Alumna RISE Scholar, Maati McKiney, started the Molecules, Cells and Organisms Ph.D. Program at Harvard University this fall. Maati graduated with her Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics in May 2021. While in the RISE program, Maati most recently conducted mathematical biology research on social insect behavior with Dr. Jennifer Kovacs, Dr. Laura Avila, and Dr. David Hofmann. Maati notably presented at multiple Summer Research Symposia and at the ABRMCS Conference. Maati started in RISE as part of RISE’s former START program the summer before her first year. She will thrive as a Ph.D. student at Harvard University. As a student who was in the RISE program since her first year, she is a true example of the impact of RISE in preparing underrepresented students towards pursuing PhDs in the sciences and we look forward to Maati’s incredibly bright future. The RISE Team is extremely proud of all of her accomplishments!
Alumna RISE Scholar Kobe Abney is currently a student in the Pharmacology Ph.D. Graduate Program at the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to her graduate school acceptance, she completed a summer program at the University of Pennsylvania in the lab of Dr. Simmons. Her project focused on exploring the pathological difference between African American women who delivered preterm births vs full term births. She was responsible for analyzing the differentially expressed genes in both groups. Her results showed that infection played a key role in mediating spontaneous preterm births in Black women. Kobe graduated with her Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry in May 2021. She started in the RISE program in her Junior year at Spelman. We are so proud of Kobe and we know she will thrive as a Pharmacology Ph.D. student at UPENN.