Anna McConnell, daughter of Mike and Karen McConnell of Boothbay, was one of two students who received the prestigious Kirsten Frohnmayer Research Prize for a junior majoring in human biology at Stanford University.

The endowed annual prize, presented to McConnell in June, honors the life of a remarkable Stanford graduate, Kirsten Frohmayer, who died at age 24 of Fanconi anemia, a genetic disease that causes bone marrow failure.

Frohmayer's parents provide this prize to a human biology junior who displays “significant academic excellence, true altruism, and the potential to make a difference.” The yearly award is intended as an incentive to enable an individual, early in her or his career, to focus on some aspect of human biology.

McConnell recently spent the summer in San Francisco working at Glide, a social services organization that is committed to breaking the cycle of homelessness and poverty for residents of the Tenderloin District.

She continues to do research for her Honors Project entitled, “HIV Risks and Barriers to Prevention Services Among Women in the Tenderloin.” McConnell's research aims to put women's voices at the forefront of the conversation on HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) in San Francisco.