All posts by: Sarah Hansen, M.S. '15

Simons Foundation provides $2.5M to support UMBC Meyerhoff Scholars, plans New York replication

The Simons Foundation and its sister organization, Simons Foundation International, have pledged $2.5 million over five years to support the Meyerhoff Scholars Program. Continued partnership between UMBC and Simons will also generate opportunities for program alumni and support Meyerhoff replication efforts at other institutions.

For almost 30 years, the Simons Foundation has worked to support advances in mathematics and basic science by funding external scientists and, more recently, through research at its own Flatiron Institute in New York City. Simons has also done outreach work through the Math for America program, which seeks to enhance the math and science literacy of children in New York City public schools. The gift to UMBC, however, represents a new emphasis on supporting the development of a diverse pipeline of STEM professionals.

Partnering to diversify STEM

“I have long admired the UMBC Meyerhoff program for its significant impact on training outstanding students from diverse backgrounds. It is an important model for other universities, and its alumni are at the forefront of scientific research,” says David Spergel, president of the Simons Foundation and Simons Foundation International. “I am proud that the Simons Foundation and Simons Foundation International can partner with UMBC through support of this program.”

portrait of David Spergel — David Spergel, president of Simons Foundation and Simons Foundation International and a longtime admirer of President Hrabowski and the Meyerhoff Scholars Program (courtesy of Simons Foundation)

Craig Wesley, manager of diversity, equity, and inclusion at the Simons Foundation, has also been following President Freeman Hrabowski’s work for years. When Wesley started in his role a little over a year ago, he undertook a study to see what programs existed that were already successfully helping diversify the STEM pipeline. The Meyerhoff Scholars program jumped out as a leader in that space.

“The vision became, how could we replicate that model here in the New York area?” Wesley says. “We needed to find the right institutional partner to launch this work.” As it turned out, UMBC was the perfect fit.

Immediate impact

The new partnership will also create summer research opportunities for Meyerhoff Scholars at the Flatiron Institute. Naiyah Lewis ’23, M31, computer science, is already in New York for a summer internship with Natalie Sauerwald, a Flatiron Research Fellow with a focus on computational techniques in genomics.

This new grant will support scholarships for Meyerhoff Scholars and serve as a dedicated funding source for Summer Bridge, a cornerstone of the Meyerhoff experience undertaken by Scholars before their first year at UMBC. During Summer Bridge, Scholars bond as a community and internalize what it means to be a Meyerhoff Scholar. This includes the values of collaboration, leadership, service, professionalism, and academic excellence—alongside hard work and grit.

two people examine a tray of samples in a lab — Abby Cruz ’18, biological sciences, a Meyerhoff affiliate and MARC U*STAR Scholar, conducts research with Fernando Vonhoff. (Marlayna Demond ’11/UMBC)

Meyerhoff alumni will also benefit. They will be invited to apply for Transition to Independence Awards through the Simons Collaboration on the Global Brain and the Simons Collaboration on Plasticity and the Aging Brain. These large awards target Ph.D. and M.D./Ph.D. scientists from underrepresented groups who are currently in training positions and seeking tenure-track roles. Postdoctoral positions may also be available for Meyerhoff Scholar alumni at the Flatiron Institute.

“UMBC and Meyerhoff are excited to partner with the Simons Foundation in advancing our efforts to promote inclusive excellence and diversify the nation’s STEM workforce,” says Keith Harmon, director of the Meyerhoff Scholars Program.

Ripple effect—amplified

In addition to helping individual students and alumni, the growing partnership between UMBC and Simons will also advance a larger, shared goal of both institutions: launching more programs modeled on the Meyerhoff Scholars. UMBC staff and faculty involved with Meyerhoff will work with SUNY Stony Brook to create a Meyerhoff-like program within the public university system in New York.

“We are committed to helping increase the diversity of the STEM workforce,” Spergel says. “We see our collaboration with UMBC as key to helping us reach that goal through partnerships, in part by helping to adapt the Meyerhoff model at Stony Brook.”

As the partnership between UMBC and the Simons Foundation develops, the institutions hope their collaborative work will amplify the ripple effect already occurring across the country as Meyerhoff alumni advance in their careers. As more students get to experience the support offered by Meyerhoff and programs like it, they, too, will join the ranks of these alumni and make their own impact.

Creating new antiviral drugs: Katherine Seley-Radtke’s innovative “fleximer” research to receive $3.5M from NIH

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, recently awarded nine research consortia a total of $577 million to create Antiviral Drug Discovery (AViDD) Centers for Pathogens of Pandemic Concern. UMBC’s Katherine Seley-Radtke, professor of chemistry and biochemistry, is contributing her innovative work on more flexible antiviral compounds to this effort.

Seley-Radtke is a member of the consortium led by University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill, which will receive a total of $65 million over five years to work on five separate projects. UMBC is guaranteed $2.2 million for the first three years, with another $1.3 million to come for the final two years if the projects are making satisfactory progress.

The unique consortium structure includes an international, interdisciplinary team of academic researchers in virology, immunology, chemistry, and biology, and corporate partners. Their goals are ambitious, with increased urgency due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Many people in the antiviral field had been pushing for many years, warning people that this kind of viral pandemic could happen,” says Seley-Radtke, who is also president of the International Society for Antiviral Research. “We have to be better prepared. And that’s the point of the AViDD program—to quickly get us to the point where we have broad spectrum, small molecule antivirals that can be stockpiled, can be orally administered, and can be shipped to every corner of the Earth.”

Flexible fighters

Seley-Radtke is in a strong position to contribute to the development of compounds that can fight a wide range of viruses. She first invented compounds called fleximers in 2000. Fleximers are modified forms of an established class of antiviral drugs called nucleoside analogues—with a very useful twist.

“The thing that’s clever about the fleximers, is because they’re flexible, they can adjust to a binding site to obtain better binding than a normal rigid nucleoside analogue would,” Seley-Radtke says. That means they can be more effective against a virus that has accumulated some mutations, or even against different viruses that have similar, but not identical, structures.

