Current and Past SURE Scholars

Abdulraqeeb Oguntade
Stetson University
Mentor: Sherral Devine, PhD

Erick Pinzon
Duke University
Mentor: Naomi Hamburg, MD, MS

Kristen Watts
Spelman College
Mentor: Mara Horwitz, MD, MPH

Dania Zein
Tougaloo College
Mentor: Nathanael Filmore, PhD

Bailey Herfindahl
Wheaton College (IL)
Mentor: Andrew Landstrom, MD, PhD

Fabian Madera
UC San Diego
Mentor: Joseph Turek, MD, PhD, MBA

Inioluwa Olabode
Fisk University
Mentor: Padmapriya Muralidharan, PhD

Casey Powell
Duke University
Mentor: Satya Achanta, DVM

Daliya Rizvi
Duke University
Mentor: Seungkirl Ahn, PhD

Diana Rodriguez Avila
Los Angeles Trade Technical College
Mentors: Anju Vasudevan, PhD & Kazi Hossain, PhD

Johnathan Chpolansky
Boston University
Mentor: Nicole Purcell, PhD

Astrid Ouolo
Mount Saint Mary's University - Los Angeles
Mentors: Alfred Fonteth, PhD & Joby Jose, PhD

Tonya Chaney
Xavier University of Louisiana
Mentor: Mohammad Alfrad Nobel Bhuiyan, PhD

Alejandro Fuentes
Centenary College of Louisiana
Mentor: Gopi Kolluru, BS, MS, PhD, FAHA

Shelby Johnston
LSU of Alexandria
Mentors: Ali Cruz, PhD Student & Wayne Orr, PhD

Mena Eltahir
University of Southern Maine
Mentor: Elizabeth Sharnetzki, PhD

Ian Good
University of Southern California
Mentor: Sergey Ryzhov, MD, PhD

Mahi Besuri
St. Louis University
Mentor: William Hughes, PhD

Meg Dorrington
St. Louis University
Mentor: Justin Grobe, PhD

Drucilla Forson
Vanderbilt University
Mentor: Mary Sorci-Thomas, PhD

Livia Lathen
Syracuse University
Mentors: Brandon Tefft, PhD & Aysan Hedayatnazari, PhD Student

Oluchukwu Akujieze
Chicago State University
Mentor: Ike Okwuosa, MD

Nabil Belmadani
Northwestern University
Mentor: Ike Okwuosa, MD

Kameron Bradbury
Xavier University of Louisiana
Mentor: Ike Okwuosa, MD

Amara Oputa
Washington and Lee University
Mentor: Ike Okwuosa, MD

Elismary Crespo
Interamerican University from Puerto Rico
Mentor: Valance Washington, PhD

Gabriela Ferraz
Oakland University
Mentors: Vandré Figueiredo, BS, MS, PhD

Enyimpa Nkrumah
Soka University of America
Mentors: Mohammed Al-Shabrawey, MD, PhD & Amany Tawfik, MD, MSc

Odinakachukwu Agubuzo
Fisk University
Mentor: Alison Marsden, PhD

Michelle Ani
Youngstown State University
Mentor: Dominik Fleischmann, MD

Charles Frempong
Furman University
Mentor: Amitoj Singh, PhD

Nmesoma Onyejekwe
North Central College
Mentor: Minas Nalbandian, PhD

Birva Pinto
Stevens Institute of Technology
Mentor: Laetitia Coassolo, PhD

Bruna Vaz
Pace University
Mentor: Mauro Lago Docampo, PhD

Deborah Bajomo
Columbia University
Mentors: Catherine Wakeman, PhD & Alex Luecke, M.S. (PhD Student)

Ammad Hasan
University of Texas at Austin
Mentor: Maria Onyango, PhD & Lucia Kiio, PhD Student

