Arthur A. Schomburg Fellowship Program

Overview

The Arthur A. Schomburg (Schomburg) Fellowship is a graduate fellowship program for eligible underrepresented students who will pursue graduate study on a full time basis at the University at Buffalo.

Eligibility Requirements

The Schomburg fellowship program is intended to support high achieving doctoral and professional students in pursuit of terminal degrees. Only in exceptional cases may master’s students who meet all eligibility requirements for this program be selected for funding. Recipients of Schomburg fellowships must be new to the degree program; however, students who have previously earned a master’s degree or who are currently enrolled in a master’s degree program and are applying to transition into a doctoral program are eligible to receive a Schomburg fellowship.

Schomburg fellows must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents who can demonstrate that they would contribute to the diversity of the student body of the university, especially those who have overcome a disadvantage or other impediment to success in higher education. In awarding these fellowships, academic units may give consideration to students who are of a race or ethnicity that is underrepresented in its graduate or professional programs but may not make awards solely on that basis. Students must be planning to enroll full time during the award period and must have a cumulative undergraduate GPA of at least 3.0.

How to Apply

Each school or college has an internal admissions and selection process. Please contact your academic department for more information.

Campus Liaison

Megan Stewart

Past Award Recipients

Meet some of our Schomburg fellows.

Past Schomburg Events at UB

Research Talks

Throughout the year, the Office of Fellowships and Scholarships encourages our Presidential and Schomburg scholars to share their research with one another during our Research Talks. These talks allow for the exchange of knowledge among the community and create potential for scholarly collaborations.

2022 Research Talks

Date	Name	Degree	Title and Description
April 22, 2022	Narayan Dhimal	PhD, Neuroscience	Critical Components: Understanding the Role of Cellular Recycling in Krabbe Disease Narayan’s work is centered around Krabbe disease, a severe neurological condition that affects 1 in 100,000 people in the United States. People who suffer from Krabbe disease lack a key enzyme that is required for autophagy, the body’s natural process to clear out or recycle damaged or unnecessary cellular components. This leads to abnormal amounts of myelin — a layer of proteins and fatty acids that surround nerves — and contributes to the disease’s severity. While there is currently no cure for Krabbe disease, there are approved bone marrow therapies as well as ongoing gene therapy trials. Narayan’s research focusing on the regulation of myelin hopes to find a new therapeutic strategy that can work in tandem with these treatments.
April 1, 2022	LaShekia Chatman	PhD, Anthropology	Contrasting Motivations Among Black Reproductive Professionals: Competing Paradigms for Reimagining Liberation LaShekia’s second year thesis began as an exploration into the Black midwife and doula movement as a source of cultural and political empowerment, yet evolved into a rarely-explored narrative on the struggle for cultural capital among emerging ethnomedical practices, ideas on professionalism, the future of medical education, and the need for reimagining what culturally resonant care means for not only patients, but BIPOC practitioners.

Date

Name

Degree

Title and Description

April 22,

2022

Narayan Dhimal

PhD, Neuroscience

Critical Components: Understanding the Role of Cellular Recycling in Krabbe Disease

Narayan’s work is centered around Krabbe disease, a severe neurological condition that affects 1 in 100,000 people in the United States. People who suffer from Krabbe disease lack a key enzyme that is required for autophagy, the body’s natural process to clear out or recycle damaged or unnecessary cellular components. This leads to abnormal amounts of myelin — a layer of proteins and fatty acids that surround nerves — and contributes to the disease’s severity. While there is currently no cure for Krabbe disease, there are approved bone marrow therapies as well as ongoing gene therapy trials. Narayan’s research focusing on the regulation of myelin hopes to find a new therapeutic strategy that can work in tandem with these treatments.

