Posted: May 14, 2019
Sara Klee, a doctoral student in the Department of Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology and USDA NIFA Predoctoral Fellow, has been selected as a recipient of the 2019 Alumni Association Dissertation Award.
Sara Klee, center, poses with Regina Vasilatos-Younken, dean of the Graduate School, and Neil Sharkey, vice president for research, at The Graduate School Alumni Society’s Spring Social and Recognition Dinner on March 23, 2019. IMAGE: STUDIO 2 PHOTOGRAPHY
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Sara Klee, a doctoral student in the Department of Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology and USDA NIFA Predoctoral Fellow, has been selected as a recipient of the 2019 Alumni Association Dissertation Award.
The award is among the most prestigious awards available to Penn State graduate students and includes a $5,000 award to the recipient. Each year, an estimated total of 14 students from across all disciplines at Penn State are selected to receive an Alumni Association Dissertation Award. Klee is the first Plant Pathology graduate student to receive this award in the past 18 years of award history dating back to 2002. Klee's research is in the area of fire blight bacterial virulence genetics and she is advised by Dr. Timothy McNellis.
Klee's achievements were recognized at The Graduate School Alumni Society's Spring Social and Recognition Dinner on March 23, as well as The Graduate School's Student Awards Luncheon on April 11.
The Alumni Association Dissertation Award is made possible through a generous endowment established by Penn State's Alumni Association.
