Marlie Johnson, a Hope College junior from Petoskey, has received a highly competitive Travel Award to attend the annual joint meeting of the Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology and the Sixth International Congress of Neuroendocrinology.
Only 15 of the top 125 candidates nationwide were selected for the award. Those competing included not only undergraduates but also graduate students and post-docs. The meeting will be held in Pittsburgh, Pa., in mid June.
Applicants are judged on the basis of the general interest of the abstract for their presentation at the meeting; their curriculum vita; a personal essay; a letter of recommendation; and a statement concerning their research interests.
Johnson will be presenting the results of research she has conducted with Dr. Gregory S. Fraley, assistant professor of biology, examining the regulation of the timing of the onset of puberty. They have been among the first to demonstrate the role in the mammalian brain of a newly discovered protein, first found in birds, that appears to inhibit reproduction.
Earlier this spring, Johnson, who is majoring in biology, received Honorable Mention recognition from the Barry Goldwater Scholarship Foundation. Only 128 students nationwide were so honored for 2006-07.
Johnson has consistently been named to the college's Dean's List, and during the college's Honors Convocation on Thursday, April 27, she received both the De Kruif Writing Prize, which is a biology award, and the Wolterink Prize in Biology. Her co-curricular activities have included cross country and track.
She is the daughter of Cathy Johnson of Petoskey, and is a 2004 graduate of Petoskey High School.