Isabella Vasquez
Texas Tech University
Mentor: Indrajit Srivastava, BS, MS, PhD

Abraham Babalola
Tuskeegee University
Mentors: Martin Young, PhD & Gobinath Shanmugam

JoLissa Davis-McCrea
Tuskeegee University
Mentor: Yajing Wang, MD, PhD

Ashlyn Hinton
Lawson State Community College
Mentor: Juhi Samal, PhD

Ashley Byles
Spelman College
Mentor: Chella Krishnan Karthickeyan, PhD

Madison Chisolm
Clemson University
Mentor: Donald Lynch, MD

Charlotte Cook
University of California, Davis
Mentor: Tyler Benson, PhD

Frederick Sherman
Cornell University
Mentor: Konstantinos Drosatos, PhD

Oluwatoni (Toni) Adedokun
University of Louisville
Mentors: Cheavar A Blair, PhD & Alex Pickering

Jessie Begley
Morehead State University
Mentor: Smita Joshi, PhD

Cora Gilbert
DePauw University
Mentor: Brian Delisle, PhD

Valerie Guzman
Georgetown College
Mentor: Alan Daugherty, PhD, DSc

Jackson Schwamburger
University of Kentucky
Mentor: Robin Cooper, PhD

Braylen Elzy
New Mexico Highlands University
Mentor: Andrew Boyce, PhD

Ian Gonzales
University of Puerto Rico Aguadilla
Mentors: Daniel Machin, PhD & Ludin Friberg, PhD Candidate

Emily Joe
Fort Lewis College
Mentor: Amy Gardiner, PhD

Lazaro Castano
Florida State University
Mentor: Kiran Musunuru, MD, PhD

Elizabeth Dacanay
Saint Vincent College
Mentor: Benjamin Lee, MD, PhD

Lucas Nunez
Arizona State University
Mentor: Scott Damrauer, MD

Eniola Omogbai
Spelman College
Mentors: Natalie Brown, MD, PhD Candidate & Yijun Yang, MD, PhD

Mia Simms
Spelman College
Mentor: Walter Witschey, PhD & Marina Awad, PhD Candidate

Ayla Bouzari
University of Texas at Austin
Mentor: Janet Zoldan, PhD

Saniya Chaudhari
University of Texas at Austin
Mentors: Andrew Dunn, PhD & Jewel Ashbrook (PhD Student)

Michael McKenny
University of Texas at Austin
Mentor: Collin Haese, BA, MD

Olivia Burnett
Spelman College
Mentors: Yan Ru Su, MD & Alexandra Williams, MD

Tori Clark
Florida A&M
Mentor: Aaron Aday, MD

Aaniyah Jarrette
Spelman College
Mentor: E. Danielle Dean, PhD

Raquel Olivieri Robles
University of Puerto Rico at Ponce
Mentor: Andrew Glazer, PhD

Hiteshri Chudasama
Georgia Institute of Technology
Mentor: Adam Eggebrecht, PhD

Ngwe Leku
Allegheny College
Mentors: Christian Zemlin, PhD & Samantha Procasky, MS

Liana Saunov
St. Francis College
Mentors: Abinav Diwan, MD & Chen Zhao

Kayla Brown
Spelman College
Mentor: Naomi Hamburg, MD

Makayla Hamilton
Tougaloo College
Mentor: Vipul Chitalia, MD, PhD

Qai Hinds
Spelman College
Mentor: Mara Murray Horwitz, MD, MPH

Andrea Tall
Tougaloo College
Mentors: Sherral Devine, PhD & Rhoda Au, PhD

Donald Folk
Case Western Reserve University
Mentor: Kenneth Remy, MD, MHSc, MSCI, FCCM

Ashleigh Johnson
Howard University
Mentors: Erika Trapl, PhD & Stephanie Pike-Moore, PhD

Nyasha Machote
Case Western Reserve University
Mentor: Peng Zhang, PhD

Zaynab Shaheed
Case Western Reserve University
Mentors: Erika Trapl, PhD & Stephanie Pike-Moore, PhD