For example, acyclovir is an antiviral drug used against herpes. Acyclovir itself isn’t effective against any viruses of pandemic concern, but a fleximer based on its basic structure “shows incredible activity” against several viruses of interest, Seley-Radtke says. A drug that can target multiple viruses is exactly the kind of “broad spectrum” treatment researchers are seeking.

illustration of three chemical structures — An example of fleximers. Guanosine (left) is the traditional nucleoside analogue, and the two structures on the right are fleximers. The fleximers’ structure allows them to wrap around other compounds and bind more tightly. (Image courtesy of Seley-Radtke)

Beyond generating a single drug that can tackle multiple viral threats, the consortium is also working toward combination therapies. In these treatments, multiple drugs are packaged together, as is common for HIV medications.

“Combination therapy is critical,” Seley-Radtke says. Because these therapies attack several parts of a virus at once, she explains, they can “exponentially cut down the chances of the virus developing resistance to the treatment. That’s why we’re looking for not just one broad spectrum inhibitor, but a combination of things that can be used together to fight whatever rears its ugly head.”

Katherine Seley-Radtke discusses her research at UMBC’s annual TED-style GRIT-X talks in 2021.

Fast-tracked progress

The structure of the consortium makes it uniquely suited to address the team’s goals efficiently. Having academic researchers and industry partners working together “will facilitate things moving much faster than the normal process,” Seley-Radtke says. “There’s a workflow.”

Her lab will “decide what the target’s going to be. Then we design the compounds, we make the compounds, and then we send them off to the next lab to be tested for activity” against viruses of interest, she explains.

If the initial testing detects any winners, another consortium partner will produce the compounds at scale so they can run more tests. If after that the compounds are still showing promise, they’ll be sent on to clinical trials through the pharmaceutical company partners. It all happens in a coordinated, pre-planned sequence.

“I’m really grateful to be able to participate in such high-impact work,” Seley-Radtke says. “It’s an amazing opportunity and it’s a brilliant concept.”

a student works at a lab bench — A student conducts research in Seley-Radtke’s laboratory. (Marlayna Demond ’11/UMBC)

Proactive approach

Seley-Radtke will work on two of the five projects in the consortium. One will focus on SARS-Cov2, dengue fever, and other viruses in the flavivirus family. These RNA viruses are most often spread by ticks and mosquitoes. Another project focuses on filoviruses, which include diseases like Ebola and Marburg virus disease, known for causing severe hemorrhagic fevers.

The members of the different projects will meet with each other and with NIH regularly to gauge progress and keep everyone on track. The goal is to develop individual drugs with activity against many viruses, and combination therapies, quickly.

“It is definitely within reach, and not just with my compounds,” Seley-Radtke says. “The AViDD centers are a fantastic effort. I applaud NIH for putting the money into this program and recognizing we’ve got to stop being reactive and be proactive.”

Beyond “plant trees!”: UMBC research finds tree plantations encroaching on essential ecosystems

Trees store carbon, filter the air, create habitat, and supply a host of other benefits for animals and people. Planting the right trees, in the right places, in consultation with local communities, can support goals like addressing climate change and improving lives. However, new research led by Matthew Fagan, assistant professor of geography and environmental systems at UMBC, finds that some trees planted in the tropics may be doing more harm than good.

The study, published in Nature Sustainability, examined the increase in tree cover across the global tropics between 2000 and 2012. Fagan and colleagues found that, surprisingly, tree cover gains during that period were equally attributable to natural forest regrowth and the creation of tree plantations. The most common tree plantation species were rubber, eucalyptus, and oil palm.

Tree plantations are not always harmful to the environment, and even much-maligned oil palm can be farmed sustainably, Fagan explains. However, the study found that 92 percent of new tree plantations were in biodiversity hotspots, threatening a range of plant and animal species. Also, 14 percent of plantations were in arid biomes, where trees are unlikely to thrive and likely to damage existing ecosystems. And tree plantations had encroached into 9 percent of accessible protected areas in the humid tropics, such as national parks.

“Ecologists have been sounding the alarm on this for over a decade,” Fagan says. “But no one’s had a hard number about how much this is actually happening.”

Matthew Fagan (Marlayna Demond ’11/UMBC)

When tree planting is lose-lose

In recent years, dozens of nations have committed to restoring large areas of forest. Tree plantations make up 45 percent of commitments to the Bonn Challenge, an international initiative to restore degraded and deforested landscapes. But Fagan is concerned that these plantations may have unintended consequences.

For example, China has undertaken a massive tree-planting effort at the edge of the Gobi desert, and many African countries have committed to planting trees at the transition between the Sahara desert and Sahel grassland. The goal is to prevent desert expansion, but the plantings can cause harm. Disturbing the soil releases carbon, and trees are water hogs. They end up “killing off the grassland that was there, and then they often die of drought,” Fagan says. In these situations, tree planting is lose-lose.

Similarly, in Brazil, soy farmers moved out of the Amazon and into the Cerrado, one of the world’s largest savannas. Pine and eucalyptus tree farms followed. The Cerrado supports a wealth of biodiversity, and the carbon it stores underground rivals rainforest carbon sequestration, Fagan explains. Tree crops in the Cerrado may count toward Brazil’s reforestation commitment, but could actually be a step backward in mitigating climate change and biodiversity loss.

“In the U.S., we have a huge area of relatively wet woods, and we tend to idolize planting trees as sort of the ultimate environmental act,” Fagan says. “But there’s a lot of value in grasslands and savannas that we don’t necessarily see. And when you plant trees, you essentially destroy that ecosystem.”

In response to his team’s new research, “I would really like to see governments around the world reassess their restoration plans,” Fagan says, “or at least be more transparent when their plans involve tree planting, especially in areas that may not be appropriate for planting trees.”

young trees planted in rows shade the forest floor — A plantation of non-native Melina trees in Costa Rica (Matthew Fagan)

Park or plantation?

