b-Biographical Sketch

I am a native of Washingtonian and a graduate of  Jackson-Reed HS (Formerly Woodrow Wilson SHS) at 17. 

I am a first-generation high-school, college, Master's, and PhD graduate; & a graduate of two (2) Historically Black Colleges and/or Universities.

 (1) Norfolk State & (2) Howard Universities

Undergraduate Study

I earned my B.S. in Biology from Norfolk State University (A HBCU). 

I pursued and earned nearly $100,000 in grants and scholarships to pursue my education as an undergraduate including:

(1) Grants: 

1. (a) the DC Tuition Assistance Grants (DC TAG, $50,000)

2. (b) DC College Access Program (DC CAP, $4,000 per year)

3. (c) DC Leveraging Educational Assistance Program (DC LEAP, $2,500 per year)

4. (d) NSF Minorities in Science grant ($2,000 per year)

5. (e) Federal Student Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG, $4,000 per year)

6. (f) Pell Grant ($1,550-$2,600 per year).

(2) Scholarships: 

1. (g) the ACCESS Scholarship (at Norfolk State University, $3,000 per year).

Nonetheless:

(1) I worked three (3) jobs...

(2) attended classes at five (5) separate institutions:

1. Norfolk State University

2. Old Dominion University

3. Thomas Nelson Community College

4. Tidewater Community College

5. & The University of the District of Columbia

(3) Completed four (4) federal summer internships at the National Institutes of Health (NIH)

(4) Before graduating with my B.Sc. in General Biology from Norfolk State University (2.6 GPA)

Masters Study

I earned my M.S. in Biology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB, a Predominantly white institution, PWI). 

I earned one (1) of eight (8) graduate fellowships funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF; the ALSAMP Bridge to Doctorate Fellowship) from amongst 5,000 (total) graduate and/or professional students at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). 

I was the sole Masters student funded by the ALSAMP Graduate Fellowship.

I’d never been to Alabama but my grades were straight A’s; without books before I was awarded the fellowship. 

I earned my fellowship by committing every waking moment; until, and after, someone took notice of me. 

I graduated early (in less than two (2) years) with:

1) A M.Sc. in Biology

2) My first collegiate CIRTL STEM GRADUATE teaching certificate

3) & an overall 3.5 GPA.

*The abstract from my Masters Thesis (as well as my PhD thesis) are available on this site. 

*Both are also available online in their entirety.

PhD Study

I am a Washingtonian, who's walked past Howard University his whole life. 

I finally was afforded an opportunity to attended (2014).

I applied for and earned:

1. An Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) Fellowship

2. An inaugural Ernest E. Just-Percy L. Julian Graduate Research Assistantship

3. & a Teaching Assistantship from the Howard University Graduate School and the Department of Biology

In pursuit of a PhD in Evolutionary Biology from Howard University (HBCU). 

I completed my:

1) PhD in in Evolutionary Biology,

2) and a second CIRTL STEM GRADUATE teaching certificate

in Fall 2019; graduating with a GPA of 3.81. 

Dissertation Research

I studied the trophic Ecology of invasive apple snails; specifically, I studied Pomacea canaliculata which is one of the world's worst 100 invasive species. 

I worked in:

1) The Stable Isotope Mass Spectrometry Facility (in the laboratory of Dr. Christine France from 2014-2019); through the Smithsonian Institution’s Office of the Undersecretary for Science (OUSS), in collaboration with the Museum Conservation Institute (MCI). 

I was afforded access as a 2) Research Associate at the Smithsonian Institute's National Museum of Natural History (2014-2019). 

I am also a 3) Research Affiliate (within the laboratory of Dr. Leslie Ries from 2018-currently) in the Department of Biology, at Georgetown University. 

I completed my research and dissertation (fall 2019) as a 4) Graduate Fellow under the supervision of my advisor, Dr. Fatima Jackson; while housed in the Howard University Interdisciplinary Research Building.

Dissertation Study

My dissertation involved the use of Bayesian statistical analyses of (Nitrogen and Carbon) stable isotope data from native (Maldonado, Uruguay) and non-native (Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China and Oahu, Hawaii, USA) habitats occupied by this same invasive apple snails (e.g.: Uruguay versus China and Hawaii respectively) to define:

1) The trophic position of invasive apple snails in these habitats' food-web hierarchy

2) The composition of the invertebrate and plant communities therein (as a measure of biodiversity)

3) & the components of (and the proportions those components represent within) the diet of invasive apple snails (Pomacea canaliculata)  diets.

