycetes reproduction.
2008
- Kathryn Harper, UC Davis: Toxic and hallucinogenic mushroom identification via a DNA based macro-array.
- Nicole Hynson, UC Berkeley: Fungi as host plants: unraveling the role of mycorrhizal specificity in myco-heterotrophic plants. A $250 book award will go to the UC Berkeley herbarium or library.
K-12 Scholarships
- Katie Petnic, St. Vincents in Petaluma.
2007
Graduate Scholarships ($1,500)
- Jennifer Kerekes, UC Berkeley: Three species of Suillus in California.
K-12 Scholarships
- Hanna Bauer: Drawing of four species of fungi.
2006
Graduate Scholarships ($1,500)
- Tara Fulgenzi, Humboldt State University: Taxonomic study of the Boletaceae from the Neotropical rainforests of Guyana, in northeastern South America.
- Denise Gregory. Herbert M. Saylor Memorial Scholarship: Clitocybe in California.
K-12 Scholarships
- Joseph Sorensen: Submitted mushroom drawings and won two $50 K-12 Scholarships. His excellent drawings will be featured on the next SOMA T-Shirt.
2005
Graduate Scholarships ($1,500)
- April Sahara, Humboldt State University, California. Herbert M. Saylor Memorial Scholarship: Parasites on Russula brevipes.
2004
Graduate Scholarships ($1,500)
- Scott Bates, Arizona State University. Herbert M. Saylor Memorial Scholarship: Keys and descriptions of puffballs and earthstars of the South Western US.
2003
Graduate Scholarships ($1,500)
- Lawrence Glacy, Master's student at Sonoma State University, California: China's Nature Reserve system and the ecological impact of fungal removal from the Panda (Ailouropus melanoluca) habitat.
- Matthew Keirle, San Francisco State University. Herbert M. Saylor Memorial Scholarship: Monographing the coprinoid fungi of Hawaii.
- Megan Romberg, Ph.D. candidate at the University of California, Davis. Collegiate Scholarship: Large-scale production of dye fungi in fermentation vats and possible commercialization of the dyes by this method.
K-12 Scholarships
- Ariel Mahon: Drawing of Boletus edulis.
2002
Graduate Scholarships ($1,500)
- Matt Smith: Armillaria Root Disease (caused by Armillaria mellea) in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park.
- Peter Werner, University of California, Berkeley. The Herbert M. Saylor Memorial Scholarship: Gene flow in Cantharellus californicus.
K-12 Scholarships
- Josef Sorenson: Pencil drawings of fungi.
2001
Graduate Scholarships ($1,500)
- Admir Jose Giachini, Oregon State University: Systematics, phylogeny and ecology of the genus Gomphus in the Pacific Northwest.
- Matthew Smith, University of California at Davis: Diversity of mycorrhizae on oaks in an oak/grassland ecosystem.
K-12 Scholarships
- Megan Clements: book of mushroom drawings.
- Anna Erickson: Honorary Mention.
- Ariel Mahon: T-shirt logo.
2000
Graduate Scholarships ($1,500)
- Elissa Swearingen, San Francisco State University: The Boletus edulis complex of five or six species in Northern California.
K-12 Scholarships
- Anna Erickson: Fired ceramic tile.