Get to Know Our Scholars

Lillian Agyemang is a joint MSW/PhD in social welfare student in the school of social work. She is a Bronx, NY native who has spent over a decade living in Amherst, VA, prior to coming to Buffalo. She earned a Bachelor's degree in Health Science from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Master's in Health Administration from Utica College. Lillian is also a licensed nursing home administrator with experience as a community health worker. Her research interests include ethnogeriatrics: the intersection of health, race/ethnicity, and aging. She is also interested in assessing the difference in the quality of care between different racial groups in long-term care facilities and examining the disparities in access to long-term care facilities for low-income communities with predominantly Black residents. 

Franchesca Arecy is a New York native, born and raised in Queens. Arecy attended the State University of New York at New Paltz to obtain a Bachelor's of Arts degree in Communication Disorders and Spanish with a minor in Deaf Studies. Following that, Arecy completed her Masters of Science degree in Speech-Language Pathology at Howard University. During her time there, she researched the interpretations of figurative language expressions within individuals with cognitive disorders. For her master's thesis, Arecy explored the relationship between multilingualism and AAC through a research study to determine if multilingual individuals learn an AAC visual language more completely than monolingual individuals. As a doctoral student at the University at Buffalo, Arecy works in the Communicative and Assistive Device Lab exploring ways to improve expressive communication among individuals who use augmentative and alternative devices.

Harleena is a Geology PhD student conducting multi-proxy analyses of Arctic water cycle dynamics during past rapid warming events. She completed her BSc in Life Sciences at Anglia Ruskin University. She also holds an MSc in Library and Information Science from Syracuse University and an MSc in Archaeological Science from the University of Aberdeen. Harleena is passionate about climate research and activism and loves spending time in the outdoors.

Jessica Grogan is a PhD student in computer science and engineering at the University of Buffalo, advised by Atri Rudra. She completed her undergraduate education at UB, earning a BS in computer science. She is interested in theoretical computer science research.

Jay'ana King is a counseling psychology PhD student in the combined counseling and school psychology program. Born and raised in Philadelphia, PA, she earned her BA in psychology from Temple University with a minor in English. During her undergraduate career, she was a research assistant who developed an honors thesis on cross-race peer relationships and earned several awards for her high achievement in psychology. Jay'ana is currently a graduate assistant at the Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse Prevention, and is interested in bullying, interventions, socio-emotional and adjustment outcomes, and mental health in Black and racial minority youth. Upon graduation, Jay'ana aspires to become a counseling psychologist aiding adolescents and adults, especially those from marginalized backgrounds.

FayeDiamond Raymond is currently pursuing a PhD in Neuroscience and Biochemistry. Prior to joining the PhD Program for Biomedical Sciences, FayeDiamond completed her Bachelor's degree in Psychological Sciences with a focus in Behavioral Neuroscience at California State University San Marcos. She then completed her Master of Science in Neuroscience at Brandeis University. FayeDiamond’s passion for behavioral and developmental disorders has shaped her research interests, encouraging her to better understand the molecular inner workings of such diseases. This passion extends past the laboratory; FayeDiamond advocates for enhanced scientific knowledge amongst the layman public in efforts to expand inclusivity. In this way, she advocates for lucid scientific understanding to bridge the divide between the bench, and the public. 

Danelly Rodríguez is currently pursuing a PhD in Epidemiology. Prior to joining the School of Public Health, Rodríguez completed her bachelor's degree in Psychology with a focus on Neuroscience at Hunter College of CUNY. Rodríguez's transition from bench lab to population health has allowed her to appreciate and apply translational science methods. In the past years, Rodríguez has devoted her time to advancing better cognitive screenings to detect dementia. Her most recently published paper sheds light on health disparities in dementia screenings for Black and Hispanic/Latino patients from Bronx, NY. Rodríguez is passionate about health disparities and plans to continue to serve the marginalized communities she grew up in. She is currently investigating environmental exposures and neurocognitive outcomes in children from Latin America.

Mehreen Arif is a PhD student in the Department of Community Health and Health Behavior. She was born and raised in Lahore (the city of gardens) in Punjab, Pakistan. Arif’s passion for helping minority communities coupled with her background in biology led her to pursue an MPH degree from New York University. Arif has conducted mental health research with Italian migrants, asylum seekers and Tibetan refugees, and has worked as a mental health policy analyst. Her doctoral research focuses on examining trauma and substance use disorders amongst the veteran population in Western New York. Prior to graduate school, Arif received a Bachelor of Science in biology and English literature from the George Washington University. Arif enjoys photography, documentaries, traveling and talking to her grandma (almost) every day.

Alyssa Brouillet is pursuing a master's degree in management information systems with a focus in data analytics and also holds a bachelor's degree from UB in business administration with a focus in marketing. During her undergraduate career at UB, She was a Daniel Ackers scholar, a Joseph T.J. Stewart Global Citizenship scholarship recipient and a member of the Student Leadership International Dialgue and Exchange (SLIDE) program. Brouillet has completed internships with CitiGroup and BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York and has also volunteered with the nonprofit Book Fairies. As a Schomburg fellow, Brouillet wants to use her position to address racial inequality in business and management fields and act as a model for young women pursuing STEM degrees.

