Jared Godfrey receives Penner Fellowship

By Debbie Walton | May 1, 2025 |

MGI doctoral student Jared Godfrey was awarded the John A. Penner Fellowship in Hematology, Thrombosis, and Inflammation from the MSU College of Natural Science. The fellowship provides a stipend, health insurance, and full coverage of tuition and fees and is considered particularly distinctive and prestigious.

Jared Godfrey stands in front of grasses and next to a low brick wall. He's smiling at the camera. He's wearing a dark gray shirt and jeans and has short hair. — Jared Godfrey

Godfrey is a third-year doctoral student in Andrew Olive’s lab, and he is working to understand the mechanisms behind lung inflammation.

"My research focuses on understanding how lung inflammation is regulated, particularly through the role of airway resident alveolar macrophages, or AMs, which help balance immune responses to avoid damaging lung function,” said Godfrey. “Uncovering pathways in AMs responsible for balancing inflammation is critical for developing effective treatments and vaccines for inflammatory lung diseases and infections.”

Before applying to graduate school, Godfrey completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he worked as an undergraduate research assistant in Charles Kaspar’s lab. Following graduation, he worked as a technician in Tu-Anh Hyunh’s lab and as the lab manager in Nasia Safdar’s lab, during which time he authored eight publications.

In his fellowship nomination letter, Olive deemed this “a level of productivity that is almost never seen in trainees at this stage.”

“Jared is a rising star at MSU who is an incredible scientist with strong motivation, critical thinking skills, and vision that make him highly deserving of this award which will prepare him for a long career in research,” said Olive. “Over the last three years, I have been continually impressed with Jared’s skillset as he has shown that he is gifted at the bench and is a top caliber researcher with unlimited potential to understand inflammation and disease.”

“I am deeply grateful to receive the Penner fellowship, which acknowledges my progress on this project and the invaluable support from my PI, Dr. Olive, and lab members,” said Godfrey. “This fellowship will enable me to advance my research on the mechanisms regulating lung inflammation.”