Fagan’s new paper also revealed the extent to which tree plantations are invading protected areas. The problem was so bad that he had to overhaul the algorithm his team used to differentiate between data representing natural forest regrowth and tree plantations.

Initially, the algorithm used park boundaries as a proxy for natural forest regrowth areas. But it wasn’t working. To figure out what was wrong, Fagan spot-checked 20 parks, and found that three had multiple plantations inside them. That got him curious.

Six weeks later, he had manually checked for plantations in every park in the tropics. When he found plantations, he either redrew the park’s boundaries or, if the park was too compromised, removed it from the data completely. Using the resulting new maps, the algorithm could detect natural forest regrowth versus tree plantations with more than 90 percent accuracy.

“It was very disturbing to see there were just so many parks that were compromised,” Fagan says.

The new maps allowed the team to find many more regrowth areas and plantations than expected from government estimates. Several UMBC undergraduates are authors on the paper because of their contributions to this data analysis. Each student manually checked at least 1,000 patches, some as many as 3,000.

“In the end, the tropics is a much more modified place than we were expecting,” Fagan says. “There’s a whole host of reasons that we see these encroachments, but they’re definitely happening all over the world. We see a steady erosion of these parks by plantations, and the industry is just getting started.”

Matthew Fagan (right) and Joshua Slaughter ’22, computer engineering, who was a co-author on the current paper, examine data for a study on the longevity of secondary forests in Latin America. (Marlayna Demond ’11/UMBC)

Reason for hope

When setting out on this research, the team had a simple question: How many planted trees are there in the world? “It seemed like a strange thing not to know,” Fagan says. As the work progressed, they asked whether trees were being planted where they shouldn’t be and whether plantations were expanding into parks. They’ve found the results concerning, but they also have reason for hope.

Trees can do a lot of good, and planting more of them can be a significant factor in addressing the impacts of climate change. But it has to be done right. “This paper shows it’s possible to monitor natural forest versus plantation at a global scale,” Fagan says, “so we can encourage the results we want and discourage results we don’t want.”

He also hopes the results will inspire everyone to be more conscious of where their products—from paper to food to shampoo to tires—come from, and to demand that companies producing those products in tree plantations adopt more sustainable practices.

“If we make our choices en masse, it does shift the direction that these companies go in,” Fagan says. And despite our love for trees in the U.S., he notes, forests are not the only ecosystems that can help mitigate the effects of climate change and biodiversity loss. Savannas and prairies also have an important role to play.

“We need to be cognizant that not all tree planting is beneficial for the ecosystem involved,” Fagan says. “The right tree in the right place is the right answer.”

HHMI launches $1.5 billion Freeman Hrabowski Scholars program to support diversity, innovation in biomedical research

Today, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) launched the Freeman Hrabowski Scholars Program to help build a scientific workforce that more fully reflects our increasingly diverse country. The $1.5 billion program honors UMBC President Freeman A. Hrabowski, III for his decades of leadership in growing and diversifying the pipeline of Ph.D.-level researchers, most prominently through UMBC’s Meyerhoff Scholars Program.

Alumni leading the way

UMBC is now the nation’s #1 producer of Black bachelor’s degree recipients who go on to earn a Ph.D. in the natural sciences and engineering, and this program builds on that legacy.

Meyerhoff Scholars alumni have earned 385 Ph.D.s, 155 medical degrees, and more than 300 master’s degrees (as of April 2022). More than 370 additional Meyerhoff alumni are currently enrolled in graduate and professional school. Students who became Meyerhoff Scholars are more than five times more likely to have completed or be currently enrolled in a STEM Ph.D. program than students who were accepted to the program but declined. Several universities across the country, including Penn State and UNC Chapel Hill, have successfully replicated the program, with support from HHMI and others.

Meyerhoff alumni include such rising stars as Kafui Dzirasa ’01, M8, chemical engineering, associate professor at Duke and an HHMI Investigator, and Kizzmekia Corbett ‘08, M16, biological sciences and sociology, lead of the NIH team that developed the technology for the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, and now assistant professor at Harvard.

Meyerhoff Scholar alumna Kizzmekia Corbett standing outdoors in front of the Robert and Jane Meyerhoff Chemistry Building — Kizzmekia Corbett visited campus in 2021 for an interview with CNN. (Marlayna Demond ’11/UMBC)

As it has gained momentum, the Meyerhoff program has had an important ripple effect. Many Meyerhoff alumni today are cultivating diverse, inclusive research groups of their own, where they support undergraduate and graduate students on their way to careers in STEM.

HHMI has designed the new Freeman Hrabowski Scholars Program to ensure that early career faculty have resources and support to become both leaders in their research fields and effective leaders and mentors of trainees from racial and ethnic backgrounds currently underrepresented in U.S. science. These are just the sort of researchers who may have come up through a Meyerhoff alumni-led laboratory, and will now be in a strong position to build their own research groups.

Kafui Dzirasa speaking and gesturing on a black background with a GRIT-X banner — Kafui Dzirasa presents at UMBC’s GRIT-X talks in 2017. (Marlayna Demond ’11/UMBC)

Changing the face of science

With the Freeman Hrabowski Scholars Program, HHMI expects to hire and support up to 150 early career faculty over the next 20 years. The program will select 30 Scholars every other year for the next decade. Each Scholar will be appointed to a five-year term, renewable once with evaluation. Scholars will receive up to $8.6 million over 10 years, including full salary, benefits, a research budget, and scientific equipment.

In addition, Scholars will participate in professional development to advance their leadership and mentorship skills. They’ll also be included in HHMI’s community of scientists, educators, and students for scientific meetings, networking, and other opportunities.

“For academic science to thrive in an increasingly diverse world, we need to attract and support scientists from a wide variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds,” says HHMI President Erin O’Shea. “Early career faculty play a key role because they are the leaders of tomorrow. We’re excited to support talented early career scientists dedicated to a model of excellence in science that combines innovative scientific research and intentional, inclusive development of postdocs, students, and other lab members.”