*As well as the diets of corresponding constituent invertebrate species within these respective habitats.

This allowed for:

1) The reconstruction of  food webs that could be juxtaposed between respective habitats.

2) & The simultaneous confirmation of species identities via:

• DNA extraction

• Gene amplification

• Sanger sequencing

• & the use of the Geneious genetic analysis programs

To discern species identities through readily available sequence databases archived and available online for the following genes:

a) Cytochrome Oxidase Sub-unit I (COI; for Metazoan species) 

b) or a Chloroplast Gene (rbcL for plant species) 

*Three (3) manuscripts resulting from this dissertation are now in review, or prepared for submission, for publication.

Teaching:

1. I first was a a) guest lecturer (for my Masters committee member Dr. Charles Amsler) and b) a Teaching Assistant in the Department of Biology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham:

1. Chemical Ecology (BY-674, Guest Lecturer) Topic: allelopathic interactions in plants & animals (fall 2012)

2. Introduction to Human Physiology laboratory (BY-116L), (1 section, Summer 2013) 

2. After graduating with my M.Sc. degree (summer 2013), I taught at the University of New Orleans for a year:

1.  Biodiversity (BIOS-1083), (six sections, fall 2013 - spring 2014). 

3. Next, I was hired as an International Visiting Professor of Biology for Auburn University at Montgomery (AUM) teaching the following AUM courses in Changsha, Hunan, China:

1. Introduction to Environmental Science (2 sections per semester, BIOL-1050)

2. Environmental Microbiology (2 sections per semester, BIOL-4063)

3. & Ecology (2 sections per semester, BIOL-4200)

With only my M.Sc. degree in Biology. 

I worked for AUM summers (2014-2017) in Changsha, Hunan Province, China at the Central South University of Forestry and Technology (CSUFT).  

4. Opportunely, I was then hired, by the Chinese University CSUFT, to teach:

1. Biological Statistics courses (BIO-300); (4 sections, summer 2017)

5. I simultaneously traveled annually back to Washington, D.C. to complete my PhD at Howard University (HBCU, fall 2014 - fall 2019) as a PhD Fellow in Evolutionary Biology. 

As a PhD student (in the Department of Biology) I served as a) a Lecturer, b) guest lecturer, and c) Teaching Assistant; teaching eight (8) sub-disciplines of Biology including:

1. General Biology Laboratory (8 sections, BIOL-101) As: 1) Teaching Assistant

2. Genetics Laboratory (2 sections, BIOL-200) As: 1) Teaching Assistant

3. Evolution (BIOL-240, Guest Lecturer) Topic: Species and Speciation Evolution (fall 2017)

4. Invertebrate Biology Laboratory (2 sections, BIOL-305L) As: 1) Teaching Assistant

5. Animal Physiology Laboratory (2 sections, BIOL-341L) As: 1) Teaching Assistant

6. Biostatistics (5 sections, BIOL-430/530) As: 1) Teaching Assistant (2 sections) and 2) Lecturer (3 sections)

7. Population Genetics (2 sections, BIOL-499) As: 1) Teaching Assistant (1 section) and 2) Lecturer (1 section)

8. Aquatic Ecology Laboratory (2 sections, BIOL-443/543L) As 1) Teaching Assistant

6. I specifically worked as a Lecturer at Howard University teaching these subjects at the following times:

1. Statistics (BIOL-430/530; summers 2018, 2019, 2021) 

2. Population Genetics (2 sections, BIOL-499; fall 2021)

7. I'm now an Assistant Global Professor of Environmental Science (ENVS) at The University of Arizona (August 2021 - currently) responsible for teaching the following courses:

• ENVS-225 Biology of Environmental Systems

• ENVS-275 (Statistics) Data Analysis for Life and Environmental Sciences

• ENVS-408/508 Scientific Writing

• & ENVS-425 Environmental Microbiology 

Conclusion

As a first-generation:

1) high school

2) college

3) Masters

4) and PhD graduate

I am committed to helping underrepresented and disadvantaged, or any other student, to perform at their highest academic level.