Krista Edwards
North Carolina A&T State University
Mentors: Ravi Karra, MD & Sydney Versen, BS

Gabrielle Shirley
North Carolina A&T State University
Mentors: Christopher Kontos, MD & Tim McCord, BS

Nico Taber
Duke University
Mentors: Sharon Gerecht, PhD & Emma Villares, BS

Jor'Dan Whitt
North Carolina A&T State University
Mentor: Svati Shah, MD

Malachi Williams
North Carolina A&T State University
Mentors: Neil Freedman, MD & Jiaohui Wu

Sona Ayvazyan
Glendale Community College
Mentors: Nicole Purcell, PhD & Khaja Shameem Mohammed Abdul, PhD

Christopher Munoz
Pasadena City College
Mentors: Nicole Purcell, PhD & Khaja Shameem Mohammed Abdul, PhD

Lorraine Tam
University of California Berkeley
Mentor: Divya Mishra, PhD

David Durotoye
Dillard University
Mentors: Md. Shenuarin Bhuiyan, MSc, PhD & Chowdhury S. Abdullah, MPharm, PhD

Josephine Mackenzie Feeney
Rice University
Mentor: Changwon Park, PhD

Zaki Khattab
Louisiana State University- Shreveport
Mentor: Wayne Orr, PhD

Luca Costea
Bates College
Mentors: Jeffery Florman, MD & Madeleine Puissant, MD, PhD

Mavy Ho
Bates College
Mentors: Ziru Li, PhD & Caroline Picoli, PhD

Sara Naizghi
Berea College
Mentors: Kristen Woodberry, PhD

Danielle Jathan
LeMoyne-Owen College
Mentor: Akiko Mammoto, MD, PhD

Gabriela Moran
Caldwell University
Mentors: Brian Smith, PhD & Joshua Nord, PhD

Charmaine Mutambara
The College of St. Scholastics
Mentor: Ziqing Liu, PhD

Natalie Sandor
Hampshire College
Mentors: Michaela Patterson, PhD & Kaelin Akins, BS

Simbiat Odetola
Loyola University Chicago
Mentor: Ike Okwuosa, MD

Stephanie Urena
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Mentor: Ike Okwuosa, MD

Trinity Wilson
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Mentor: Ike Okwuosa, MD

Trystan Ward
Soka University of America
Mentor: Mi Hye Song, PhD

Abdul Malik Yakubu
Soka University of America
Mentors: Luis Villa Diaz, DVM, PhD & Randal Westrick, PhD

Onyinyechi Agbo
Fisk University
Mentor: Hiroyuki Inoue, MD, PhD

Yannick Balepa
European University of Cyprus
Mentor: Kevin M. Alexander, MD, FACC, FHFSA

Takunda Chikuvire
Cornell University
Mentor: Tomi Obafemi, MD

Leo Taylor
Wingate University
Mentors: Cristinia Alvira, MD & Toshie Saito, MD

Vijay Chelikani
Texas Tech University
Mentor: Maria Onyango, PhD

Chase Drucker
Texas Tech University
Mentor: Surya Banerjee, PhD

Annemarie Farag
Texas Tech University
Mentor: Arubala Reddy, PhD

Joi Axem
Tuskeegee University
Mentor: Gregory Payne, MD, PhD

Nilajah Buchanan
Tuskeegee University
Mentor: Martin Young, PhD

Janecia Smith
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Mentor: Yajing Wang, MD, PhD