Freeman Hrabowski and Erin O'Shea, smiling and in graduation robes, in a white-walled space — President Freeman Hrabowski (left) and Erin O’Shea, president of HHMI, talk backstage at UMBC Commencement in 2018, where O’Shea was one of the speakers. (Marlayna Demond ’11/UMBC)

It’s especially meaningful that HHMI, the largest private funder of biomedical research in the nation, has taken up this effort. President Hrabowski was moved to learn that HHMI wanted to name their latest and biggest endeavor to diversify the scientific workforce in honor of his decades of service.

“We should all be encouraged by HHMI’s commitment to changing the face of science in America,” Hrabowski says. “This initiative shows what is possible when an institution is guided by its values and by evidence of what works. I am deeply honored to be connected with HHMI and with this new program.”

To learn more, see additional coverage from HHMI and in The Washington Post, Baltimore Sun, Science, WYPR, Inside Higher Ed, and The Chronicle of Higher Education.

NIDA EDUCATE program develops the next generation of addiction researchers

In 2021, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) awarded UMBC more than $1 million over five years to create a program specifically for undergraduate scholars interested in research on substance abuse and addiction. A year after the program’s launch, it is thriving as students in fields as diverse as economics, computer science, and chemical engineering find ways to connect their interests to this important topic.

A group of ten young adults in a classroom. — EDUCATE Scholars gathered for an end-of-semester social in spring 2022. (Image courtesy of Yetunde Oshagbemi)

“We need people from all walks of STEM to be able to approach problems to find solutions,” says Patrice Darby. She is program coordinator of special projects of the Meyerhoff Scholars Program and a co-lead on the grant, which is called Educating Diverse Undergraduates for Careers in Addiction and substance abuse research via Training Experiences (EDUCATE). The program supports a small, specialized group of Meyerhoff Scholars as EDUCATE Scholars. The grant is administered by UMBC’s College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences and led by the college’s dean, Bill LaCourse.

EDUCATE programming includes talks from researchers whose work touches addiction, as well as workshop series on science communication and on the tools needed to become a successful researcher. EDUCATE Scholars are also expected to participate in a sustained research experience with UMBC faculty mentors and to present their research at a conference. They also take an ethics course and receive intensive academic and career advising from program staff. Funding is available to support summer research experiences for EDUCATE Scholars as well.

“NIDA has really encouraged an interdisciplinary approach,” Darby says. That and the small size of each cohort means “we’re really able to tailor things to the students’ needs.”

Large office building, with Baltimore, Maryland and US flags in front — The National Institute on Drug Abuse in Baltimore. (NIDA)

Broader horizons

Yetunde Oshagbemi ’23, economics and mathematics, wants to study economic development in Nigeria, and she is interested in understanding how drug abuse has impacted development. Based on Oshagbemi’s interests, Darby invited an economist with a focus on drug abuse to speak to the scholars. In addition to speaking directly to Oshagbemi’s interest, this offered a fresh perspective for students in other majors.

The talk “reminded me that similar interests can be applied in different ways,” Oshagbemi says. The EDUCATE program as a whole “broadens your horizons and your views on the ways drug abuse is being studied in different disciplines. It’s allowed me to see that there are different ways to answer the questions I have about my interests.”

Two young women, one wearing a Friends tv show shirt and another wearing a UMBC Retrievers shirt, standing in front of a snack table. — Yetunde Oshagbemi ’23, economics and mathematics (left), relaxes with another EDUCATE Scholar at a social event. (Image courtesy of Oshagbemi)

Oshagbemi conducts research with Zoë McLaren, professor of public policy, whose work includes studying infectious disease in developing countries. Oshagbemi also appreciates Darby’s mentorship. Darby helps “make sure that not only am I progressing academically, but my mental health is also doing well,” she says. “She tries to give you the best advice based on the type of person you are and the path you want to go on.”

Family inspiration

Mike Anoruo ’24, computer science, has also benefited from the mentorship and interdisciplinary nature of the program. Darby recommended he apply for a summer workshop at MIT on quantitative methods, which was eye-opening. “I learned a lot about biology and I was able to bring in my computer science knowledge,” Anoruo says.

Anoruo is inspired by his mother, who works at a crisis stabilization center for people who struggle with addiction and substance abuse. “Seeing her passion for it has made me really want to learn more about it,” he says. “From the MIT workshop, I was able to see that computer science has a lot of applications. So if I can find a way to make a difference the same way my mom is, I think I would really enjoy that.”

Knowing that there are so many ways to apply computer science, Anoruo is still considering his options for the future. “I really like being in the EDUCATE program because I get to look into different topics in drug addiction. I’m just trying to explore and see what I want to go into.”

A real contribution

Students who are not EDUCATE Scholars also benefit from the program.

Each year six students, a mix of Meyerhoff Scholars and STEM BUILD Trainees, have the opportunity to participate in research internships at NIDA through a supplement to the EDUCATE grant. STEM BUILD Trainee Precious Oyinloye ’23, chemical engineering, is completing a virtual internship this school year. Her project involves analyzing data to identify chemical compounds involved in addiction.

After learning how to code in the Python language as part of her NIDA experience, “I’m more curious about computer science,” she says. Plus, “being part of a research project offers a sense of fulfillment—I’m really contributing to science.”

Zoha Faraz ’22, psychology and biological sciences, also a STEM BUILD Trainee, used the opportunity to gain important research skills. “Through the internship, I was able to learn a lot about the research process, and I feel more confident in testing my research skills,” she says. “I think it also improved my scientific communication, because I had to make a presentation about my project.”

Zoha Faraz ’22, psychology and biological sciences (Image courtesy of Faraz)

A personalized experience

The EDUCATE program is small, with a maximum of six scholars per year. That allows the staff “to give our students a highly personalized experience,” Darby says.

