Pittman awarded prestigious Alabama EPSCoR Graduate Research Scholars Program Fellowship
Posted on July 6, 2026 by Lindsay Hughes
Magan Pittman with mentor Dr. Ash Prakash
Magan Pittman, a doctoral candidate in the Whiddon College of Medicine's Basic Medical Sciences Graduate Program, has been awarded a 2026-2027 Alabama Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) Graduate Research Scholars Program (GRSP) Fellowship.
The highly competitive fellowship supports graduate students conducting high-impact scientific research while strengthening the state’s future science and technology workforce.
Pittman conducts research in the laboratory of Aishwarya Prakash, Ph.D., an associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, at the USA Health Mitchell Cancer Institute. She is studying the DNA repair enzyme NEIL1 and its role in supporting mitochondrial function in the nervous system. Her work aims to better understand how cells respond to stress in the brain.
“This fellowship is a recognition of our lab's collective work, and it's encouraging to see our ideas start to resonate beyond our immediate field as I grow as a science communicator,” said Pittman, who is entering her fourth year of doctoral study in the graduate program’s cancer biology track.
Her mentor, Prakash, said she is incredibly proud of Pittman’s achievement.
“This is a well-deserved recognition of her hard work, persistence and growth as a scientist,” Prakash said. “Magan has made outstanding contributions to our laboratory. She is relentless in the best possible way: curious, thoughtful and deeply committed to asking rigorous scientific questions. She approaches her research with care and intensity, and she consistently pushes herself to think more critically about the mechanisms underlying her work.”
Prakash said Pittman has distinguished herself through both the quality of her research and her development as an independent scientist.
“I am excited to see this fellowship support the next stage of her graduate journey,” Prakash added, “and I have no doubt that she will continue to make us proud.”
A native of Monroeville, Alabama, Pittman graduated from South with a bachelor’s degree in biomedical sciences with a concentration in biotechnology.
Established by the Alabama Legislature in 2006, the Alabama EPSCoR Graduate Research Scholars Program provides competitive fellowships to master's and doctoral students at Alabama's eight EPSCoR institutions.