Each year, the Department of Biology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis awards a prize to a graduating senior in memory of Marion Smith Spector, a 1938 graduate who studied zoology under the late Viktor Hamburger.
This year’s recipient is Eric Hsu, who worked in the laboratory of David L. Brody, MD, PhD, formerly of the School of Medicine.
Hsu’s thesis was titled “Astrocytic Degeneration in Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.” Reviewers praised his work for the design of the experiments, the technical excellence with which they were carried out and the incisiveness of Hsu’s interpretation of results.
The Spector Prize, first awarded in 1974, recognizes academic excellence and outstanding undergraduate achievement in research. Students are nominated by their research mentors for outstanding research that has made substantial contributions to a field.
Hsu is a degree candidate in biology in the neuroscience track. After graduation, Hsu will attend Johns Hopkins University as a graduate student in neuroscience. Hsu will receive the prize at a biology awards ceremony May 15.