April 1, 2022

LaShekia Chatman

PhD, Anthropology

Contrasting Motivations Among Black Reproductive Professionals: Competing Paradigms for Reimagining Liberation

LaShekia’s second year thesis began as an exploration into the Black midwife and doula movement as a source of cultural and political empowerment, yet evolved into a rarely-explored narrative on the struggle for cultural capital among emerging ethnomedical practices, ideas on professionalism, the future of medical education, and the need for reimagining what culturally resonant care means for not only patients, but BIPOC practitioners.

2021 Research Talks

Date	Name	Degree	Title and Description
Dec. 2, 2021	John Aulich	PhD, Music Composition	Paving the Way For Feminism: Female Fluxus Artists of the 1960s Fluxus is a highly influential arts movement dating from the 1960s, the impact of which is still strongly felt today. Its proponents and their descendants push the boundaries of what art can be by inviting active exploration through unfolding multi-sensory experiences. Fluxus as a whole was extremely politically radical, and its male adherents in particular often created works with strong and overt political sentiments. As a result, most scholarly attention to the political side of Fluxus artists has been paid to male Fluxus artists and their polemics. In contrast, researchers have only recently begun exploring the equally politically charged work of Fluxus art by women. John's research looks at three specific pieces of Fluxus art created by women in the 1960s and shows how their implicit connotation pave the way for more overt feminist art in the 1970s.
Oct. 28, 2021	Shu Wan	PhD, History	Francis G. Benedict and Racialization of the Chinese Basal Metabolism in the Early 20th Century Shu's research looks at the work of American biochemist Francis G. Benedict, who studied the Chinese racial feature in basal metabolism from 1927 to 1937. Shu looks at Benedict's work collectively, studying his concept, research and post-research impact. The conclusion of this research argues that it is misleading to characterize Benedict's racialized basal metabolism studies in a progressive, positive narrative.
Sept. 29, 2021	Aria Wiseblatt	PhD, Clinical Psychology	Examining the Impact of Alcohol and Hookups on Sexual Victimization in White, Black and Asian College Women Sexual victimization (SV) of women continues to be a prevalent issue on college campuses. Literature suggests that heavy alcohol use and hookups are significant predictors of sexual victimization in college women. However, little research examines whether and in what ways these risk factors may operate differently among college women of different racial backgrounds. Aria's findings suggest that future research on college SV and SV prevention programs on college campuses should consider risk factors that disproportionally impact non-white women.
April 30, 2021	Amanda Waggoner	PhD, Geography	Race and Place in Washington, D.C. Waggoner’s research focuses on the effects of gentrification and media on Black communities in Washington, D.C. Waggoner compared articles in two different D.C.-based newspapers to determine the frequency and types of Black topics discussed.
March 31, 2021	N.D. Lambert	PhD, Political Science	How far ahead do nations plan? Utilizing Steven Brams’ Theory of Moves, Lambert discussed how to use game theory to study strategic interactions between governmental decision-makers. Specifically, Lambert’s research splits timeframes to study a nation’s likely actions in the short, medium and long run, with a hypothesis that more powerful nations look further into the future to determine the outcome of their actions.