Between the workshop-style trainings, faculty-mentored research, and availability of committed staff like Darby to offer guidance and feedback, the program is setting the EDUCATE Scholars up for success in whatever field they choose to pursue.

“You don’t have to research addiction to be able to influence addiction research,” Darby says. Addiction is, however, one of the topics that brings the scholars together. At a social event for EDUCATE students earlier this year, that connection was on full display, helping students deepen relationships they may rely on for support for years to come.

“It’s just different to have a special community,” Darby says, “to talk about the impacts of addiction and why our students care.”

NIH awards UMBC $5.6M to support underrepresented graduate students in STEM

UMBC’s College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences will receive $5.6 million over five years from the National Institutes of Health to fund the Graduate Research Training Initiative for Student Enhancement (G-RISE). The program will support graduate students from underrepresented groups in STEM with up to three years of funding and an array of training opportunities. The goal is to help participants select and prepare for a range of career paths, in academia, industry, government, entrepreneurship, or beyond.

G-RISE will replace UMBC’s Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD) Meyerhoff Graduate Fellows program, which the NIH also funded. IMSD, under the direction of Michael Summers, Robert E. Meyerhoff Chair for Excellence in Research and Mentoring and Distinguished University Professor, has proven highly successful at supporting students in completing Ph.D. degrees in STEM.

Building on success

Since its launch in 1996, the IMSD program steadily gained momentum, enrolling and graduating a growing number of students. Over 150 UMBC participants have already earned their Ph.D. The program joined forces with the University of Maryland, Baltimore in 2007, and 64 participating UMB students have also earned a Ph.D. since then.

An impressive 98 percent of the graduates are working in STEM or continuing to pursue training opportunities. Students in the program have also authored more than 250 research papers, and they are listed as first authors on 60 percent of the papers from UMBC.

The IMSD program offered 18 fellowships per year across UMBC and UMB, but G-RISE, which UMBC will operate independently, ramps up NIH’s support. In the first year, nine UMBC students will receive funding, and in each of the next four years, G-RISE will support 25 UMBC students. G-RISE will also offer up to three years of funding per student.

“We’re really excited that the NIH has the confidence that we can do the work,” says Justine Johnson, co-lead on the new grant and associate director of the IMSD Meyerhoff Graduate Fellows Program.

Justine Johnson (Courtesy of Johnson)

Choose your own adventure

For example, students will have access to workshops focused on exposure to career paths, quantitative analysis, teaching, mentoring, and the transition to the workplace. They’ll also take courses on the responsible conduct of research and methods to increase the reproducibility of results, both important skills for emerging researchers.

Many of the elements are program requirements for the students, but they will also have some flexibility depending on their chosen career paths and research field. “It’s a bit of an adventure,” Brewster says. “We will work with students to identify what best suits their skills and aspirations.”

Flow chart representing the structure of the G-RISE program. Figure appears in the G-RISE grant proposal, courtesy Rachel Brewster.

Scaffolded support

The program emphasizes offering structured support to students interested in a wide range of career outcomes. To that end, students in their first year will participate in “a workshop to consider broadly a range of careers and identify a few that they’d like to explore in more detail,” Brewster says, “and then in years two and three we’ll encourage them to pick a career track.” Tracks include academic research and science education, biotechnology and entrepreneurship, science policy and administration, and science communication.

Once a student chooses a track, the program becomes even more personalized. “We will have more targeted meetings with them to explore in more detail ways they could make themselves more competitive for those career options,” Brewster says.

Each participant will also work with their UMBC research mentor to develop a proposal in their third year to support their career goals. For example, proposals might include pursuing an internship in industry or policy, or gaining research experience in a collaborator’s laboratory. The program also has resources to support students attending external professional development events and accessing training that fits their goals.

Committed faculty

A student’s faculty mentor also plays a major role in their development and ability to progress along their chosen career path. Today, more often than not, that path is not toward academia. Faculty who want to support students in pursuing a broad range of career goals can sometimes feel ill-equipped to do so, given their own backgrounds in academia.

To address this important challenge, G-RISE will also organize discussion sessions for faculty mentors to share strategies with each other for supporting students whose career goals differ from their own. Their conversations will also address best practices for mentoring students from a wide range of backgrounds.

“We all, faculty and students, will need to be willing to expand our vision of the purpose of graduate science education,” Brewster says. Then, “We’ll need to support the students in ways that help them achieve that full purpose. In some respects, we view G-RISE as a space where faculty and students can interface on these issues.”

While Brewster, Johnson, and the other co-leads want to facilitate exploration of all STEM careers, they also intend to encourage those interested to pursue academia. “We’re concerned,” Brewster says, “that with dwindling numbers of graduates entering the professoriate, there is a missed opportunity for the nation to benefit from the influx of ideas and perspectives that come with diversity.”

Rachel Brewster in her laboratory. (Marlayna Demond ’11/UMBC)

Taking the lead

Overall, Brewster and Johnson are excited to lead this new enterprise. They’re looking forward to leveraging the experience of its successful predecessor to support and widen training opportunities for historically underrepresented students in STEM fields. Both have been closely involved with the IMSD Meyerhoff Graduate Fellows Program, but they are taking the lead for the first time.

“Rachel is at the helm, and I’m right there with her,” Johnson says. These issues are so important to all of the co-leads, that even as Johnson acknowledges they’re heading into uncharted waters, she says, “We’re going to work so hard to knock this one out of the park.”

First-generation grad reflects on the power of seeing potential, giving support

Kaitlynn Lilly

Degree: B.S., Mathematics and Physics
Hometown: Severna Park, MD
Post-grad plans: Ph.D. in applied mathematics, University of Washington

“As a first-generation college student … I didn’t know if going to graduate school would be possible for me, but people believed in me, saw my potential, and gave me the ability to succeed. Being able to give that back to other people has been really powerful for me and has made my UMBC experience very fulfilling.”