Ashley Cannon-Zelasko is a master's student in the higher education administration program at UB. She also holds a bachelor's degree from UB in sociology and interdisciplinary social sciences. Before pursuing her master's degree, Cannon-Zelasko spent three years working full time in both state and local government, as well as in the non-profit sector. Currently, she is a graduate assistant in the Graduate School and a tutor in athletics. In the future, Cannon-Zelasko hopes to settle into a career that allows her to continue to mentor and elevate students in the way that her mentors have done for her. 

LaShekia Chatman is a second-year PhD student and teaching assistant in the Anthropology department, where she is also a Schomburg Fellow and is certified in health disparities through the School of Community Health.  She holds a BA in Communication Studies from Canisius College and a BS in Medical Anthropology from CUNY. Her current ethnographic fieldwork on Black doulas and MDs is derived from her ongoing work as an investigator with Penn Medicine in their Lancaster Center for Women's Health. In addition, the writer, artist, educator, and culinary professional currently serves on the advisory boards of Innovation Charter School and Emancipated Minds, and is a volunteer with SOAL, Lincoln Cemetery Restoration, where she is creating a novel summer field school for August 2022.  

Angela Gallagher is pursuing a PhD in the history of medicine. Adopted and raised in the Western New York area, Gallagher was home schooled throughout her high school education. She graduated from Mercyhurst University with a bachelor's degree in history and from Duquesne University with a master's degree. Gallagher’s research combines her lived experiences with adopted ethnic diaspora with an interest in complex PTSD and mental health. Gallagher has participated in a variety of advocacy work including time spent in Bolivia with Amizade working with underprivileged children and a variety of local development projects, including the Alliance for Refugee Youth Support and Education program of Pittsburgh. Her current work with the Coalition for Responsible Home Education is centered on research and advocacy of better home education policies in the United States.

Karoline E. García-Pedraza is a Chemistry PhD student and a member of the Watson Lab. Her research focuses on synthesizing semiconducting inorganic nanomaterials, functionalizing their surface, and exploiting their photocatalytic properties. Karoline currently serves as an Inorganic Laboratory Teaching Assistant at the Chemistry Department and holds a BA in Chemistry from the University of Puerto Rico at Cayey.

N.D. Lambert is a PhD student in the Department of Political Science at UB. He studies dynamic and algorithmic game theory under the umbrella of conflict studies. He particularly focuses on deterrence theories in both international relations and law. Lambert is also fluent in Spanish and hopes to become a research professor in Spain after his time at UB.

Gabriella Martinez is pursuing her PhD in counseling psychology through the Department of Counseling, School and Educational Psychology. She earned her BS in psychology from the University of North Texas. In 2018 she was named a Ronald E. McNair Scholar. Her research interests include children and adolescent behavioral disorders, resilience development, intersectionality and other multicultural topics. Gabriella aspires to become a professional psychologist working in a community setting.

Briana McIntyre is currently earning her master's in Business Administration with a concentration in Healthcare. Prior to starting her graduate degree, she obtained a bachelor's in Health and Human Services at UB in 2018. After earning her bachelor's, she worked as a Senior Patient Coordinator at Weill Cornell, a role which exposed her to healthcare administration and motivated her to return to school to gain a master's degree in business. Currently at UB, she serves as a Graduate Assistant for the School of Management's Office of Diversity and Inclusion. In this position, she has planned and hosted events, and delivered meaningful presentations about various D&I matters.

Erik Munoz is a PhD student in biomedical engineering with a concentration in tissue engineering. He graduated with his bachelor's degree in cellular and molecular biochemistry with a minor in biomedical engineering from the University of Texas at El Paso. His current research interests are vascular tissue engineering and biomaterial development. In his second year of undergraduate studies he founded a student organization to fight hunger in his community. He believes access to nutritious food and an overall healthy diet is a human right.

Carol E. Ramos-Gerena is interested in agroecology, critical food system education, critical theories, land-use policies, and food sovereignty. She has worked in governmental and non-governmental organizations that support community development projects in her country. For about a decade, she has promoted agroecology and collaborated on environmental restoration in Puerto Rico. 

Carol is currently pursuing a doctorate in urban and regional planning at the University at Buffalo. Before joining UB, Carol completed her master's degree in Environmental Planning at the University of Puerto Rico, focused on sustainable planning of agroecological initiatives in K-12 public schools. As a research assistant at the UB Food Lab, Carol coordinates a bi-city action-research initiative to promote urban agriculture policy designed by and for people of color in Buffalo and Minneapolis. 

