June 21, 2021 – An undergraduate who has worked briefly in a University of Florida College of Medicine nephrology laboratory has been awarded a prestigious fellowship by the American Physiological Society, or APS, to explore the nature of research and the scientific process.

Nishka Jakkidi, a UF junior majoring in applied physiology and kinesiology, is one of just 16 recipients nationally of the society’s 2021 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship to work in the laboratory of an established APS scientist for 10 weeks. Jakkidi will receive a stipend and travel expenses to participate in APS’s annual convention in Philadelphia, in addition to a complimentary APS membership.

Jakkidi will work in the lab of Rajesh Mohandas, M.D., an associate professor in the UF College of Medicine’s division of nephrology, hypertension and renal transplantation.

The fellowship allows students to conduct research, explore physiology career options, learn about scientific communication and publication ethics and present their work at the annual APS convention.

Jakkidi plans to research how the circadian clock gene PER1 modulates the function of endothelial cells.