2020 Research Talks

Date	Name	Degree	Title and Description
Nov. 4, 2020	Sarah Quinones	PhD, Epidemiology and Environmental Health	Disability and Multidimensional Well-Being Among Adolescents in Rural Tanzania Quinones discusses data collected on the prevalence of disabilities among a group of rural youth living in poverty in sub-Saharan Africa. She also looks at how this affects their domains of daily life such as schooling, livelihood, violence and psychosocial well-being.
Oct. 14, 2020	Jamal Williams and Megan Conrow-Graham	PhD, Physiology and Biophysics; MD/PhD, Neuroscience	Ain’t I a Woman? How the U.S. Healthcare System is Failing Women of Color In this talk, Williams and Conrow-Graham trace the history of systemic racism from slavery to the current day, specifically looking at how racist ideas impact the effectiveness of the U.S. healthcare system. This research is important because women of color are shown to have staggeringly higher rates of mortality and morbidity compared to other ethnicities and genders.
Sept. 23, 2020	Antara Satchidanand	PhD, Communication Disorders and Sciences	Put the what, where?! Referencing in Robot Assisted Surgery Satchidanand’s research considers how members of the surgical team draw attention to salient parts of the visual field during robot-assisted surgery.
Aug. 25, 2020	Alber Aqil	PhD, Biological Sciences	Balancing Selection Maintaining Polymorphisms in Hominins Aqil is intrigued by the fact that the genomes of humans, Neanderthals, and chimpanzees reveal deletion and duplication polymorphisms that have likely been maintained in our lineage for millions of years. His research delves into why that is and what the implications might be.
Aug. 4, 2020	Eric Deutsch	PhD, History	“Fiddler’s Bitch”: The Guide Dog Movement Comes to America Deutsh discussed the guide dog movement's beginnings in the United States in the late 1920s, and how the movement grew to be accepted by the American public in the context of the contemporary concepts regarding rehabilitation and disability.
July 14, 2020	Adrian Stein	PhD, Mechanical Engineering	Nonlinear Control of a Knuckle-Boom Crane With an Inertial Payload Lifting heavy payloads is challenging and can be dangerous. Stein’s research seeks to simulate a new type of crane boom that would help to minimize large displacements, such as swinging and twisting during the lifting and turning operations of a crane.
June 30, 2020	Pegi Bakula	PhD, Linguistics	Introducing Yil, a People and Language of Papua New Guinea Bakula introduced listeners to the Yil people of Papaua New Guinea, who belong to the Wapei branch of the Torricelli family. This language faces extinction, and Bakula’s research interests and goals seek to keep it alive.
June 9, 2020	Olivia Geneus	PhD, Physical Chemistry	Hypoxia Targeted Nanoparticles of a T1 Contrast Agent Glioblastoma multiform (GBM) is the most common primary malignant brain tumor in the U.S., with nearly 12,000 cases diagnosed annually. Geneus is developing nanoparticles that transverse the blood-brain barrier to treat and target hypoxic glioblastoma tumors located in the brain. Theranostic nanomaterials help improve clinical outcomes, reduce treatment-associated side effects, and help monitor disease progression and therapeutic outcome.
April 9, 2020	Raven Baxter	PhD, Curriculum, Instruction and the Science of Learning, concentration in Science Education	“Big Ole Geeks”: How Innovation in Hip-Hop and Reality Pedagogy Set a Precedent for Representation in Science for Black Women In this talk, Baxter described her research surrounding one of her viral YouTube videos—Big Ole Geeks—and the difference between media representations of scientists and Black women’s science identity. Baxter also discussed the future direction of her research using hip-hop and reality pedagogy in science education and communication.
March 4, 2020	Venus Amiri	PhD, Chemical and Biological Engineering	Computational Analysis of Magnetic Droplet Generation and Manipulation in Microfluidic Devices Roodan discussed her project on microfluidic devices and computation analysis to precisely control the droplet generation and manipulation under the applied magnetic force. The interest in this technology has grown dramatically as it holds great potential to provide innovative solutions for numerous applications that range from fast analytical systems of synthesis for advanced materials to biological assays for living cells.

Date

Name

Degree

Title and Description

Nov. 4, 2020

Sarah Quinones

PhD, Epidemiology and Environmental Health

Disability and Multidimensional Well-Being Among Adolescents in Rural Tanzania

Quinones discusses data collected on the prevalence of disabilities among a group of rural youth living in poverty in sub-Saharan Africa. She also looks at how this affects their domains of daily life such as schooling, livelihood, violence and psychosocial well-being.

Oct. 14, 2020

Jamal Williams and Megan Conrow-Graham

PhD, Physiology and Biophysics; MD/PhD, Neuroscience

Ain’t I a Woman? How the U.S. Healthcare System is Failing Women of Color

In this talk, Williams and Conrow-Graham trace the history of systemic racism from slavery to the current day, specifically looking at how racist ideas impact the effectiveness of the U.S. healthcare system. This research is important because women of color are shown to have staggeringly higher rates of mortality and morbidity compared to other ethnicities and genders.