Born and raised in the Dominican Republic, Raider Rodriguez moved to NYC to continue his education, and completed a bachelor's degree in Toxicology from John Jay College (CUNY). During his undergraduate years, he participated in drug addiction research, collaborated on scientific publications, and attended multiple national conferences to present his work. As a current PhD student in Pharmacology at Jacobs School of Medicine, he's interested in characterizing novel therapeutic targets to treat chronic pain associated with osteoarthritis. His goal is to develop more efficient analgesics that can substitute current opioid-based medications while reducing serious side effects. 

Mae Sementilli is a PhD student in mechanical engineering with a concentration in computational and applied mechanics. She has earned a master's of science degree in aerospace engineering and bachelor's degrees in mechanical and aerospace engineering from UB. Sementilli is currently conducting research on the simulation of hybrid rocket engine fuel burns.

Kaylie Butt is a PhD student in industrial engineering with a concentration in operations research. She graduated with her bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from the Milwaukee School of Engineering in 2019. During her undergraduate studies, she participated two summers in a research program at Western Michigan University compiling datasets from multiple government databases and analyzing response times of emergency vehicles to car crash sites. She worked for the Department of Defense at Fort Meade through the Installation and Logistics Intern Program where she compiled datasets, conducted time studies, and performed statistical analyses to developed process maps for package arrival and delivery operations. At an internship at Walt Disney World she built a software merchandise delivery tool for operational trailer transport filling, routing and assignment. At CUBRC Advancement Through Technology in Buffalo, New York she helped create a collision avoidance heuristic algorithm which was integrated it into a software package for the Department of Defense.

Kiana Bynum is a graduate student in the PhD program in biomedical sciences. Prior to coming to UB, Bynum obtained a Bachelor of Science in biology from Morgan State University. Her current research interests include microbiology, bacteriology, immunology and genetics. Outside of research, Bynum serves as a student ambassador for UB and enjoys reading, singing and playing tennis. After obtaining her doctoral degree, she plans to pursue a research career aimed at improving public health through the innovation of the health and biomedical field via translational research. She aims to help motivate underrepresented youth become more engaged in science through public outreach and help open doors for those underrepresented within the field.

Lisa Gagnon is pursuing a master's degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). She previously earned a BA in English and linguistics from UB. After graduation, Gagnon spent nine months in Riga, Latvia, on a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship, where she initiated and led a creative writing workshop for university students and played cello in a local orchestra. Gagnon is currently a graduate assistant in the Office of Fellowships and Scholarships and also teaches cello at Buffalo String Works, a music program on Buffalo's West Side, primarily serving refugee and immigrant students. She is interested in the ways that language learning and the creative arts open doors and bring community members together.

Jessica Mencia is a dual degree MSW/PhD student in social work. She completed her BA in public policy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with minors in Latinx studies and women and gender studies. During her undergraduate studies, Mencia was a Ronald E. McNair scholar, in which she researched the importance of a survivor-centered approach to human trafficking intervention policies. Mencia also conducted research regarding Title IX policies and their accessibility to students who are survivors of sexual assault. Currently, her research interests center around abortion accessibility for people of color in the Southeastern United States. As a former resident of a rural community, Mencia aspires to elevate the narratives and experiences of marginalized people from areas similar to her hometown. 

As a Honduran-American, Mencia is extremely proud to be a Schomburg recipient and represent her Central American community. She is excited to use her prior experience working with communities in North Carolina to further her experience and knowledge at UB. During her undergraduate career, Mencia served as a student leader, promoting gender equity and advocacy in the Latinx community. Mencia also volunteered and interned at domestic violence prevention organizations, working with community members and leaders on how to create safe and violence-free environments for all residents. During her time at UB, Mencia hopes to continue this work and educate individuals on the importance of listening to the narratives of people of color and LGBTQ+ in the South. 

Mutia Masuka Muna immigrated from Bangladesh to the U.S. in December 2016, with her parents and younger brother. She had just completed her bachelor's degree in biochemistry and fell into a tug of war between choosing family responsibility and her dream of pursuing graduate school in biological research. Coming to UB as a graduate student in biological sciences, she finally watched herself blooming as a scientist and dream a little more. She is currently investigating the peripheral taste system in mice and enjoying her second-year classes in neuroscience and molecular genetics. Muna aspires to mold herself into a successful and skilled researcher while also devoting herself to social work. She plans to help eradicate sexual violence and fight for rights of voices unheard.

Demetruis Parks was born and raised on the East side of Buffalo, NY. Parks is a proud openly-gay, black male and a first-generation college graduate. Parks is currently a foundation-year student in the MSW program with the UB School of Social Work. Parks earned his BS in business from SUNY Empire State College in 2018, where his research included workplace diversity, ethics, stress and coping, leadership, discrimination, income gaps and examining the effects on economically disadvantaged people.

Parks currently interns with DaVita dialysis doing micro-level social work with patients who have a chronic illness and/or the elderly. With this vulnerable population, he aims to improve their quality of life, screen for depression, monitor their physical, mental, and emotional health and offer support as needed. In the community, Parks volunteers and supports friends/peers working in the advancement of sexual health and community advocacy for the LGBTQ+ population. Parks is an advocate for the rights of black gay and trans people.