Asia Raulerson
Albany State University
Mentor: Wei Huang, MD, PhD

Malik Richardson
Morehouse College
Mentor: Donald Lynch, MD

Kamaya Tootle
Prairie View A&M University
Mentor: Jack Rubinstein, MD

Bryce Allen
Morehead State University
Mentor: Hong Lu, MD, PhD

Jayela Davis
University of Kentucky
Mentor: Terry Hinds Jr, PhD

Thomas York
University of Alabama
Mentor: Jonathan Satin, PhD

Tadiwa Chiduza
University of Maryland-Baltimore County
Mentor: Jay Naik, MS, PhD

Rene Arechiga-Gonzalez
University of New Mexico
Mentor: Laura Gonzalez-Bosc, PhD

Heaven Medina
New Mexico Highlands University
Mentor: Nikki Jernigan, PhD

Autumn Blackwell
Towson University
Mentor: Daniel Rader, MD

Kenneth Daici
Brown University
Mentor: Wencao Zhao, PhD

Assiata Kamagate
University of Rochester
Mentor: Matthew Jolley, MD

Ju-Woo Nho
Brown University
Mentors: Schott Damrauer, MD & Michael Levin, MD

Melanie Paredes
University of Central Florida
Mentor: Julio Chirinos, MD, PhD

Vipin Eapen
University of Texas at Austin
Mentor: Sogu Sohn, MS

Ramon Holguin
University of Texas at El Paso
Mentor: Elizabeth Cossgriff-Hernandez, PhD

Marco Valero
University of Texas at El Paso
Mentor: Aaron Baker, PhD

Andy Barillas
Cerritos College
Mentor: Antentor Hinton Jr., PhD

Kevin Lebron
University of Puerto Rico-Cayey Campus
Mentors: Antentor Hinton Jr., PhD & Andrea Marshall, PhD

David Mankarios
Vanderbilt University
Mentors: Yan Ru Su, MD & Tarek Absi, MD

Hailey Mullins
Spelman College
Mentor: Mulubrhan Mogos, PhD

Michelle Ani
Youngstown State University
Mentor: Khokhlova Anastasia, PhD

Zoe Butler
College of Idaho
Mentor: Adam Eggebrecht, PhD

Chinenyenwa Okolie
Eastern Illinois University
Mentor: Ikbal Sencan-Egilmez, PhD

Morgan Ellis
Spelman College
Mentor: Sherral Devine, PhD

Arinyah Dickerson
University of North Carolina
Mentor: Carl Streed, MD, MPH, BS

She'Kyra Paige
Tougaloo College
Mentor: Naomi Hamburg, MD

Monia Zein
Tougaloo College
Mentor: Nathanael Fillmore, PhD

Shawna Butler
Mount Mary University
Mentor: Michaela Patterson, BS, PhD

Emma Cartney
Allegheny College
Mentor: Lu Han, PhD

Awa Sidibe
Georgia State University
Mentor: Anna Palatnik, MD

Angelease Bunton
Spelman College
Mentor: Ike Okwuosa, MD

Ahmed Mahdi
Northwestern University
Mentor: Ike Okwuosa, MD

Trinity Thomas
Chicago State University
Mentor: Ike Okwuosa, MD

Yaileen Velazquez
Northern Illinois University
Mentor: Ike Okwuosa, MD

Oluwateniola Akin-Olugbemi
Northwestern University
Mentor: Ioannis Karakikes, PhD

Brett Cardenas
Harvard College
Mentor: Allison Marsden, PhD

Yohanna Gebremedhin
UC Davis
Mentor: Wah Chiu, PhD

John Josiah
Johnson C. Smith University
Mentor: Shoa Clarke, MD, PhD

Donald Folk
Case Western Reserve University
Mentor: Kenneth Remy, MD, MHSc, MSCI, FCCM

