Keystone Symposia and the Annual Biomedical Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS) are working collaboratively to enhance
participation in scientific research meetings by students from underrepresented populations in the United States. Each year
Keystone Symposia awards 2 scholarships to winners of ABRCMS research awards at ABRCMS. These scholarships allow the students
to attend a Keystone Symposia research conference of their choice during the year. The scholarship recipients receive
guidance from our Chief Scientific Officer and Director of Diversity in Life Science Programs regarding the Conference which
most readily parallels their career goals and research interests. The students receive recognition at the selected Keystone
Symposia conference and are provided with mentoring both prior to and during the conference period. Such guidance and
mentoring is designed to assist the student in having an excellent conference experience, learn how to network with
established scientists at such meetings and introduce them to a community of researchers and scholars.
2011 ABRCMS Awardees |
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My name is Desmond A. Brown, a 6th year student in the RWJMS-UMDNJ/Rutgers University/Princeton University
joint MD/PhD program. My clinical and academic interest is primarily in brain tumor development and treatment and
I intend to pursue a career in academic Neurosurgery upon completion of the program. My PhD training in Molecular
Biology & Neuroscience at Princeton University is aimed at understanding the role of Cell cycle related kinase (CCRK)
in CNS development and medulloblastoma. I am also completing a certificate in Health and Health Policy at the Woodrow
Wilson School of Public & International Affairs and initiated a small rural clinic in Ghana. I look forward to merging
a career in basic science, clinical medicine, global health and policy.
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My name is Elizabeth Johnson, a 4th year graduate student in the Department of Molecular Biology at Princeton
University and a graduate of Spelman College with a B.S. in biology. Currently I am working to determine how mechanisms
of post-transcriptional regulation are involved in the upkeep of cellular integrity during quiescence in human foreskin
fibroblasts. This project and the techniques we use to address this issue tie into my general interest of using genomic
techniques to understand complex regulatory networks. My goal is to further integrate the use of computational and
molecular techniques as a means to gain perspective on complex cellular functions. Additionally, I enjoy long distance
running and plan on completing my first ultra-thon event this upcoming winter.
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2010 ABRCMS Awardees |
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My name is Adaora Nwokoye. I received a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry from Delaware State University.
Currently, I am a graduate student at the University of Michigan, pursing a PhD in Medicinal Chemistry. The larger
goal of my research is to understand transcriptional activator protein-protein interactions. These types of
interactions have been implicated in several diseases and as such are good targets for therapeutics. A major
set-back towards the end of discovering inhibitors for transcriptional activator protein-protein interactions is
that direct binding partners of transcriptional activators are not well understood. Therefore, there are few
characterized structural and binding information available. With S. cerevisiae as my model system, my project
focuses on using in vivo photo-crosslinking methodology to identify direct targets of transcriptional activators
and further characterize their binding interfaces. I am a mother of a wonderful daughter, and my personal interests
include writing and performing songs, and volunteering for science bowls.
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My name is Norris I. Hollie, II. I received a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from Oakwood University and
am currently pursuing MD/PhD degrees in the Physician Scientist Training Program at the University of Cincinnati.
I am in the Pathobiology and Molecular Medicine graduate program and my research interests include understanding
mechanisms of cardiovascular diseases and obesity-related disorders. My undergraduate research sought to elucidate
the role of opioid receptors in the development of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. My current project examines the
metabolic effects of pancreatic enzymes. My career goal is to further academic medicine and human health through
research, practice, and teaching.
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2009 ABRCMS Awardee |
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My name is Yvonne Kamau, from the University of Kansas, currently pursuing a degree in Microbiology and a
co-major in International Studies and Global Development. During a summer internship at Harvard University,
my project involved identifying a potential role for IKKε in the STAT 3 signaling pathway. At Johns Hopkins
School of Medicine, my research focused on the use of pharmacy refill data in the assessment of adherence in
pediatric asthma patients. At the University of Kansas, I am privileged to work with Dr. Liang Tang whose
work focuses on understanding the structures of molecular complexes in pathogenic viruses and bacteria
such as Herpes Virus, bacteriophages P7 and P22.
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2008 ABRCMS Awardee |
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My name is Christian R. Aguilera-Sandoval. I was born in Guadalajara, Mexico in 1983. I received my Bachelors Degree in Microbiology from CSULB
in the Spring of 2009 and began my PhD in Microbiology, Immunobiology and Molecular Genetics at UCLA this Fall 2009. My research interests are centered
around immunobiology and HIV pathogenesis. However, my undergraduate research was in protein trafficking while using S. cerevisiae as my model system.
My hobbies outside of school life include playing tennis, listening to classical music, reading fantasy novels and playing chess. I plan to eventually
pursue a carrer in teaching science while continue to research.
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Download the poster presented on the Keystone Symposia Fellows Program at the 4th Conference on Understanding Interventions (2.9MB)