Group shot of Kaitlynn Lilly and two middle school students inside Arbutus Middle School. — Kaitlynn Lilly (left) supports students at Arbutus Middle School. (Image courtesy of Lilly)

Kaitlynn Lilly ’22, mathematics and physics, is a Meyerhoff Scholar, member of the Honors College, and 2021-2022 Goldwater Scholar. She conducted research with Justin Webster, assistant professor of mathematics, and participated in summer research experiences with faculty at Carnegie Mellon University and University of Hawai’i. But more than thinking about those achievements, she often reflects on the support that helped her get there and how she can pay it forward.

When she started working with Webster in her first year, Lilly did not have substantial high-level math experience. But Webster “took me under his wing and made sure that I was learning the important background material that I needed,” she says. “And eventually, I was able to start my own independent project.”

As her skills and experience grew, she got involved in more and more difficult projects. “I think that’s one of the unique things that UMBC has to offer,” she says. “I feel like I’ve definitely made the most of my education here, and it’s been a really great experience being involved in so many different kinds of research.”

Three young adults in professional clothing stand by a park bench. — UMBC’s 2021-2022 Goldwater Scholars Karan Luthria (l), Kaitlynn Lilly (c), and Joshua Slaughter (r). (Marlayna Demond ’11/UMBC)

Lilly is a dedicated mentor to middle school, high school, and UMBC students through several different programs, for which she received the Ronald M. Shapiro Excellence in Mentoring Award.

While studying partial differential equations for her Ph.D. at University of Washington, she plans to create a group for women in applied math and contribute to an existing program that supports high school students.

Future teacher makes mindful and inclusive early childhood education a priority

Ashley Delgado

Degree: B.A., Psychology
Hometown: Baltimore, MD
Plans: Teacher at Lakeland Elementary/Middle School

“Growing up in Baltimore City, I only saw Hispanic teachers as Spanish educators. As an intern at a city elementary/middle school, walking through and just seeing so many Spanish-speaking teachers who aren’t just teaching Spanish really spoke to me.”

Ashley Delgado ’22, psychology, is a Sherman STEM Scholar and first-generation college student with a focus on early childhood education.

Ashley Delgado writes on a whiteboard, students are seated in front of her — Ashley Delgado teaching at Maree G. Farring Elementary/Middle School in Baltimore. (Image courtesy of Delgado)

She completed research with Jennifer Mata-McMahon, associate professor of early childhood education. Delgado’s work was part of the Breathe2Think Program, a collaboration between the Sherman Center and the Sherman Scholars to teach emerging teachers how to use mindfulness techniques with young children and for themselves.

Already, Delgado has employed these techniques in her internship placements. She plans to continue using them in her teaching career, both with her students and for herself. Especially during a period of constant change, such as the pandemic, these techniques help children regulate their emotions in appropriate ways.

Delgado also prioritizes culturally responsive teaching. In her work, she will seek to “create that environment where students feel they are represented,” she says. She will also work to create “opportunities for them to express who they are and explain their backgrounds and their stories,” both to their instructors and their classmates.

Both Mata-McMahon and Jackie Peng, Delgado’s supervisor during her internship at Maree G. Farring Elementary/Middle School in Baltimore City, have served as important mentors for Delgado. They have helped her gain confidence in her teaching as she begins her career.

Future engineer helps local students see the possibilities in STEM

Micah Thorpe

Degree: B.S., Mechanical Engineering
Hometown: Germantown, MD
Post-grad plans: Ph.D., mechanical engineering, University of Michigan

“My mom is a teacher at a Title I school. She’s a huge inspiration for me. She’s always working to expose her kids to STEM, which encouraged me to do the same—and I realized I could do it here at UMBC.”

Micah Thorpe ’22, mechanical engineering, is a Meyerhoff Scholar and member of the Honors College at UMBC. He started working with local students in his first year at UMBC through a program called College Gardens, helping them with homework and other activities. His commitment to the work grew, and by the next year he was a student coordinator for the Walden Circle Community Center, which provides similar programming for students in grades K-8.

young children work at computers in a brightly painted room while UMBC student Micah Thorpe supervises. — Micah Thorpe ’22 works with students at the Walden Circle Community Center. (Photo courtesy of Thorpe)

Thorpe has also served on the executive board of UMBC’s National Society for Black Engineers (NSBE) chapter. In his role as pre-college initiative chair, Thorpe organized tutoring and other activities for students in Baltimore County, Howard County, and Baltimore City.

Moving through his career, “I definitely want to continue doing the same type of work, and spreading knowledge of STEM,” Thorpe says, “giving kids hands-on experiences and showing them what the possibilities are within STEM.”

Thorpe has grown his own passion for STEM at UMBC through conducting battery research in the laboratory of Deepa Madan, mechanical engineering. He is also grateful to Eloise Grose, assistant director of applied learning and community engagement at the Shriver Center, for her mentorship during his outreach work.

Finding “true success” by supporting younger students

Favour Nwagugo

Degree: B.S., Biological Sciences
Hometown: Capitol Heights, MD
Plans: National Cancer Institute postbac program

“Every time I look at where I am, I always try to look around and give back to other people and to the community, because I feel like that’s what true success is—to be able to give back, and to use my gifts and talents to help others up any way I can.”

Favour Nwagugo ’22, biological sciences, is a Meyerhoff Scholar and LSAMP Scholar. From his first semester, he has also been a dedicated volunteer with the CHOICE Program at UMBC, working each week with elementary through high school students. He’s introduced them to the college campus environment through eating at True Grit’s dining hall and playing basketball in the Retriever Activities Center, and he’s led activities in science, art, computer coding, and more.

By spring 2020, Nwagugo was chosen to be a student coordinator with the program, which involved organizing volunteers, leading reflection sessions, and relaying information back to supervisors at the Shriver Center. Beginning in fall 2020, he also served as a peer health educator at UMBC, working to educate UMBC students about healthy lifestyles and choices.

