KENNESAW, Ga. | May 12, 2021

Kennesaw State University senior Trae Dunn has been named a recipient of the Georgia Board of Regents 2021 Academic Recognition Award.

The Board bestowed the honor on one student from each of its colleges and universities for classroom academic achievements. Dunn, of Alpharetta, Georgia, is a biology major with a 4.0 grade-point average.

“I believe this award means more to me than all my other awards, as I get to represent KSU to the Board of Regents,” Dunn said. “This is my opportunity to highlight the support I received at Kennesaw State that allowed me to succeed while helping others to succeed as well.”

An Honors graduate, Dunn embraced undergraduate research in the laboratory of associate professor of molecular biology Martin Hudson, which focuses on investigating the roles of various transcription factors in the development of the nervous system of the microscopic nematode C. elegans. He also spent a summer as a research fellow through working in the lab of Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor of biology and Nobel laureate Robert Horvitz. He has published one paper, in the genetics journal G3, and has presented his research 11 times, notably in 2019 at the National Council on Undergraduate Research conference and at Posters at the Georgia State Capitol.

In 2020, he became the third Kennesaw State student to win the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, a national honor for science and math students. He won the August C. Krueger Memorial Endowed Scholarship twice at Kennesaw State and was awarded the National Science Foundation scholarship in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) twice.

Dunn is a member of the first cohort of graduates of the Advanced Majors Program in KSU’s College of Science and Mathematics. He also participated in the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation. Outside the lab, Dunn helped establish KSU’s chapter of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity, serving as its inaugural president. He volunteered more than 300 hours at the Emory Clinic and at Children’s Hospital of Atlanta during his college career.

After graduating, Dunn will serve as a National Institutes of Health-funded intern at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, in a lab that develops therapeutics for Alzheimer’s disease. After that, he plans to pursue an M.D. and a Ph.D. in neuroscience.

– Dave Shelles

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A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its more than 47,000 students. Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 7 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.