Graduate scholarship in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences reaches far beyond the classroom—and this year’s Outstanding Graduate Award recipients exemplify that impact. Jessica Loeffler, Indira Saha, and Alyssa Hohorst were named Fall 2025 honorees for graduate work that advances scientific understanding, centers community voices, and strengthens teaching and mentorship across disciplines.
From community-engaged history and ecological research to neuroscience that reshapes how we understand mental health, these graduates reflect the depth, rigor, and public impact of CLAS scholarship.
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Indira Saha
Outstanding Graduate Student, History (MA)
Indira Saha earned her master’s degree in history and was named a Fall 2025 College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Outstanding Graduate for her public history scholarship, teaching, and service. Her graduate work focused on community-centered historical projects that document displacement and elevate lived experience.
During her graduate studies, Saha combined public history methods with research shaped in part by her family’s experiences following the Partition of India and Pakistan. Faculty praised her interdisciplinary approach, intellectual rigor, and ethic of care in community-based work. In the history department, she served as a research assistant and teaching assistant, taking on expanded responsibilities that included lecturing, leading discussions, mentoring peers, and supporting faculty beyond the expectations of her roles.
Following graduation, Saha will begin a position with the History Colorado Center, where she will work with Indigenous communities to record and preserve oral histories. Her selection as an Outstanding Graduate reflects her commitment to ethical, community-engaged scholarship and the meaningful impact she has made through research, teaching, and service.
Jessica Loeffler
Outstanding Master's Student, Integrative Biology (MS)
Jessica Loeffler, who earned her master’s degr
ee in integrative biology, was named a Fall 2025 College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Outstanding Graduate for her research, teaching, and scientific outreach. Her graduate work focused on fungal communities that provide nutrients to plants that have lost the ability to photosynthesize, deepening understanding of complex plant–fungal relationships.
Loeffler completed her master’s thesis under the mentorship of Andrew Wilson, PhD, affiliate faculty member in integrative biology and associate curator of mycology at the Denver Botanic Gardens, where she conducted much of her research. During her studies, she directed multi-state fieldwork, supported mycology research in the Southern Rockies, assisted with DNA-based plant pathogen identification, and independently developed bioinformatics skills to analyze complex sequencing data.
Beyond her research, Loeffler contributed to the university as an instructor for ecology- and molecular biology–focused laboratory courses, earning strong student evaluations for her clarity, patience, and ability to connect course material to real-world applications. She also mentored high school students and participated in public science outreach with organizations including the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and the Colorado Mycological Society, reflecting the collaborative, community-centered approach that earned her recognition as an Outstanding Graduate.
Alyssa Hohorst
Outstanding Doctoral Student, Integrative and Systems Biology (PhD)
Alyssa Hohorst recently completed her PhD in integrative and systems biology and was named a Fall 2025 College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Outstanding Graduate for her research, teaching, and mentorship in neuroscience. Her graduate work examined how sex differences and reproductive phase influence brain circuits involved in fear learning and memory, addressing longstanding gaps in research related to women’s mental health.
Hohorst conducted her doctoral research in Ben Greenwood, PhD's, Behavioral Exercise Neuroscience Laboratory, where she experimentally manipulated hormones and neural circuits to advance understanding of fear extinction. Her work resulted in multiple first-author publications, including a large, multi-experiment study in Biology of Sex Differences, and she presented her research at local, national, and international conferences. Faculty cited her productivity, intellectual independence, and commitment to elevating research standards as defining strengths.
Alongside her research, Hohorst made significant contributions as an educator and mentor. She served as a teaching assistant for numerous sections of human anatomy laboratories and as instructor of record for a psychology course, earning strong student evaluations for her clarity and approachability. Drawing on her own experience entering research with limited previous background, she prioritized undergraduate mentoring, supporting students as researchers and co-authors and exemplifying the growth, leadership, and confidence recognized through her Outstanding Graduate award.
The Fall 2025 Outstanding Graduate Award recipients exemplify the role of graduate education in advancing knowledge, serving communities, and preparing scholars to lead with purpose. Through interdisciplinary research, teaching, and mentorship, Loeffler, Saha, and Hohorst reflect the academic rigor and public impact at the heart of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Their achievements underscore how CLAS graduate education prepares students not only to excel in their fields, but to contribute meaningfully to the world beyond the university
