Arianna Bunnell, a PhD candidate in Computer Science (ICS) at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and a member of the Shepherd Research Lab, has been selected as one of just eight 2026 Founder Region Fellows by Soroptimist International of the Americas. The fellowship recognizes women in the final phase of their doctoral programs whose research positively contributes to the quality of life for women and girls — both within the Founder Region and worldwide.

“I am honored and deeply grateful to have been selected by the Founder Region of Soroptimist International of the Americas, Inc. as one of 8 Founder Region Fellowship Awardees for 2026. The Fellowship awards grants to women in the final phase of their doctoral program whose research positively contributes to women and girls’ quality of life in the Founder Region and worldwide.”

— Arianna Bunnell

As part of the award, Arianna presented her work on breast cancer AI, AI ethics of care, and AI interpretability to the Soroptimists at their annual meeting. Her dissertation research focuses on applying deep learning to breast ultrasound imaging for cancer detection — a direct match for the fellowship’s emphasis on under-represented fields and research with broad social impact for women.

About the Founder Region Fellowship

The Founder Region of Soroptimist International covers Hawaiʻi, ten counties of Northern California, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Republic of Palau. The fellowship has been supporting women doctoral students in the region since 1948, and to date has awarded grants to roughly 370 women totaling nearly $1 million — making Arianna part of a long, regionally rooted line of women advancing science, technology, education, and other fields where women remain under-represented.

Congratulations from all of us at SRL — well-earned recognition for years of careful, community-minded work.