Sept. 23, 2020

Antara Satchidanand

PhD, Communication Disorders and Sciences

Put the what, where?! Referencing in Robot Assisted Surgery

Satchidanand’s research considers how members of the surgical team draw attention to salient parts of the visual field during robot-assisted surgery.

Aug. 25, 2020

Alber Aqil

PhD, Biological Sciences

Balancing Selection Maintaining Polymorphisms in Hominins

Aqil is intrigued by the fact that the genomes of humans, Neanderthals, and chimpanzees reveal deletion and duplication polymorphisms that have likely been maintained in our lineage for millions of years. His research delves into why that is and what the implications might be.

Aug. 4, 2020

Eric Deutsch

PhD, History

“Fiddler’s Bitch”: The Guide Dog Movement Comes to America

Deutsh discussed the guide dog movement's beginnings in the United States in the late 1920s, and how the movement grew to be accepted by the American public in the context of the contemporary concepts regarding rehabilitation and disability.

July 14, 2020

Adrian Stein

PhD, Mechanical Engineering

Nonlinear Control of a Knuckle-Boom Crane With an Inertial Payload

Lifting heavy payloads is challenging and can be dangerous. Stein’s research seeks to simulate a new type of crane boom that would help to minimize large displacements, such as swinging and twisting during the lifting and turning operations of a crane.

June 30, 2020

Pegi Bakula

PhD, Linguistics

Introducing Yil, a People and Language of Papua New Guinea

Bakula introduced listeners to the Yil people of Papaua New Guinea, who belong to the Wapei branch of the Torricelli family. This language faces extinction, and Bakula’s research interests and goals seek to keep it alive.

June 9, 2020

Olivia Geneus

PhD, Physical Chemistry

Hypoxia Targeted Nanoparticles of a T1 Contrast Agent

Glioblastoma multiform (GBM) is the most common primary malignant brain tumor in the U.S., with nearly 12,000 cases diagnosed annually. Geneus is developing nanoparticles that transverse the blood-brain barrier to treat and target hypoxic glioblastoma tumors located in the brain. Theranostic nanomaterials help improve clinical outcomes, reduce treatment-associated side effects, and help monitor disease progression and therapeutic outcome.

April 9, 2020

Raven Baxter

PhD, Curriculum, Instruction and the Science of Learning, concentration in Science Education

“Big Ole Geeks”: How Innovation in Hip-Hop and Reality Pedagogy Set a Precedent for Representation in Science for Black Women

In this talk, Baxter described her research surrounding one of her viral YouTube videos—Big Ole Geeks—and the difference between media representations of scientists and Black women’s science identity. Baxter also discussed the future direction of her research using hip-hop and reality pedagogy in science education and communication.

March 4, 2020

Venus Amiri

PhD, Chemical and Biological Engineering

Computational Analysis of Magnetic Droplet Generation and Manipulation in Microfluidic Devices

Roodan discussed her project on microfluidic devices and computation analysis to precisely control the droplet generation and manipulation under the applied magnetic force. The interest in this technology has grown dramatically as it holds great potential to provide innovative solutions for numerous applications that range from fast analytical systems of synthesis for advanced materials to biological assays for living cells.