Parks hopes that becoming a social worker will increase the professional representation for this field in minority communities. He plans to fuse his micro-level social work and business experience together to improve the health state of people and give a new meaning to making connections. Parks' areas of interest in social work include mental health and clinical social work (interacting with individuals and families to combat social stigmas surrounding mental health in underrepresented communities), school setting social work (offering interventions to adolescence as a method to increase their readiness and empowerment for college and adulthood) and advocacy and community organization. Parks will one day privately practice psychopathology and earn his PhD to become an educator. Parks believes without the Schomburg Fellowship, none of his aspirations would be possible.

Sarah Quinones is currently pursuing her PhD in epidemiology with a particular interest in environmental determinants of health among marginalized and underrepresented populations. She moved to Buffalo in pursuit of a MPH in environmental health and stayed with the department for her doctoral pursuit. Having earned a BS in environmental science and climate with a second major in sociology and a minor in public health from the University at Albany, she seeks to culminate these different areas of theory and methodology to improve our understanding of how our environments—and the interactions we share with them—impact our health. 

Currently, Quinones works as a research assistant and is involved in multiple projects. She works with the RENEW Institute studying spatial associations of diabetes and lifestyle factors, and with the Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health studying heavy metal impacts on the gut microbiome as well as social protection program impact evaluations in countries of East Africa. She embraces diversity in all aspects of work and academics and acknowledges its importance in improving ourselves and the communities that we are a part of. 

Chazz Robinson is a PhD student originally from Milwaukee, WI. Robinson graduated magna cum laude from Saint Mary's University of Minnesota where he received a Bachelor of Arts in psychology. After receiving his undergraduate degree, Robinson worked in the Office of Student Affairs. As Robinson became more aware of his role in higher education, the life-changing aspects of his college experience and his passion to learn more about college school systems, he was motivated to attend a placement exchange where he met some of UB's faculty and staff. After that, he decided to continue his education as a master's student in the higher education administration program on a scholarship.

During his time as a graduate student, Robinson held positions in residential life and admissions. He also completed internships through national and local organizations such as the Association for Orientation, Transition and Relention in Higher Education (NODA), the Association of  College and University Housing Officers International, and NY Gear Up. As time passed Robinson realized he still had a burning passion for learning and educating, so he decided to pursue a PhD.

As a Schomburg fellow, Robinson wants be a voice for those who come from humble beginnings, those who may feel voiceless and hopeless at times, and those who have great intellect but may lack the resources to pursue their dreams. In addition to his fellowship, Robinson holds leadership positions within the American College Personnel Association and works hard to give back to single mothers within his hometown of Milwaukee through fundraising efforts. Robinson aspires to become a scholar practitioner with research centered around multicultural education, a lifelong learner, and an advocate to the marginalized who want to pursue higher education.  

A journalist graduate of the University of Dakar (Senegal), Paulin Toutche is currently a PhD candidate in French and Francophone literature in the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures. He earned a BA in French and Francophone literature at SUNY Brockport and a MA in French and Francophone literature at Binghamton University. He is currently a teaching assistant in the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, and is interested in issues of religion and African and diasporic literature of the 20th century. He balances his academic endeavors between literature and communication.

Originally from Ghana, Gloria Aidoo-Frimpong is a PhD student in the Department of Community Health and Health Behavior. She holds a master's degree in international studies and a Master of Public Health from Ohio University, Athens. 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. Currently, she is working on a study examining pre-exposure prophylaxis uptake in Western New York. Aidoo-Frimpong plans to stay in academia and become a professor in the field of public health. She loves to cook and read.

At 13, Ali Al Qaraghuli arrived to the U.S. as a refugee with many ideas and aspirations. During his freshman year at UB, he quickly gained interest in the ongoing biomedical research and developed a passion for solving medical problems using non-conventional methods. Based on his passion in various areas and his entrepreneurial drive, he realized that instead of focusing on one area, he's more interested in developing technologies that can be applied to many areas including medicine, telecommunications and space. In his sophomore year, he switched from majoring in biomedical engineering to electrical engineering, where he developed a strong background in electronics and went on to serve in various opportunities such as interning at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Al Qaraghuli's current research is developing ultra-broadband communication for various applications, including satellite communication for science missions.

Raven Baxter-Christian is a doctoral student studying science education in the Curriculum, Instruction and Science of Learning (CISL) PhD program at UB. In addition to being a fulltime student, Baxter-Christian teaches biology at Buffalo State College and is formerly a corporate cancer research scientist. In the CISL PhD program, she is researching culturally responsive teaching strategies in college molecular biology education

Fred Brown is a master's student pursuing a degree in higher education administration with a concentration in student affairs administration. He completed undergraduate work at SUNY Brockport, earning a Bachelor of Science in both African American studies and sociology along with a minor in English. Brown is very active in both the Rochester and Buffalo communities, working with a number of organizations, primarily Trillium Health and the Mocha Center. He is now serving as a graduate intern in the Intercultural and Diversity Center overseeing all LGBTQ programming, leading the charge to develop UB's first ever LGBTQ Pride Week. Brown's research interests span from traditional educational topics like college access and affordability, to issues surrounding language versus dialects and colloquialisms in classrooms. Upon completing his master's degree, Brown would like to pursue a PhD in higher education administration where he will seek to expand on current projects and research interests.

