5,000+

Francisco Abate is currently a senior at Woodrow Wilson
High School. He has recently been accepted
into the High School Internship Program
where he is currently taking a psychology
course at Howard University in addition to
his high school classes. Each year
Francisco has earned honor roll and
participates in the school’s jazz band as well
as in its theatre program. After graduating
from high school, Francisco plans to get a degree in jazz
theory with a minor in psychology, and then move on to get
masters in music education. He hopes to become a music
teacher and/or a mentor to Latino high school students.
Allana Nicole Rita Roach, Ph.D., Genetics and Human
Genetics. B.S., Howard University,
2003. Donors and Awards: 5Oth
Anniversary Doctoral Fellowship, 2008;
Graduate Assistantship, 2005-2007;
Research Assistantship, 2001-2006;
Outstanding Scholarly Publication in the
Biological and Life Sciences, 2005;
Student Travel Award, Annual Meeting of American Society
for Gravitational and Space Biology, 2003; Featured Speaker,
NASA Revolutionary Aerospace Concepts-Academic
Linkage, Universities Space Research Association, 2003;
American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) Diversity
Scholars Award, 2003
April Y. M. Hodges, Ph.D., Nutritional Sciences. B.S., Bennett
College, 2002; MS., Howard University,
2005. Donors and Awards: Science
Enrichment Scholarship, 2007;
MinorityAccess to Research Careers Travel
Award, 2007; Graduate Representative,
Department Chair Search Committee,2007;
Compact for Faculty Diversity Award
Sponsorship, 2006; Alliance for Graduate Education and the
Professoriate Travel Award for Federation of American Societies
for Experimental Biology (FASEB) Conference, 2006. Dissertation
Advisor: Dr. Allan Johnson. Dissertation Title: The Influences of
Dairy Product Consumption and Milk Micronutrients on the
Parameters of the Metabolic Syndrome. Research Specialization:
Metabolic Syndrome.
Abena N. Brown-Elhillali, Ph.D., Clinical Psychology, BS,
Howard University. 2003. Donors and
Awards: Science Enrichment Scholarship;
entered Howard University as a High School
College Internship Students; completed Ph.D in
Pyschology under the direction of Dr. Jules P.
Harrell. Her dissertation title was
“Cardiovascular Reactivity and Attentional
Bias in Anxiety.” She is currently a
psychologist with Kennedy Krieger Associates in Baltimore,
Maryland.
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Kandis Stubblefield, BS degree, Howard University,
Department of Biology, is currently a 3rd
year graduate student at the Irell and
Manella Graduate School of Biological
Sciences located at the NCI-designated
Comprehensive Cancer Center City of
Hope. Under the advisement of Dr. Jack
Shively in the department of Immunology,
her current research focuses on the tumor
suppressor Sash1 (SAM and SH3 domain containing 1) and its
interactions with the cell-cell adhesion molecule CEACAM1
(Carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule 1).
Dr. Marcus Gomez Hodges, who currently works for Battelle
National Biodefense Institute as a Biosafety and
Biosecurity Specialist for the National
Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures
Center (NBACC), received his Bachelor of
Science degree in 2000 from Saint Augustine’s
College in Raleigh, NC, and his doctoral degree
in biology from Howard University in
Washington, DC. As a graduate student, he conducted
research on infectious organisms such as Trypanosoma
musculi and Plasmodium falciparum. Prior to his acceptance
into the NBBTP, Marcus worked as a volunteer research
scientist for the Uniformed Services University of the Health
Sciences in Bethesda, MD, and as a NIAID postdoctoral
fellow for the Laboratory of Allergic Diseases.
Jennifer R. Cohen received her BS degree in 2003 at Howard
University, Department of Biology. In 2010,
Jennifer received her Ph.D. at Johns Hopkins
in the area of Biochemistry, Cellular &
Molecular Biology. Her dissertation title
was “Identification of a Golgi targeting
signal in the cytoplasmic tail of the severe
acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus
envelope protein”. The thesis equivalent work was the
characterization of DNA cut-and-paste transposable element,
piggyback, and how donor flanking sequence influences
element excision. Her goal is to use her experience and
expertise to mentor young scientists and translate science to
non-scientists. Jennifer is now a postdoctoral fellow at Johns
Hopkins.
Mirna Martinez is a first-generation college student, senior
biology major at Howard University. In the fall
of 2013, she plans on attending a graduate
school and focusing on an emerging discipline,
immunology. Her research experience at the
National Institutes of Health, have helped her
understand the mechanisms and functions of
immunology. Mirna intends on acquiring her doctoral degree;
but most importantly, she will serve as a vehicle of change by
surmounting the limitations of her career, and making public
health not an option, but a necessity.