2019 Research Talks

Date	Name	Degree	Title and Description
Nov. 18, 2019	Hannah Waterman	MS/PhD, Biological Sciences	Evolution of Sex Determination in the Allopolyploid Razorback Sucker (Xyrauchen texanus) Waterman discussed her PhD project proposal, which aims to assess how sex is determined in razorback suckers (an endangered western desert fish species).
Oct. 21, 2019	Gloria Aidoo-Frimpong	PhD, Community Health and Health Behavior	Assessing Coverage of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer/Questioning (LGBTQ) Health-Related Topics in Educational Training Programs: A Comparison of Medical, Nursing and Pharmacy Students Aidoo-Frimpong's research focuses on HIV/AIDS, Global Health, and Sexual and Reproductive Health, with a critical focus on African immigrants and African refugees.
Aug. 15, 2019	Lauren Rodriguez	PhD, Clinical Psychology	Rodriguez' research interests focus on the emotional and social mechanisms that contribute to substance misuse among individuals with a history of trauma and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). After her graduate work, Rodriguez wishes to obtain a research career as a clinical scientist at a university or veteran's administration hospital.
July 9, 2019	Steven Lewis and Jamal Williams	PhD, Pathology and Anatomical Sciences; PhD, Biomedical Sciences (Neuroscience)	Efficient Biomedical Image Utilization for Gross Anatomy Education Lewis presented about his research in computational cell biology, anatomy and pathology where his thesis will be with machine learning and statistical modeling of gross anatomical structures from CT imaging. His future career goal is to become a researcher working with novel biomedical imaging approaches to mental illnesses and neurodegenerative diseases. A Novel Epigenetic Mechanism for Synaptic and Cognitive Deficits in Alzheimer’s Disease Williams discussed his research working in the lab of Zhen Yan where they study synaptic mechanisms underlying common disorders of the brain. Outside of the lab Williams is engaged in efforts to help increase the inclusiveness in science education and promote scientific inquiry to communities underrepresented in the field.
April 30, 2019	Ali Al Qaraghuli	PhD, Electrical Engineering	Terahertz Communications for Space and Beyond Al Qaraghuli's research interests include satellite communication, smart health care and next generation wireless networks. He has been working on developing algorithms to optimize communication at Millimeter Wave band (30-300 GHz) alongside Terahertz Band (0.1-10 THz). In his presentation, Al Qaraghuli discussed recent achievements, challenges, and applications of his research, and discussed terahertz communication beyond space.
April 9, 2019	Gloria Aidoo-Frimpong	PhD, Community Health and Health Behavior	Peer and Community Factors on PrEP Uptake: A Qualitative Study of PrEP Users in Western New York Aidoo-Frimpong's research interests include reproductive and sexual health, HIV/AIDS and Global Health. In this talk, she discussed PrEP as a novel strategy for HIV prevention, and the peer and community factors that influence its adoption and adherence among PrEP users.
March 26, 2019	Megan Donahue	PhD, Rehabilitation Engineering	Are you presenting for everyone? Tips and Tricks for Inclusive Presentations Donahue’s presentation discussed inclusive and accessible presentations that allow people with disabilities (particularly print disabilities) to gather all the same knowledge from a presentation as a sighted person. Her research interests are connecting practice with research to improve the ease with which assistive technologists conduct their services. Her professional development presentation shared tips and tricks as well as a foundational understanding of what an inclusive and accessible presentation is.
Feb. 19, 2019	Monica Johnson	PhD, Counseling and School Psychology	African American Acculturation and the "Strong Black Woman" Phenomenon Johnson’s research interests include African American acculturation, religiosity, multiculturalism and minority mental health. Her work involved the infusion of multiculturalism into the curriculum in various counseling psychology PhD programs and factors that influence academic success in African American woman. In this talk, Johnson discussed the strong black women phenomenon and its relevance to African American acculturation.

Date

Name

Degree

Title and Description

Nov. 18, 2019

Hannah Waterman

MS/PhD, Biological Sciences

Evolution of Sex Determination in the Allopolyploid Razorback Sucker (Xyrauchen texanus)

Waterman discussed her PhD project proposal, which aims to assess how sex is determined in razorback suckers (an endangered western desert fish species).

Oct. 21, 2019

Gloria Aidoo-Frimpong

PhD, Community Health and Health Behavior

Assessing Coverage of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer/Questioning (LGBTQ) Health-Related Topics in Educational Training Programs: A Comparison of Medical, Nursing and Pharmacy Students

Aidoo-Frimpong's research focuses on HIV/AIDS, Global Health, and Sexual and Reproductive Health, with a critical focus on African immigrants and African refugees.

