RSP Scholars
2022-23 Research Scholars (Cohort 2)
The Research Scholars Program is aligned with national priorities for research diversity, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Faculty Institutional Recruitment for Sustainable Transformation (FIRST) program goal of creating cultures of inclusive excellence at NIH-funded institutions by implementing well-integrated, evidence-based strategies and evaluating their impact on metrics of institutional culture, inclusive excellence and diversity.

Reuben Adatorwovor
Biostatistics, College of Public Health
Research interests: Dependence models for cancer survival analysis with competing risks; parametric, nonparametric and regression methods for population-based studies

Yasir Alsiraj
Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences, College of Medicine
Research interests: Role of sex chromosomes on the incidence and outcomes of aortic aneurysms and atherosclerosis

Juan Canedo
Internal Medicine, College of Medicine
Research interests: Prevention and early detection of cancer to reduce racial and ethnic disparities, particularly cancers caused by high-risk strains of the human papillomavirus in the Hispanic population

Fanny Chapelin
Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering
Research interests: Non-invasive MRI methods to track immune cell migration to foci of inflammation in different pathologies such as transplant rejection, autoimmune diseases and cancer

Brittany Givens Rassoolkhani
Chemical and Materials Engineering, College of Engineering
Research interests: Polymeric drug delivery to treat advanced stage endometrial cancer. Supplemental interests include addressing health disparities in endometrial cancer mortality, and targeted drug delivery systems

Julie Plasencia
Dietetics and Human Nutrition, College of Agriculture, Food and Environment
Research interests: Diet-related health disparities, particularly in type 2 diabetes and Hispanic populations, and the influence of ethnic, cultural food beliefs and practices of underserved communities