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IGI Partners with HBCU Hampton University to Sponsor Summer Research Students
Two students spent the summer at IGI with support of the UC-HBCU Initiative
This summer, IGI participated in the UC-HBCU Initiative, hosting two undergraduate researchers from Hampton University, a historically Black university in Hampton, Virginia. The UC-HBCU Initiative aims to create collaborations between the UC and faculty and students at HBCUs.
“We are really excited to partner with Hampton through the UC-HBCU Initiative,” says Jennifer Doudna. “It’s a great opportunity to create new research collaborations and support the next generation of young researchers who can help make sure that the STEM community reflects the diversity of our society.”
IGI’s summer students, Alex Mendez and Cydni Bolling, each did 10 weeks of full-time research at the IGI. Alex, a rising senior from Virginia, initially planned on becoming a pharmacist.
“I’m a first generation college student,” says Alex. “So when I started, I didn’t really know what was going on, but I always work hard. I was commuting to Hampton and my father would drop me off at 5:00 or 6:00 in the morning every day my freshman year. I would hang out in one of the student lounges and study for several hours. And every day, this professor would walk by. After a month or so we started talking and I found out that she was the Chair of Chemistry and Biochemistry. She got me interested in research and helped me get my first internship and even a scholarship and now, I’m living the dream of doing research.”
This summer, Alex worked with Jennifer Doudna, as well as IGI Investigators Brady Cress and Ben Rubin, characterizing microbes in the cow gut with an eye towards environmental applications.
“Working at IGI was the best,” says Alex. “It takes a lot of courage for someone from a small school to come and work with Jennifer, who is pretty much the biggest face in science right now. But everybody wants you to succeed and everybody’s going to support you.”
Cydni, a rising junior from Maryland, got interested in research when she was spending a lot of time at home early in the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I had a lot of time on my hands so I got really into skincare and haircare,” says Cydni. “Then I decided to formulate my own products, and that made me think that I could see myself working in a lab, which got me interested in chemistry and then biochemistry.”
This summer, Cydni worked closely with Erin Doherty, a postdoctoral researcher in the Doudna lab, focusing on protein purification and crystallization.
“Everybody was so welcoming at the IGI,” says Cydni. “There were high expectations but there was also a lot of guidance and support. Erin was an amazing mentor.”
The UC-HBCU Initiative was started in part to address the low numbers of Black Americans in UC graduate and professional programs — just 4% versus 14.4% of the population as a whole. Black Americans are underrepresented in STEM and initiatives like this one are one way to help create a STEM research community that reflects the diversity of our population.
Erin Doherty, a postdoc in the Doudna lab, was inspired to make IGI part of the UC-HBCU Initiative after seeing its success at UC Davis as a graduate student. After bringing the Initiative to Jennifer Doudna’s attention, they identified Graham Chakafana, a professor at Hampton University, as a potential collaborator, and worked together to submit a proposal to the program.
“When I was a graduate student at UC Davis, we hosted a summer student through the UC-HBCU Initiative. He did a fantastic job and ended up coming back to Davis for the graduate program. Over time we saw more students from his HBCU applying and getting accepted,” says Doherty. “And once we started to have an influx of students from underrepresented groups, that makes the program more appealing to future students from those groups. They know it’s a safe place where they can focus on the research and be supported. In my five years at Davis, I saw a shift in the demographic of students who were applying and starting in the program.”
Alex and Cydni both plan to apply to STEM graduate programs at UC Berkeley.
The UC-HBCU Initiative will be accepting new proposals in Fall 2024.
The Amgen Scholars Program was also a support, helping provide funding and programming for students sponsored through the UC-HBCU Initiative.
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