Program Role: 2025 Cohort

I’m Romasa Qasim, a PhD candidate in Computational Science at the University of Texas at El Paso. My research focuses on computational biology — specifically, I build multiscale models of tumor microenvironments to understand how receptor-ligand dynamics drive tumor progression and how therapies like Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors can be better targeted.My work spans mechanistic modeling,…

I am a research faculty interested in research that uses magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) in studies involving neurodegenerative disorders, with a particular focus on Parkinson’s disease and related disorders. I am also keen on exploring the application of machine learning methods to analyze imaging data sets combining different imaging modalities.…

I am a neuroscientist and Senior Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Radiology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, USA. I earned my PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience from Vita-Salute San Raffaele University in Milan, Italy, and completed two years of postdoctoral training in the Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging at the…

Eduardo Barbieri is a chemical engineer with expertise in the purification of viruses and proteins for therapeutic applications. He earned his undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering from the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. In 2017, he began his graduate studies at North Carolina State University, conducting research under the mentorship of Dr.…

Dr. Brieah D. Hudson, DrPH, MPH, CHES, CHP, is a public health educator and researcher with a strong commitment to advancing health equity and improving outcomes in underserved communities. She serves as faculty in the Department of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation at Jackson State University, where she teaches courses in epidemiology, health education, and…

I completed my Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree and I’m now doing my PhD in Pathology focused on cancer immunology and the tumor microenvironment. I’m really interested in how tumors interact with and manipulate the immune system around them. Outside the lab, I enjoy being out in nature, exploring new places, and spending time outdoors.

Pathum Nawarathna is a Ph.D. candidate in Applied Mathematics with a Statistics emphasis at Missouri University of Science and Technology, and a Graduate Statistician certified by the American Statistical Association. He earned his B.Sc. in Statistics and Operations Research from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. He is a statistician driven by the intersection of…

Gayla Olbricht is a Professor of Statistics and Associate Department Chair in the Mathematics and Statistics Department at Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T). She received her Ph.D. in Statistics from Purdue University in 2010 and joined Missouri S&T in 2011. She is an applied statistician whose research involves interdisciplinary collaborations with scientists…

Vijaya Tamla Rai is an assistant professor of Sociology at Montana State University, Bozeman. Dr. Tamla Rai earned his PhD in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. His research agenda aims to improve wellness in underserved communities by amplifying the voices of vulnerable people through empirical research. His primary research advances the sociology of homelessness…

I’m a PhD candidate in Data Science and Analytics at the University of Oklahoma, where I focus on understanding how complex systems behave using data-driven methods. My background is in electrical engineering and artificial intelligence, and over the past several years I’ve worked across machine learning, robotics, and scientific modeling. What excites me most is…