MS-RSM Graduation - Celebrating our newest reproductive scientists

By Iris Mutiu, 2nd year MS-RSM Student, July 8, 2026

On Friday, June 12th, 2026, 18 of our brightest Center for Reproductive Science members received their Master’s in Reproductive Science and Medicine degrees. The Simpson Querrey auditorium was filled with admiring family members, peers, and faculty who played pivotal roles in these students' achievements. Our distinguished graduates are eager to join the reproductive science community as front players in medical schools, doctoral programs, and laboratory andrology/endocrinology roles, among many other professions, marking this major milestone.

Photo by Luhan Tracy Zhou MS-RSM Class of 2026

The ceremony began with a slideshow of pictures showing our students' involvement in the program and in extracurricular activities, both self-led and planned by the student council, highlighting the tight-knit community here. This served as a beautiful reminder to the students and the audience that not only did they advance their careers, but they also gained networking opportunities with the field’s future leaders. This joyful sentiment continued through the Welcome and Program Overview presentation led by Dr. Giula Vigone, Associate Director of the MS-RSM. Dr. Francesca Duncan officially began the graduation ceremony with a warm introduction to this occasion's honor and revealed that each mentor would introduce their thesis and non-thesis mentees as they received their degrees. This allowed the attendees to glimpse the close mentor-mentee relationship that developed during a master’s project and to celebrate with the people who supported their loved one. The MS-RSM Rising Scholar Honor was presented by Dr. Lindsey Block to two students demonstrating excellent academic performance: Beatrice Piras (thesis track) and Sera Balkir (non-thesis track).

Special recognition of distinguished awards was led by pivotal members of the Center for Reproductive Science, who graciously recorded videos to celebrate the graduating class. Dr. T. Rajenda Kumar, Professor & Edgar L., Patricia M. Makowski and Family Endowed Chair, conferred the Makowski Award, a prestigious award highlighting a single exemplary student on the thesis track, to Caitlin Buccholz, mentored by Dr. Elnur Babayev, for her thesis titled “JAK-STAT signaling is dysregulated in the ovarian stroma with advancing reproductive age”. Caitlin’s presentation highlighted the novelty of her research, which tackles this understudied pathway in ovarian aging.

Dr. Teresa K. Woodruff, President Emerita, Michigan State University, MSU Research Foundation Professor, continued the award celebration in a video for the Teresa K. Woodruff Award, which highlights one of the most outstanding students on the non-thesis track, to Sera Balkir, mentored by Drs. Pamela Monahan and Lindsey Block. Sera’s presentation on her non-thesis project titled “The Impact of Polystyrene Micronanoplastics on Extravillous Trophoblast α5β1 Integrin Expression” informed the audience about microplastic interference within the reproductive system, highlighting a scientific topic requiring more attention.

Following the graduation ceremony, graduates, attendees, mentors, and peers gathered to celebrate by sharing pictures, reconnecting since thesis defenses, and celebrating our distinct MS-RSM 2026 graduates as they enter their careers with newfound opportunities, skills, intelligence, and, most importantly, community.