Kailyn Wilson Earns Annie Powe Hopper Award at VSU

Kailyn Wilson of Bainbridge, Georgia, is the recipient of Valdosta State University’s 2025-2026 Annie Powe Hopper Award. She is pictured with Dr. Pierre-Richard Cornely, dean of the College of Science and Mathematics; Dr. Sheri Noviello, interim provost and vice president of the Division of Academic Affairs; Dr. William Crowe, interim president of VSU; and Dr. Ansul Lokdarshi, assistant professor in the Department of Biology.

VALDOSTA — Kailyn Wilson of Bainbridge, Georgia, is the recipient of Valdosta State University’s 2025-2026 Annie Powe Hopper Award.

“Being the recipient of this year’s Annie Powe Hopper Award has been a very pivotal moment during my journey here at VSU,” she said. “This award culminates all the years of hard work I put in and serves as the perfect ending to my undergraduate career. However, this award wasn’t won alone. It was won through all the encouragement of my mentors, family, and friends who cheered me on during my rigorous courses and demanding research. I am proud that all my individual efforts could contribute to the greatness of my university.”

Known as the highest honor bestowed upon a VSU student, the Annie Powe Hopper Award is presented annually to a senior who represents the university’s high academic standards and exemplifies its traditions of excellence. It was first presented on May 2, 1962, and is named in honor of the institution’s first dean of women, who arrived at what was then known as South Georgia State Normal College in 1920 as a teacher.

South Georgia State Normal College became a four-year institution in 1922, and the name was changed to Georgia State Womans College. In the role of dean of women, Hopper insisted on proper etiquette in all areas from behavior to dress. She believed that a college education afforded students the opportunity to engage in a higher level of knowledge and the pursuit of an advanced critical thinking process, and she guided her female students to make choices that were noble and worthwhile in their lives. She retired in 1943, seven years before the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia declared the institution a coeducational one and changed the name to Valdosta State College.

As an undergraduate student at VSU, Wilson volunteered at SGMC Health’s Pearlman Comprehensive Cancer Center and at The Canopy at Azalea Grove. She worked in Dr. Ansul Lokdarshi’s Department of Biology lab, where she had an opportunity to support and mentor fellow students interested in developing better skills and topics for future research projects.

Wilson demonstrated strong academic initiative and contributed meaningfully to academic discussions through her various research initiatives. She presented “Bedaquiline: From Antibiotic to Cancer Drug and Back” at the February 2025 Posters at the Georgia State Capitol event, as well as the April 2025 VSU Undergraduate Research Symposium.

As part of an upper-level chemistry class led by Dr. Tom Manning, Wilson partnered with three other students to analyze in vitro data from the National Cancer Institute’s 60-cell line panel and test several novel drugs developed at VSU. This work led to the publication of a 170-page Kindle-based book — “An AI Approach to Understanding Cancer: From Science to Treatment” — as well as an opportunity to share her findings at VSU’s 31^st annual Undergraduate Research Symposium.

During VSU’s 32^nd annual Undergraduate Research Symposium, Wilson presented “Functional Characterization of Arabidopsis Thaliana GCN2 Using In Vitro Kinase Assay.” This project earned her Best Poster honors in the biology category.

Wilson graduated May 9 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a Minor in Chemistry. She earned multiple Dean’s List honors and was a Georgia HOPE Scholar. She plans to continue her education and earn a Master of Science in Anesthesia, which will allow her to pursue a career as a certified anesthesiologist assistant.

On the Web:
https://www.valdosta.edu/cosm/