April Machta
Nova Southeastern University
Mentor: Erika Trapl, PhD

Nyasha Machote
Case Western Reserve University
Mentor: Allison Kraus, PhD

Desmond Norris
LeMoyne-Owen College
Mentor: Peng Zhangl, PhD

Derrick Mason
Boston University
Mentor: Yan Ru Su, MD

Ashton Oliver
University of Alabama Birmingham
Mentor: Antentor Hinton, PhD

Ashley Sawyer
Rollins College
Mentor: Timothy Hohman, PhD

Aaron Whiteside
Central State University
Mentor: Antentor Hinton, PhD

Christopher Buie
Tougaloo College
Mentor: Angie Serrano, PhD

Natalie Hampton
Tougaloo College
Mentor: Naomi Hamburg, MD

Bryan Medina
University of Houston
Mentor: Carl Streed, MD & May Navarra, MPH

Esmeralda Navarro
University of California, Berkeley
Mentor: Rhoda Au, PhD

Maria Cabrera,
University of Puerto Rico,
Mentor: Akiko Mammoto MD, PhD

Jeovannee Castillo
Lycoming College
Mentor: Michaela Patterson, PhD

Anna Mikolchak
St Cloud State University
Mentor: Brian Smith, PhD, Rachel J. Lipinski, PhD, & Joshua Nord, PhD

Tracy Nelson
College of Charleston, South Carolina
Mentor: Lu Han, PhD

Thomas Barnes III
Morehouse College
Mentor: Faraz Ahmad, MD

Jessica Guzman
Dominican University
Mentor: Yonghui Ding, PhD

Adaeze Olikagu
Chicago State University
Mentor: Romina Beatriz-Cejas, PhD & Davi Lyra-Leite, PhD

Imani Sykes
University of Missouri - Columbia
Mentor: Jennifer Caldwell, PhD

Jasmine Armstead
Stillman College
Mentor: Jan Karlseder, PhD, Sara Przetocka, PhD, & Tobias Schmidt, PhD

Oumou Sylla,
Stillman College,
Mentor: John Reynolds, PhD & Courtney Glavis-Bloom, PhD

Bongiwe Ncube
Goshen College
Mentor: Mary Hynes, PhD & Jeffrey Naftaly, PhD

Amanda Padilla
University of Puerto Rico - Mayagüez
Mentor: Joseph Woo, MD & Danielle Mullis, MD

Justice Owah
Stanford University
Mentor: Marion S. Buckwalter, MD, PhD & Victoria Hernandez, PhD Candidate 

Danielle Young,
Claflin University
Mentor: Katrin Svensson, PhD & Lianna Wat, PhD

Rose León-Alvarado
Earlham College
Mentor: Andrew A. Pieper, MD, PhD & Preethy Sridharan, MD/PhD Candidate

Uapingena Kandjoze,
Earlham College,
Mentor: Andrew A. Pieper, MD, PhD & Yeojung Koh, PhD candidate

Payton DeBrow
Tuskegee University
Mentor: David Wasserman, PhD

Kaitlyn Done,
Spelman College,
Mentor: Rolanda Lister, MD

Alonzo Frederic
Morehouse College
Mentor: Jerod Denton, PhD & Kangjun LI, PharmD

Jalil Mitchel
Vanderbilt University
Mentor: Kevin Niswender, MD, PhD & Richard L. Printz, Ph.D

Chelsea Akubo
Boston University
Mentor: Naomi Hamburg, MD

Jackson Corban
Tougaloo College
Mentors: Steven Lubitz, MD & Christopher D. Anderson, MD

Destiny Jackson
Emory University
Mentor: Vijaya B Kolachalama, PhD

Sheila Pagtakhan
University of Alaska Anchorage
Mentor: Deepa Gopal, MD

Justin Banks
University of Illinois at Chicago
Mentor: Sadiya Khan, MD

Juan McCook
Northwestern Univeristy
Mentor: Matthew Feinstein, MD

Chelsea Nwanah
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Mentor: Bradley Allen, MD

Thalia Perez
Northwestern University
Mentor: Lifang Hou, PhD & Kyeezu Kim, PhD

Karl Wilson
DePauw University
Mentor: Ike Okwuosa, MD

Nickeisha Cuthbert
Claflin University
Mentor: Katrin Svensson, PhD & Meng Zhao, PhD