Drew Canfield is pursuing a Master of Urban Planning degree with a concentration in environmental and land use planning. Originally from Northeast Ohio, Canfield graduated magna cum laude from Kent State University where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science, with minors in LGBTQ studies, women's studies, sociology and non-profit studies. After receiving her undergraduate degree, Canfield dedicated two years to public service as an AmeriCorps Volunteer in Service to America (VISTA) with the East Akron Neighborhood Development Corporation and, as a VISTA Leader, with the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation. In her time as an AmeriCorps VISTA she realized her passion for leveraging urban planning strategies to combat the structural forces of decline, disinvestment and spatial inequity facing marginalized communities in legacy cities. Canfield currently works as a research assistant with UB's Community Resilience Lab where she has synthesized national climate planning policy as part of a National Science Foundation-funded Smart and Connected Communities grant. Canfield aspires to combine her passion for climate resiliency and community engaged micro-planning to improve equity, catalyze revitalization and create economic opportunity in historically disenfranchised communities. Ultimately, Canfield aspires to establish a social enterprise planning firm that will provide sustainable funding for community-engaged neighborhood revitalization initiatives.

Hector Chaidez Ruacho is passionate about contributing to a mental health system that is better equipped to treat diverse populations, more specifically, Latin Spanish-speaking communities. For his advanced year placement, he opted to work with Spanish-speaking children, adolescents and their families at a BestSelf behavioral health clinic located at the Lower West Side. Ruacho's interests transcend clinical social work as he acknowledges the importance of political social work. Being a Mexican immigrant himself, he has advocated for a trauma-informed immigration system reform in Washington, D.C., where he met with several congress member's staff. He is keen to form part of the movement, which will rebuild our immigration system to one which treats immigrants as human beings.

Anissa Croft is an MS Student studying ocean phytoplankton and oxygen changes during the Late Ordovician mass extinction event. They are a teaching assistant and have been teaching the geology lab Natural Hazards and Climate Change: Past, Present, Future, for two years. On top of being a Schomburg fellow they also are a recipient of the Mark Diamond Research Fund Grant for their research.

Narayan Dhimal is originally from a refugee camp in Nepal, where he went to school up to tenth grade. He continued his high school education in the Buffalo public school system. Dhimal completed his undergraduate degree at UB, majoring in biomedical sciences with a minor in pharmacology and toxicology. As a PhD candidate, Dhimal is currently working in the Hunter James Kelly Research Institute (HJKRI) focusing on Krabbe disease, a lysosomal disease caused by mutations in GALC gene. His goal is to understand the mechanisms behind substrate accumulations in nerves seen in the disease and to find ways to inhibit them.

Meghan is an industrial and systems engineering PhD candidate exploring the relationship between the services that vocational rehabilitation (VR) consumers receive and how it changes their employment outcomes. This hopefully will lead to discoveries of synergies that might improve how people with disabilities work with VR to achieve competitive employment. Before this, Donahue worked for nine years as a rehabilitation engineer, providing assistive technology services to people with disabilities, first in an acute rehabilitation hospital environment at University of Michigan Hospital and later primarily to vocational rehabilitation consumers at University of Wisconsin Stout. Donahue is a proud member of the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA), where she served on their board of directors and two terms as secretary.  

Savannah M. Figueroa is currently pursuing a JD/MSW dual-degree at UB. She was originally born and raised in Buffalo, NY, and moved to the state of Delaware when she was young. She was a 2014 Corps Member for Teach For America in the Eastern North Carolina region, where she gained critical experience and insight working in rural areas where Americans were systematically deprived of basic community and needed resources. She describes herself as an advocate for youth and social justice issues. Her interests include educating others on mental health issues in education, improving the juvenile justice system and dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline.

As a Schomburg recipient, she uses her Puerto Rican background to educate and be a voice for those who feel that they are silenced. Since her time at UB, she has interned in the Matt Urban Center, located at the East Side of Buffalo, the Learning Disabilities Association as a Social Impact fellow, and she is currently the recipient of the Diversity Scholar Fellowship at the Center for Elder Law and Justice, working with the Kinship Unit. With a large amount of her family actively involved in Buffalo, NY, she plans to stay and become politically involved in the area. She states that without the Schomburg Fellowship, her dreams of pursuing a JD/MSW would be impossible and there is a reason she is located back in Buffalo, NY.

