SBU Doctoral Students Win 20th Annual Mow Shiah Lin Scholarship

From left: Pallavi Surana; Beth Y. Lin, Dr. Mow Shiah Lin's widow; and Varun Kankanallu.

Pallavi Surana and Varun Ravi Kankanallu, doctoral students at Stony Brook University, are the recipients of the 20th annual Mow Shiah Lin Scholarship for their exceptional achievements in their respective fields. The Asian Pacific American Association (APAA) at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) funds the $2,000 scholarship in honor of the late Brookhaven Lab scientist for whom it is named.

"This recognition highlights not only our academic pursuits but also our shared values and passions in remembrance of Dr. Mow Shiah Lin and his contribution to science," said Surana.

Kankanallu's research in the Department of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering involves conducting experiments at BNL's National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II) in advanced energy science and technology, focusing on understanding the reaction mechanisms of aqueous Zn-ion batteries as the next-generation renewable energy storage, to solve real-world energy and environmental issues.

Surana's work in Biomedical Informatics focuses on developing informatics methods for studying the role of tissue-specific transcript variants in health and cancer. She is developing DNABERT based genomic language models to decode the complex regulatory logic of tissue specific gene promoters and their allele specific activity in normal and disease cells/tissues. She was awarded the Scholars in BioMedical Sciences Training Program 2024-25 (T32GM148331) to develop a DNABERT-based Personal Genome Variant Interpretation Score for prioritizing heritable mutations and clinical features in non-small cell lung cancer. [NIH Grant: R01LM013722 to Ramana V. Davuluri, PhD]

Kankanallu and Surana are married, and outside the lab, they enjoy playing tennis and kayaking together, and give back to the community through outreach initiatives, encouraging young minds to explore the beauty and potential of science.

"Together, our research reflects a shared commitment to tackling global challenges in energy and health," Surana said. "This award motivates us to continue pushing the boundaries of science while staying connected to the broader community."

Dr. Lin began his career at Brookhaven Lab in 1975 as a postdoctoral fellow and advanced to co-lead a research team working with an environmental remediation company to use selected bacteria to convert toxic oil wastes, such as used motor oils, into useful products. In 2001, Lin shared an R&D 100 Award, given by R&D Magazine for the top 100 technological achievements of the year, for developing a technology to recover silica from geothermal brine.

The APAA promotes unity and awareness through educational, cultural, and social programs; the annual Asian Pacific American Heritage Month events; and through discussion of issues that affect the Asian Pacific American community at the Laboratory.

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