Recipient: NSF GRFP Fellowship

Year: 2018

As a GRFP Fellowship recipient, Mallory Tollefson will gain access to the XSEDE supercomputer as a resource for her research project.

Tollefson will use the supercomputer to create an algorithm that optimizes models of proteins. She will apply the algorithm to proteins that are known to cause deafness. Her long-term goal is to develop innovate modeling techniques and a database of protein models to be used in research on genetic mutations and the development of therapeutic drug molecules.

“The availability of supercomputing power is integral to the development of protein simulation techniques and thus, the success of my project,” Tollefson says. “With use of XSEDE resources, I anticipate being able to pursue research questions that require a larger amount of computing power than would otherwise not be available.”

Tollefson also benefitted from completing the GRP application process, which included receiving valuable assistance from the UI’s GRFP awardees, professors, and scholar development experts.

“I was able to practice writing a nationally evaluated proposal, which began preparing me for the numerous occasions that I will need to write or speak about my work,” Tollefson says. “I appreciate the effort that all of my mentors put into my application, and now that I have been awarded the GRFP, I look forward to joining that network of mentors to support other University of Iowa students during their application development process.”