Averitt Awards: Excellence in Graduate Research, Master’s

The Averitt Awards are the highest honors bestowed upon graduate students within the Georgia Southern University Jack N. Averitt College of Graduate Studies. The award given to outstanding scholars serves to independently recognize academic excellence in three separate categories — research, service and instruction.

Henna Gavem, December ’26

Master of Science in Biology

College of Science and Mathematics

What is the focus of your research?

My research is focused on assessing the physiological and behavioral responses of the Two-toed Amphiuma to salinity. More specifically, I aim to determine whether these responses differ between barrier-island and mainland populations.

What did you learn about your research?

The Two-toed Amphiuma are incredibly understudied and cryptic; anything we learn about them is novel. Through this project, I have learned that this species can have its cutaneous respiration rate measured in an intermittent-flow through respirometer, that their plasma osmolality and metabolic rate seem to be unaffected by salinity in the short term, and that I will soon learn how their behavior is affected by salinity. The first time I saw one of these aquatic salamanders was actually when I started the project. So through this project, I have also learned some incredible skills.

Will you continue this research in the future?

I would love to continue working with the Two-toed Amphiuma in the future. I think they are incredibly interesting and need more people looking into them. While I do not wish to pursue a Ph.D. in this research, I hope to continue working in freshwater wetlands and with amphibians and reptiles more broadly.

What are your post-graduate plans?

After graduation, I hope to get a position as a wildlife biologist for a state agency. Within that position, I would love to continue working with freshwater amphibians and reptiles, but I would be happy to get the opportunity to branch out and work with a variety of taxa.

What did you appreciate most about your program?

The thing I appreciate most about my program is the community within the biology department. My department is incredibly supportive of the graduate students. We also have a biology organization of graduate students that fosters friendship and support among graduate students and allows us to interact outside the biology building.

What did you learn about yourself at Georgia Southern?

The thing that I learned most about myself while being at Georgia Southern is that I am a very capable scientist. Before I started this program, I had some research experience, but I was ultimately very green and not very knowledgeable about my field. Being here has really helped me grow as a person and as a professional. I have gained the skills and confidence to feel secure enough to call myself a scientist.

What will you miss most about Georgia Southern?

I will miss the people that I met here the most. I have met some incredible people and people I will call lifelong friends while in this program. I truly would not have had as good a time at Georgia Southern as I have without the people that I met along the way.

What does it mean to you to be a recipient of the Averitt Award, which is the highest honor given to graduate students in the Jack N. Averitt College of Graduate Studies?

I was incredibly honored to receive this award. I truly love research and always want to conduct the highest quality work possible. Receiving this award was incredibly validating. I think it is easy in academia and science to give in to imposter syndrome or compare yourself to other students or researchers, so it is nice to get that reminder that you are working hard and doing good work.

What is an interesting or little-known fact about you? 

I was a Norwegian citizen for 21 years!

Any shoutouts for any professors you met along the way?

I would not be where I am today without my advisor, Dr. Checo Colón-Gaud. He not only took a chance on me as a REU fellow but also let me conduct research on an aquatic amphibian, even though he does not work with vertebrates. Throughout my time in the program, he supported me but allowed me the independence to develop my project and grow. 

Also, two of my committee members, Dr. Lance McBrayer and Dr. Johanne Lewis, helped make much of my work possible. They have given me the skills to be successful in my project and in the future. 

Any family, friends or pets that you want to recognize?

I, of course, want to recognize my family for always being the first people to support and encourage me in my career; my lab mates for all of their support and help through the process of conducting my research; and my advisor for giving me the freedom and support to work on a project that I am truly passionate about. Lastly, I want to recognize my cat, Shrimp! She is definitely the one who has gotten me through the most stressful parts of my research.