Dr. Letitia Hubbard

STEM Instructor

B.S.  Spelman College (Chemical Physics)

B.S.E.E. Georgia Tech (Electrical Engineering)

P.h.D Duke University (Biomedical Engineering)

As a member of the engineering and computer science (ECS) department and research mentorship faculty at NCSSM since 2015, M. Letitia Hubbard has expanded and developed several residential and online course offerings including Honors Biomedical Engineering, Bioinstrumentation, a Survey of Biomedical Engineering Mini-term and J-term course, and a Summer Research Program in Engineering.  As a Research Mentorship faculty member, she works collaboratively to prepare students for successful off-campus research experiences. She serves as the BME Convener for the ECS department and faculty co-advisor for the National Society of Black Engineers NSBE Jr. and Biomedical Engineering (BME) Club and has sponsored students in the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Competition (2020 National Winners) and the Toshiba Exploravision competition (2024 National 1st Place Winners).     Dr. Hubbard enjoys spending time with her family, including her 8 year old and 3-year old sons.  She enjoys road trips and going to the beach and is a budding gardener.

Contact Information:  letitia.hubbard@ncssm.edu

Course Description:  In this course students will explore the engineering and design process by learning how to use the design thinking process to solve engineering challenges. Students will learn the basics of how to analyze a problem, develop a prototype, and learn basic entrepreneurial skills for how to market and pitch their prototype idea as a business concept.  Students will learn the basics of software and hardware integration via the Circuit Playground Express in Code.org.  Students will integrate basic electronics with the Arduino IDE in order to be able to make prototypes for real world problems.

Link to Canvas Course (You will only have access if you are taking this course)

Dr. Hatajai Lassiter

Assistant Professor of Biology, James Madison University

B.S. Biological Sciences, Minor: Spanish, North Carolina State University

M.S. Biology, North Carolina Central University

Ph.D. Microbiology, Howard University

Hatajai Lassiter is an Assistant Professor at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA where she instructs Biology/Microbiology lectures and labs and conducts Infectious Disease research. She also served as an Adjunct Instructor at North Carolina Central University and Guilford Technical Community College after completion of her M.S. degree for 2 years prior to commencing of doctoral studies at Howard University. She has a sincere passion for instruction while having fun and mentoring students.   Hatajai Lassiter’s favorite activities are playing sports, listening to music, riding her motorcycle, and playing/chilling with her new rescue doggie, Sir Dante. 

Contact Information:  microphd2019@gmail.com

Course Description:  In this course, students will explore the exciting world of microorganisms and their ubiquitous nature. We will conduct experimentation to characterize and identify bacteria isolated from spinach/lettuce leaves (obtained from garden versus grocery store) or water/beverage samples via the implementation of microbiological techniques (e.g., cell culture, Gram Stain, microscopy, differential/selective media). Students will learn the relevant applications of these techniques: environmental, food/water safety, and medical.  

Link to Canvas Course (You will only have access if you are taking this course)

Dr. Fola Omofoye

Instructor of Biology, NCSSM

B.S., Chemistry, Duke University

M.D., UNC-Chapel Hill School of Medicine

MMCi, Duke University

Dr. Fola Omofoye is a globally recognized Physician-Scientist, Informaticist, Innovator and Thought-Leader. Trained at UNC and Duke, he specializes in the use of clinical informatics and implementation science for the deployment of enterprise AI solutions in health systems and startups locally and globally.  He is an Adjunct Professor at UNC’s School of Data Science & Society as well as an Instructor of Biology at NCSSM has taught classes like Honors Global Public Health & Infectious Diseases, Honors Human Anatomy & Physiology, Honors Neuroscience etc. He is a mentor to many, from K-12, to undergrad, graduate, even post-doctoral students and he eagerly collaborates with anyone interested in the intersection of AI and Health.  Dr. Fola Omofoye’s work with the AfriMed-QA Consortium was recently featured in the first Google Health Impact Report (February 2025) after being launched at the 2024 Open Digital Health Summit in Nairobi, Kenya.  Dr. Fola is a passionate Educator, Mentor and Coach committed to empowering the next generation of data-literate citizens and leaders locally and globally.

Contact Information: folafunmi.omofoye@ncssm.edu

Course Description:  In this course, students will take quick dive into the world of Applied Artificial Intelligence (AI) in health and life sciences. Students will begin by examining the complexity of human biology and identifying some of the biggest unanswered questions we still have today (2025) about how the human body works. From there, we will explore how computers and AI can help us better understand human biology and solve these grand challenges. 

Students will:

* Learn what neural networks are and how they function.

* Discover the essential role of proteins in human life.

* Explore cutting-edge technologies like AlphaFold, which use AI to predict protein structures.

* Understand how these technologies are accelerating the discovery of new drugs, treatments, and cures.

By the end, students will gain a foundational understanding of how AI is transforming medicine and scientific discovery today (2025).

Link to Canvas Course (You will only have access if you are taking this course)