Abigail LaPlaca is a master's student in the Graduate School of Education's English for Speakers of Other Languages teacher's certification program. A Buffalo native, LaPlaca graduated summa cum laude in 2015 from UB with a BA in Spanish, a minor in education and Global Scholar distinction. LaPlaca was an Honors College scholar and a Presidential scholar. After graduation, she was the recipient of a Fulbright English Teaching grant and spent a year teaching English at Universidad Tecnológica in Panama City, Panama. LaPlaca currently works at Jericho Road Community Health Center developing a new-hire training program for employees. LaPlaca hopes to make education more accessible for refugees, immigrants and other students seeking to learn English, both abroad and domestically.

Ada Lin is pursuing her PhD in counseling psychology through the Department of Counseling, School and Educational Psychology. She earned her BA degree in psychology from Western Connecticut State University. Lin's research interests include the influence of racial discrimination among minority groups, as well as other multicultural topics. Lin aspires to become a professional psychologist working in a college counseling center in the future.

Violet Perry is originally from Buffalo, NY. A John R. Oishei Scholarship recipient in high school, she went on to become a Martin Luther King Jr. scholar at Ithaca College, and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in outdoor adventure leadership. She is currently working on a master's degree in urban planning through the UB School of Architecture and Planning. She works in the school's Community Resilience Research Lab doing research on climate resilience and historic patterns of racism and segregation. Perry's other areas of interest include environmental racism and justice, wilderness therapy as a viable alternative to juvenile incarceration and the adventure gap.

Kelsey Sommer is a PhD candidate and Schomburg fellow in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Her research focuses on 3D printing of patient-specific coronary models based on Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography (CCTA) to simulate the distal flow conditions of coronary artery disease.

Eileen Sun is a counseling psychology PhD student in the Department of Counseling, School and Educational Psychology. She completed her bachelor's degree in cognitive neuroscience with a minor in literature from the University of California, San Diego, and worked in undergraduate advising prior to pursuing graduate study. Her research interests include help-seeking attitudes in Asian American college students and Generation Z mental health.

Sophia Tchir is a PhD student in the Department of Neuroscience. Originally from South Florida, she obtained her bachelor's degree in biological sciences from Florida International University. Her current research uses patch clamp electrophysiology techniques to study the activity and kinetic states of NMDA receptors.

Hannah Thorner is a master's student in the Department of Evolution, Ecology and Behavior. After growing up as a deaf child that was mainstreamed into public school, she obtained her bachelor's degree in biology from Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). Thorner's research focuses on comparative bioacoustics in the Department of Psychology. More specifically, her research involves the perception and production of ultrasonic vocalizations in mice and rats. Outside of the lab, she enjoys being around animals and nature, going to breweries and traveling. After graduate school, Thorner plans on pursuing a career in conservation biology.

Erin Bascug is a doctoral student in the School of Social Work. She has a bachelor's degree in psychology from Drew University and an MS in human development and family studies from the University of Delaware. She entered UB as an MSW/PhD student after working for many years in Virginia and earned her MSW in 2019. Her research interests include understanding pathways between early childhood trauma and behavioral and sexual health outcomes in adolescence; intimate partner violence and domestic minor sex trafficking; and mixed methods. Her hope is to become tenure-track faculty specializing in developing and testing interventions for youth who have been involved in sex trafficking.

Courtney Burris is pursuing her PhD in operations research in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. She earned a BS in mathematics from Elmira College and an MS in operations research from UB. Her research focuses on game theory and machine learning and their applications within sports. Additionally, Burris is an adjunct professor in the mathematics department at Bryant and Stratton College. Burris balances her academic endeavors with her artistic passions, committing much of her free time to theatre.

Gabrielle (Pawlowski) Chapman is a PhD candidate in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. She holds a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Clarkson University and a master's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Notre Dame. Her current work focuses on developing software for the high-throughput analysis of mass spectrometry-based glycomics data. On campus, Chapman is involved with the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL), a network which aims to advance teaching practices in STEM disciplines, and participated in the NAVIGATE project, an innovative training program that teaches women in STEM the skills needed to succeed in their fields. Outside of the lab, her hobbies include playing clarinet with the American Legion Band of the Tonawandas, drumming with the Caledonian Pipes and Drums, Polish folk dancing with Polish Heritage Dancers of WNY and volunteering with Shea's Spotlight Committee. In the future, she hopes to work in the field of patent law.