Angel Emodi
University of California, Los Angeles
Mentor: Mark Skylar-Scott, PhD & Jessica Herrmann, MD

Alexander M. Martinez-Lopez,
Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico,
Mentor: Kendra Oliver, PhD

Aaron Panduro
California State University, Fresno
Mentor: Alison Marsden, PhD, Erica Schwarz, PhD, & Ingrid Lan, PhD

Amal A. Suleiman
University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Mentor: Nazish Sayed, MD, PhD

Stefan Veizades
University of Edinburgh
Mentor: Patricia Nguyen, MD

C’Aira Dillard
Johnson & Wales University
Mentor: Rolanda Lister, MD

Alexandra Filipkowski
Fairfield University
Mentor: Aaron Aday, MD & Matthew Freiberg, MD

Joshua Payton,
Hampton University
Mentor: Laura Keohane, PhD

Malik Robinson
University of Missouri
Mentor: Carrie Fry, MD, PhD

Destinee Bledsoe
Tougaloo College
Mentor: Naomi Hamburg, MD

GerMya Bradley
Tougaloo College
Mentor: Ludovic Trinquart, PhD, MPH

Ayana Gray
Harvard University
Mentor: Deepa Gopal, MD

Ted Amadi
University of South Alabama
Mentor: Megan Roy-Puckelwartz, PhD

Sarah Davis
Northwestern University
Mentor: Ike Okwuosa, MD

Cede Onyango
Xavier University
Mentor: Elizabeth McNally, MD

Emamoke Oshode
Northwestern Univeristy
Mentor: Laura Rasmussen-Torvik, PhD

Darlene Ferrer
University of Guam
Mentor: Ronglih Liao, PhD

Gerardo Gamino,
Brigham Young University
Mentor: Fatima Rodriguez, MD, MPH

Aaron Panduro
CSU Fresno
Mentor: Alison Marsden, PhD

Stefan Veizades
University of Edinburgh
Mentor: Patricia Nguyen, MD

Grace Garret
Elon University
Mentor: Kendra Oliver, PhD

Alexander M. Martinez-Lopez,
Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico,
Mentor: Kendra Oliver, PhD

Hector A. Haddock-Martinez
University of Puerto Rico
Mentor: Kendra Oliver, PhD

Davin A. Means
University of Arkansas
Mentor: Kendra Oliver, PhD

Justin Coleman
Tougaloo College, Junior
Mentor: Dr. Ludovic Trinquart, PhD, MPH

Kayley Pate
University of Central Oklahoma, Senior
Mentor: Dr. Vijaya Kolachalama, PhD

Ajah Williams
Louisiana State University, Junior
Mentor: Dr. Gopal Deepa, MD

Charles Anugwom
Prairie View A&M University, Senior
Mentor: Akiko Mammoto, MD, PhD

Demi Carter
Hampton University
Mentor: Alexander Staruschenko, PhD

Guadalupe Valdivia Esparza
Marquetta University, Senior
Mentor: Akiko Mammoto,, MD, PhD

Emmanuel Ogunlana
Northwestern University, Sophomore
Mentor: Nina Suresh, MD,

Bassel Shanab
Northwestern University, Junior
Mentor: Rishi Arora, MD

Caitlin Somerville
Northwestern University, Junior
Mentor: Rod Passman, MD

Nashielli Diaz
Tufts University, Sophomore
Mentor: Ioannis Karakikes

Gabriela Escobar
Stanford, Sophomore
Mentor: Sean Wu, MD

Roberto Guzman Hernandez
University of Puerto Rico, Senior
Mentor: Ke Yuan

Jelicia Ro'Shell Daily
Miles College, Senior
Mentor: Dan Roden, MD

Akiré Harris
Tougaloo College, Senior
Mentor: Bjorn Knollman, MD, PhD

Lyndon George Rolle
Fisk University, Junior
Mentor: Quinn Wells, PharmD, MD