Nwagugo completed research with Phyllis Robinson, professor of biological sciences at UMBC, and completed a summer research experience at Brown University. After a postbac at the National Cancer Institute, Nwagugo plans to pursue an M.D./Ph.D.

Undefining life: UMBC’s Stephen Freeland offers fresh perspective on life’s origins

What if no single moment in time pinpoints when life began on Earth? What if, instead, life has unfolded continuously through time, making it impossible to know—and, perhaps, not even worth asking—at which precise moment matter on Earth became what we call “life”? That’s the argument presented in a new perspectives article published in Journal of the Royal Society Interface by Stephen Freeland, director of UMBC’s individualized study program and a computational astrobiologist focused on life’s origins.

Freeland’s argument challenges the concept of the RNA world hypothesis, for decades the leading paradigm for explaining how life arose on Earth. In the RNA world hypothesis, RNA was the first to arise of the three core molecule types necessary for life as we know it: DNA, RNA, and proteins. Traditional versions of the RNA world hypothesis posit that originally RNA both self-replicated and carried out chemical reactions—critical processes for life. Later in life’s evolution, DNA and proteins, respectively, largely took over those functions.

However, over the last several years, even RNA world enthusiasts “are in retreat from the idea that it all begins with RNA,” Freeland says. Acceptance is growing for the potential existence of “pre-RNA” compounds that could have been important stepping-stones on the way to life.

“But this paper is trying to say something more subversive,” Freeland says. Not only was RNA not first, he argues, “Even precursors to RNA evolved many steps into the process.” Perhaps, rather than identifying a single point where life began, “it all traces back in a seamless ad infinitum progression,” Freeland says. “That’s a very different way of thinking about the universe from the way that I was raised to think about it.”

outdoor portrait of man wearing suit — Stephen Freeland. Photo courtesy of UMBC’s Individualized Study Program.

Paradigm shift

Emerging cracks in the RNA world hypothesis have opened Freeland and others’ minds to questioning other long-accepted paradigms. For example, traditionally, complex things are expected to break down into smaller, more stable components over time to reach equilibrium. But it’s not that simple.

In some physical systems, Freeland notes, a constant input of energy can cause building blocks of matter to spontaneously form more-complex structures. Researchers call these phenomena “active matter,” “self-organizing matter,” or other, related terms. This lack of consensus over terminology demonstrates how new a concerted focus on these systems is.

These self-organizing systems don’t defy fundamental physics principles, but they do require a shift in perspective. One must avoid applying assumptions made about systems at rest (without energy input) to understand why a more complex and ordered system would be more stable than a simple, disordered one. As it turns out, there is more than one way to think about equilibrium.

“Traditionally, we have tended to study life’s emergence from a particular equilibrium perspective, and that’s become a paradigm so deep that we’ve forgotten it’s even a paradigm,” Freeland says. Focusing on the ways matter moves and organizes itself, and why, rather than on stability and disorder, “is a different way of thinking about physics that’s so exciting.”

adults stand in a circle; one in the center is pointing to notecards laid out on a table — Freeland (center) leads a discussion at an evaluation workshop for a previous Ideas Lab. Freeland is co-leading a new Ideas Lab in June 2022. It will bring together scholars from several seemingly disparate fields that are all relevant to studying the origins of life. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Window of change

Freeland argues that the physicists asking these questions, the biologists and chemists studying life’s origins, and researchers in other fields, such as artificial life, have more in common than they might realize, despite their fundamentally different views on things like how to define “equilibrium” in physical systems. However, at present they barely understand one another well enough to perceive their connections, he argues. He believes they could usefully collaborate more to tackle these huge questions of how the universe works.

“There’s low-hanging fruit here,” Freeland says, “if we can acknowledge that people outside our normal spheres are working on something relevant to us, then if we could only learn to communicate, we might find we are already a lot further ahead than we think we are.”

To encourage that communication, Freeland received a $226,000 grant from the Templeton Foundation to bring 30 international scholars in biochemistry, non-equilibrium physics, and artificial life to Prague, Czech Republic in June. He is organizing the event in close collaboration with colleagues at University of Tokyo, Georgia Tech, and Charles University in Prague. The attendees will explore what they have in common, develop new research questions, and compete for access to major funding to pursue their ideas.

As momentum builds in the scientific community to reconsider the primacy of the RNA world hypothesis, Freeland believes “a window of change is here” to ask big questions in new ways. And yet, even acknowledging that RNA was not the beginning of life would be just “a side effect of the more interesting point,” Freeland says, “—that there’s an awful lot we don’t know about how all this fits together.”

Header image: The Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge in Washington, DC looks like DNA when viewed with its reflection at night. Researchers from a range of fields continue to debate when DNA arose in the sequence of events leading to life as we know it. Photo by Miki Jourdan, used under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

UMBC faculty and staff award recipients place community at the core of their success

At UMBC’s 2022 Presidential Faculty and Staff Awards (PFASA), Tamra Mendelson, professor of biological sciences and recipient of the 2022 – 2025 Presidential Teaching Professor Award, said she loves “getting to the core of a concept” in her research and teaching. In her large introductory biology courses, which Mendelson has been teaching with humor, creativity, and enthusiasm since her arrival on campus in 2006, the concept might be an idea like natural selection. But as awardee after awardee addressed the audience, both in person and online, it became clear that all shared the same “core concept” of UMBC: community.

“Teaching and research make me want to come to work every day, but it’s the community here, and Dr. Hrabowski in particular, who’ve made me want to come to UMBC every day,” Mendelson said.

Yonathan Zohar, professor and chair of marine biotechnology and the 2022 – 2025 Presidential Research Professor, added, “This recognition is not about me, it’s about us,” adapting the opening quote from President Hrabowski’s book, The Empowered University. Zohar’s work, nurtured diligently over more than three decades, has in the last few years brought in more than $10 million dollars of research funding, earned international awards, and is poised to reimagine the seafood industry as we know it.