Olivia Geneus is a Ph.D. Candidate in Physical Chemistry and an Arthur A. Schomburg Fellow at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Her research focuses on using Nanotechnology for biological applications. Specifically, she is developing a Nanoformulation suitable for targeted cancer therapy for hypoxic regions of Glioblastoma multiform (GBM). She holds a dual Bachelor of Science degree in Physics and Public Health from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Olivia remains passionate in helping underrepresented high school and undergraduate students transition into their undergraduate and graduate academic careers. As a STEM diversity advocate, her goal is to reduce the cold climate that marginalized groups constantly face in scientific fields. As a graduate student, Olivia co-founded the Graduate Students of Color (GSC) graduate club, a sustainable institutional organization that supports graduate students of color throughout their academic and professional career. She also founded a research mentoring program for undergraduate students of color to gain laboratory and research experience at the graduate level. Furthermore, Olivia is the co-founder of the Black in Nanotechnology initiative, the first non-profit organization for Black scientists in nanotechnology and related fields. This initiative is meant to highlight and support both the contributions of Black scientists and the barriers they constantly face within the field of nanotechnology. Lastly, Olivia is the Chair of the research team for STEMNoire, a research conference and holistic wellness retreat for Black Women in STEM. Olivia appreciates the outdoors, nature, dancing, fitness and photography.

Schuyler C. Lawson is an MA candidate in the psychology department at UB. He completed a four-year BA program in psychology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham before coming to UB. His research focuses on substance abuse behaviors and their relationship to personality traits. His research interacts with both public health and clinical psychology. His goal is to understand which personality traits are predictive of substance abuse behaviors, such as drug initiation, drug maintenance and relapse. In his limited free time, Lawson enjoys hiking, reading, checking out novel restaurants, learning languages, and spending time with family and friends. After completing the MA program, Lawson plans on applying to a PhD program and then becoming a full-time researcher.

Evan Martinez earned a BS in architecture from UB's School of Architecture and Planning in 2017. He has also continued his education as a Master of Architecture degree candidate. His research interests lie within the intersection of technology and architecture, specifically on how new information technology is affecting the design and planning of urban infrastructure and spaces. His current work explores the nature of blockchain technology as he hopes to stimulate conversations about what new technologies could mean for the architectural, engineering and construction industries in the years to come. In his free time he enjoys traveling and spending time with his family. He hopes to become a licensed architect and work on engaging projects throughout the world that improve the urban environment for all.

Ayantu Osman recently graduated with her MA in economics and education policy analysis through UB's Department of Educational Leadership and Policy. She completed her undergraduate degree at the Ohio State University, where she received a BA in political science and anthropology. While at Ohio State her undergraduate research focused on how cultural perspective and narrative affected policy decision making and implementation in Haiti's education sector. Her graduate research at UB explores how homelessness, mobility and adverse childhood experiences affect educational outcomes. Her interests include educational equity, education governance, progressive social policy and youth empowerment. Osman enjoys reading and cooking. She plans to continue researching the performance gap due to race, family income, gender and resource allocation. She hopes to influence policy using data analysis.

Amy Pritchard is a PhD candidate in computer science and engineering at the University of Buffalo, advised by Lukasz Ziarek. She completed her undergraduate education at UB, earning a BS in computer science and a BA in psychology. Pritchard's focus is in the software and information systems area, with a particular interest in programming languages and compilers. Her research is on a secure multi-party computation compiler for general C programs, and has included formally verifying the correctness and security guarantees of the compiler.

Zaviera Bonita Reyes is currently a doctoral candidate in social psychology working with her advisor Mark Seery. She is a first-generation student and earned her master's in social psychology from San Francisco State University. With a passion for teaching and mentorship, her previous work involved teaching opportunities such as Stanford SPLASH and a thesis project that examined academic engagement and self-talk in undergraduates. Her current research interests center on goal pursuit and resilience to everyday stressors.

Izzy Starr (pronouns: they/them/theirs) is a PhD candidate in biological sciences. Their research focuses on the evolution of the human skin as a part of the immune system, especially as it has co-evolved with the skin microbiome. In addition to the Schomburg Fellowship, Starr is a recipient of the Microsoft Ada Lovelace Fellowship. Outside of their work, Starr enjoys playing roller derby with Queen City, hiking and being involved in the Buffalo community. They intend to continue with a career of human-centered biological research and activism.

Jamal Williams is a native of Buffalo, NY, where he is currently studying neuroscience as a graduate student in the PhD program in biomedical sciences (PPBS). He attended D’Youville College, earning his BS in both biology and mathematics before studying for his master’s at Buffalo State College. Williams is presently 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.

Esther Estey is a PhD candidate in counseling psychology. Growing up as a bicultural, bilingual Latina in a rural Hispanic community, her perception of the high rates of trauma and barriers to mental health services in her community led her to engage in advocacy and prevention work to create better access to culturally adapted health services. After graduating magna cum laude with a BS and MA in human resources, she decided to pursue a degree in mental health in hopes of supporting minority groups dealing with complex histories of trauma and systemic forms of oppression. Estey’s research focuses on mind-body interventions for psychosocial disorders, trauma and school-based yoga programs. Her dissertation is an international, randomized clinical trial evaluating the efficacy of a community-based yoga program called Eat Breathe Thrive, an intervention designed to reduce eating disorder risk, increase positive body image, and promote awareness and self-regulation. As a registered yoga instructor, she is passionate about providing individuals with practices that facilitate a felt-sense of emotion regulation, agency and resilience. Estey is also an adjunct professor and teaches graduate courses on mindfulness and counseling for trauma and abuse issues. Ultimately, she plans on specializing in the research and clinical practice of evidence-based interventions for PTSD and trauma recovery that promote mental and physical well-being for marginalized populations.