Aug. 15, 2019

Lauren Rodriguez

PhD, Clinical Psychology

Rodriguez' research interests focus on the emotional and social mechanisms that contribute to substance misuse among individuals with a history of trauma and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). After her graduate work, Rodriguez wishes to obtain a research career as a clinical scientist at a university or veteran's administration hospital.

July 9, 2019

Steven Lewis and Jamal Williams

PhD, Pathology and Anatomical Sciences; PhD, Biomedical Sciences (Neuroscience)

Efficient Biomedical Image Utilization for Gross Anatomy Education

Lewis presented about his research in computational cell biology, anatomy and pathology where his thesis will be with machine learning and statistical modeling of gross anatomical structures from CT imaging. His future career goal is to become a researcher working with novel biomedical imaging approaches to mental illnesses and neurodegenerative diseases.

A Novel Epigenetic Mechanism for Synaptic and Cognitive Deficits in Alzheimer’s Disease

Williams discussed his research working in the lab of Zhen Yan where they study synaptic mechanisms underlying common disorders of the brain. Outside of the lab Williams is engaged in efforts to help increase the inclusiveness in science education and promote scientific inquiry to communities underrepresented in the field.

April 30, 2019

Ali Al Qaraghuli

PhD, Electrical Engineering

Terahertz Communications for Space and Beyond

Al Qaraghuli's research interests include satellite communication, smart health care and next generation wireless networks. He has been working on developing algorithms to optimize communication at Millimeter Wave band (30-300 GHz) alongside Terahertz Band (0.1-10 THz). In his presentation, Al Qaraghuli discussed recent achievements, challenges, and applications of his research, and discussed terahertz communication beyond space.

April 9, 2019

Gloria Aidoo-Frimpong

PhD, Community Health and Health Behavior

Peer and Community Factors on PrEP Uptake: A Qualitative Study of PrEP Users in Western New York

Aidoo-Frimpong's research interests include reproductive and sexual health, HIV/AIDS and Global Health. In this talk, she discussed PrEP as a novel strategy for HIV prevention, and the peer and community factors that influence its adoption and adherence among PrEP users.

March 26, 2019

Megan Donahue

PhD, Rehabilitation Engineering

Are you presenting for everyone? Tips and Tricks for Inclusive Presentations

Donahue’s presentation discussed inclusive and accessible presentations that allow people with disabilities (particularly print disabilities) to gather all the same knowledge from a presentation as a sighted person. Her research interests are connecting practice with research to improve the ease with which assistive technologists conduct their services. Her professional development presentation shared tips and tricks as well as a foundational understanding of what an inclusive and accessible presentation is.

Feb. 19, 2019

Monica Johnson

PhD, Counseling and School Psychology

African American Acculturation and the "Strong Black Woman" Phenomenon

Johnson’s research interests include African American acculturation, religiosity, multiculturalism and minority mental health. Her work involved the infusion of multiculturalism into the curriculum in various counseling psychology PhD programs and factors that influence academic success in African American woman. In this talk, Johnson discussed the strong black women phenomenon and its relevance to African American acculturation.

Welcome Reception

Each fall, the vice provost for academic affairs and dean of the Graduate School hosts a reception honoring the University at Buffalo’s Arthur A. Schomburg Fellowship recipients. This event allows for the networking among current Schomburg fellows, faculty supporters and administrators of UB’s Schomburg fellowship program.

CSTEP Day of Service

Schomburg fellows participate in a day of service at International Prep Academy in Buffalo. At this event, Schomburg fellows partner with UB's Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP) to give back and to empower local high school students to take advantage of educational opportunities. By sharing their collegiate experiences and emphasizing the importance of pursuing higher education, Schomburg fellows encourage younger students to continue their academic pursuits.

Distinguished Speaker Community Building

Schomburg fellows are encouraged to take advantage of one of the many exceptional opportunities for networking and learning that the University at Buffalo has to offer: The Distinguished Speakers series. Schomburg fellows are offered optimal seating together at a presentation by a distinguished speaker, such as Angela Davis.