And yet, Zohar says, “None of my research accomplishments would have been possible without the ‘about us’ spirit at UMBC—the spirit that together we can make everything and anything happen.”

Bill LaCourse and Yonathan Zohar shake hands on stage — Yonathan Zohar, right, accepts his award from **Bill LaCourse**, dean of the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences.

Supporting each other

Helena Dahlen, executive administrative assistant in the Division of Information Technology and the 2022 – 2023 Presidential Distinguished Staff Award for Non-exempt Staff recipient, recalled becoming an active member of the community when she started at UMBC in 2015. She joined book clubs, participated in wellness events, attended lectures, and more.

“It felt like I had moved into a small community,” she says. “Almost like a village, surrounded by brilliant people of all ages.” The supportive environment has allowed Dahlen to do her best work at UMBC and to give back. She generously contributes her energy to programs like Retriever Essentials and the Maryland Charity Campaign, and she serves as president of the Non-exempt Staff Senate.

Finally, Michael Pound, director of environmental safety and health and the 2022 – 2023 Presidential Distinguished Staff Award recipient, got to the heart of the matter. Recalling the challenges of managing the university’s response to the pandemic with a team of dedicated colleagues, he says, “I just couldn’t be prouder to work with these great folks.”

Danyelle Ireland, right, accepts her award from **Marc Olano**, associate dean of academic programs and learning in the College of Engineering and IT.

Beyond imagination

The UMBC community, all of the awardees emphasized, has grown through years of thoughtful care and collaboration. It’s taken decades to cultivate the UMBC ethos of community support and shared leadership.

“It’s hard to express how far we’ve come,” reflected President Hrabowski, as he offered remarks at his final PFASA as UMBC president. “Growing up, I could never have imagined the concept of UMBC—people from all over the world coming to study, to seek the truth, to get to know people different from themselves.”

UMBC’s newest awardees highlighted how that vision has become a reality, and Pres. Hrabowski honored all that they have contributed. “Leadership isn’t about one person at the top; it’s about what we all do,” Hrabowski said. “When we say we care about UMBC, what we’re saying is we care about each other.”

The audience applauds President Hrabowski as he makes remarks at his final Presidential Faculty and Staff Awards.

Honoring excellence

UMBC’s other named awards honor members of the UMBC community who embody the university’s ethos, such as Diane Lee, retired vice provost and dean of undergraduate education; Marilyn E. Demorest, professor emerita of psychology and former vice provost for faculty affairs; and Teresa Lupinek, the late former executive administrative assistant to the president. This year’s recipients include:

Mark Berczynski, M.S. ’17, lecturer, engineering and computing education program
Diane M. Lee Teaching Award

Danyelle Tauryce Ireland, associate director, Center for Women in Technology
Jakubik Family Endowment Staff Award

Nichole Zang Do, M.A. ’15, program management specialist, biological sciences
Karen L. Wensch Endowment Award for Outstanding Non-exempt Staff

C. Jill Randles, assistant vice provost and assistant dean, Academic Engagement and Transition Programs
Teresa Lupinek Endowment Award

Tamara Bhalla, associate professor, American studies
Marilyn E. Demorest Award for Faculty Advancement

Margaret Holland, associate professor, geography and environmental systems
Marilyn E. Demorest Award for Faculty Advancement

Narsingh B. Singh, research professor, chemistry and biochemistry, and affiliate faculty, computer science and electrical engineering
UMBC Research Faculty Excellence Award

Margaret Holland, right, accepts her award from **Kimberly Moffitt**, dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences.

USM Board of Regents awardees

This year, UMBC also had two University System of Maryland (USM) Board of Regents Award recipients. These awards represent the highest honor bestowed on faculty and staff across the USM by the Board of Regents. Awardees are selected by the Council of University System Staff and approved by the Board. The awards recognize faculty and staff for excellence in teaching; research, scholarship, and creative activity; public service; mentoring; or innovation.

UMBC has received an outsize share of these awards over the years, demonstrating the strength of our faculty and staff across all areas of achievement. This year, Marjoleine Kars, professor of history, received the 2022 USM Board of Regents Award for Excellence in Scholarship. Her latest book, Blood on the River: A Chronicle of Mutiny and Freedom on the Wild Coast, has received widespread acclaim for its discussion of a nearly successful rebellion of enslaved African and Indigenous people in the Dutch colony of Berbice in the 1860s.

Lee Blaney, associate professor of chemical, biochemical, and environmental engineering, received the 2022 USM Board of Regents Award for Excellence in Teaching. Blaney has received awards previously for exceptional mentoring and for engaging his students in high-impact research. His laboratory focuses on contaminants of emerging concern, such as compounds found in pharmaceuticals and personal care products, in waterways such as Chesapeake Bay.

From left to right: Lee Blaney, Marjoleine Kars, and Victor Fulda.

Celebrating together

This year’s ceremony was the first in-person PFASA event since 2019. With that in mind, the ceremony also honored awardees from 2020 and 2021.

Victor Fulda, engineering technician, chemical, biochemical, and environmental engineering
2021 University System of Maryland Board of Regents Award for Exceptional Contribution to the Institution or Unit to which the Person Belongs

Jamie Gurganus ‘04, M.S. ‘11, Ph.D. ‘20; faculty, mechanical engineering; associate director, engineering education initiatives; and director, Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning
2020 – 2021 Diane M. Lee Teaching Award

Jonathan Zwi, instructor and affiliate artist, music
2020 – 2021 Diane M. Lee Teaching Award

Header image: Recipients of awards who accepted them in person at this year’s PFASA. From left to right: Marjoleine Kars, Michael Pound, Jamie Gurganus, Maggie Holland, Nichole Zang Do, Jill Randles, Danyelle Ireland, Tamra Mendelson, Yonathan Zohar, Helena Dahlen, Freeman Hrabowski, Tamara Bhalla, Victor Fulda, Jonanthan Zwi, Narsingh Singh, Lee Blaney, Philip Rous.

All photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.