Seventy F. Hall is a combined MSW/PhD student in the School of Social Work. His research focuses on the intersecting influences of adultism, heterosexism and cissexism on homelessness and child welfare involvement among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) youth ages 13 to 21. Hall's philosophic orientation borrows from the critical youth studies discipline and incorporates an emphasis on adultism as a factor that both contributes to disproportionality among homeless and child welfare-involved LGBTQ+ youth, and shapes their experiences and trajectories. He also studies the use of anti-adultist interventions such as youth-led organizing, youth-driven programming and youth participatory action research, as a means of addressing the social problems that impact marginalized youth populations.

Steven Lewis completed his BS degree in biochemistry and sociology at Nazareth College in Rochester. After graduating, he spent two years working in industry and then started working towards a PhD in the Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences. He is currently pursuing a new PhD program, in the computational cell biology, anatomy and pathology where his thesis will involve machine learning and statistical modeling of gross anatomical structures from CT imaging. His career goal is to become a researcher working with novel biomedical imaging approaches to mental illnesses and neurodegenerative diseases.

Jessica McFadzean is a graduate student working on a PhD in the combined doctoral program in counseling psychology/school psychology with an emphasis on multicultural psychology in the Department of Counseling, School and Educational Psychology at UB. She received a Bachelor of Arts in forensic psychology, and a Bachelor of Arts in cultural deviance studies from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. During her time at John Jay College of Criminal Justice she participated in the Ronald E McNair Program. Her dissertation focuses on criminal justice contact and the psychological impact it has on black men, including possible interventions amongst this population.

Hannah Stokes-Ramos is a PhD candidate in geography. Her research interests involve critical approaches to bridging the social and environmental sciences, previously through an MS in food systems and a double major in anthropology and environmental studies. In geography she engages primarily with theories of political ecology to investigate interactions of climate change with complex food systems, specifically focusing on food sovereignty and impacts of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico for her dissertation. She also leads a Graduate Pursuits interdisciplinary research project through the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center. Outside of research, she participates in local economic- and social-justice activism, and enjoys traveling, singing and dancing. After graduating, she plans to pursue a research career in academia or a policy-focused institute.

Caley Wekenmann graduated from the psychiatric mental health Doctor of Nursing Practice program in May 2019. She graduated from Buffalo State College in 2013 with a bachelor's degree in psychology. After obtaining her first bachelor's degree she decided to pursue a career in nursing and graduated from Niagara University's accelerated Bachelor of Science in nursing in 2015. Her doctoral research project, Maternal Adverse Childhood Experience Screening in Prenatal Care: Knowledge, Practices and Barriers of Women's Health Care Providers, evaluated the feasibility of implementing adverse childhood experience screening within prenatal care to detect women at risk for perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. Wekenmann currently works as an inpatient behavioral health nurse and has accepted a position as a psychiatric nurse practitioner within a psychiatric emergency program.

Monica J. Johnson is a doctoral student in the combined counseling psychology/school psychology program on track to earn a PhD in 2020. Johnson's research interests include African American acculturation, religiosity, multiculturalism and minority mental health. She is part of a research team studying the infusion of multiculturalism into the curriculum in various counseling psychology PhD programs. Johnson has also conducted research regarding factors that influence academic success in African American woman. Her dissertation is a qualitative analysis of the strong black women phenomenon through the lens of African American acculturation. Johnson is passionate about social justice issues and works closely with graduate student association to help provide safe spaces for students to dialogue about the sociopolitical climate and its clinical relevance. After graduation Johnson plans to practice clinically and continue research in an effort to add to the limited research involving marginalized populations. Johnson is grateful to have the unending support of her family, friends and mentors.

Maria Rivera, originally from Puerto Rico, is a PhD candidate in the Department of Chemistry at UB. Rivera's research focuses in the development of new mass spectrometric methods in analytical chemistry. Specifically, her thesis seeks to better understand the unique heating mechanisms of microwave fields when used for chemical and biochemical reactions, and to exploit microwave-assisted reactions for targeted applications in proteomics and mass spectrometry. In addition to her research and teaching work, Rivera also enjoys baking and painting during her free time. She aspires to become an analytical chemist working in industry with the aim of continuing her work in the instrument development area.

Lauren Rodriguez is pursuing her PhD in clinical psychology. She earned her master's degree from UB in general psychology, and her Bachelor of Arts with honors at the University of Pennsylvania, also in psychology. Her research interests focus on the emotional and social mechanisms that contribute to substance misuse among individuals with a history of trauma and PTSD. After her graduate work Rodriguez wishes to obtain a research career as a clinical scientist at a university or veterans administration hospital. She also hopes to become licensed to practice clinical work and seeks to mentor future students in their clinical training.