We’re thrilled to announce the winners of the 5th annual Rising Black Scientists Awards! Since 2020, CST has been honored to mark the start of Black History Month by highlighting the stories of talented Black scientists at American institutions, as told through their award-winning essays. This year's winners are:
Presented by CST, Cell Press, and the Elsevier Foundation, the annual essay competition recognizes the achievements of two graduate/postgraduate students and two undergraduates with a cash prize of $10,000 to support their scientific careers, as well as a $500 travel grant.
We were captivated by the compelling narratives of advocacy and excellence told by this year's winners, and are excited to share their stories with you. Read on to meet the winners and find links to their essays, which appear this month in the journal Cell.
Science and identity are tools that can be used to either heal or harm, depending on the one who wields them. This concept is a central theme of Victor Ekuta's essay, where he describes how, as a young Black physician-scientist, he has encountered questions, scrutiny, and skepticism. Despite being advised against pursuing a career in medicine, Ekuta relates how he has instead used the field of neuroscience—and the study of Alzheimer’s disease in particular—as both a tool for healing and a weapon against the limits others try to impose on him.
Currently a neurology resident physician at the Morehouse School of Medicine, Ekuta holds several scholarly appointments, including as a postdoctoral research fellow and Clark Scholar at Penn Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, and as Health Equity Scholar with the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI).
“Ultimately, the tools we forge—whether Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers or the next innovations in healthcare—carry the potential for profound healing or inadvertent harm, either to mend or to mar the fabric of society.”
- Victor Ekuta, MD (@victorekuta)
From researching the accuracy of pulse oximeters for Black and Brown patients to studying racial disparities in neuroimaging biomarkers, Ekuta's essay describes how he has witnessed that a trusted tool, when wielded unwittingly, can become a weapon that perpetrates inequity.
Beyond his own work, he mentors students from underrepresented backgrounds, demonstrating through his own experiences how their identities and science can be used to make a difference. In his own words, he says, “Looking ahead, my mission is clear: to ensure that brain health tools serve every community equally, leaving no one behind.”
Jheannelle Johnson found science through music, and it has remained a guiding rhythm throughout her scientific career. Her essay relates how, when her grandmother began to lose her identity to Alzheimer’s disease (AD), familiar songs offered a way to connect with her when words failed. For Johnson, witnessing the dynamic between music and memory sparked a life-long curiosity about how the brain works.
“This dynamic between music and memory sparked my curiosity about how the brain works. I began to think of science as a way to uncover the hidden harmonies within the mind, especially how memories are formed, stored, and sometimes lost."
- Jheannelle Johnson (@JheannelleJ)
Having received her bachelor’s at Howard University, Johnson is now completing a Neurodegeneration Computational Fellowship at Stanford University. Her work focuses on how, like the interplay of rhythms and notes structure music, the complex interactions along molecular pathways build the mechanisms of disease. Her undergraduate studies include interrogating potential links between AD and type II diabetes, conditions she notes often occur together in the African American community.
Johnson’s essay also relates her experience navigating college as a first-generation student during the COVID-19 pandemic and amid multiple, brutal attacks on Black lives in America. She used these experiences to drive her efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion, both in advocating for more representative research cohorts and in her role as the Development Director for the non-profit organization Black in Neuro. In her own words: “I aim to identify AD biomarkers in diverse populations and develop affordable, community-focused diagnostics that empower early intervention and don’t stop at molecular discovery but reach into the community.”
Formally trained in both the social sciences and as an electrical engineer, Nyasha Milanzi’s work focuses on renewable energy, climate action, and the intersection between technology, public health, and community engagement. Her essay tells the story of how her everyday advocacy for underserved communities is rooted in her family’s legacy of service and education in Zimbabwe.
Milanzi recently defended her Master’s thesis at Michigan Technological University, where her research centered on building equitable energy transitions in underserved communities. So far during her career, she has invented sustainable devices such as an award-winning, affordable air pollution sensor and a solar-powered cooker, and has undertaken multiple community-based public health projects.
"Engineering provides the tools to measure environmental harms, while social science offers insights into the community's unique context, ensuring that proposed solutions align with their needs and priorities."
- Nyasha Milanzi (@n_milanzi)
Milanzi's interdisciplinary focus has caused her to recognize that technological solutions alone are insufficient to create equitable change. Her approach to addressing systemic inequities marries her engineering background with insights from her study of social sciences to ensure that proposed technological solutions will work in the context of unique communities.
In her own words, her essay relates her mission to build resilient communities through climate action and to "collaborate across disciplines, center underserved voices, and push the boundaries of conventional engineering."
Kenna Gloria Agbugba’s essay describes how, growing up in Nigeria, poverty and gender expectations often limited what girls could dream of achieving, and she was one of only two female students studying advanced calculus in high school. Today, as a young Black woman in a field dominated by men, her goal is to return to Nigeria and help build a stronger educational foundation for future generations. This mission has driven her work as a User Experience Engineer, crafting accessible, user-centered technologies that reach underserved communities and support their educational journeys.
"Science became my tool to challenge the narrative that STEM was reserved for others, a path I would walk to uplift not only myself but other young women who also deserved to dream bigger."
- Kenna Gloria Agbugba
Currently a computer science undergraduate at Philander Smith University, Agbugda co-led a team to design an award-winning AI-driven literacy-support prototype to assist students in Detroit, and has worked on a National Science Foundation project to develop an AI-powered iOS app.
Through her multiple internships, award-winning STEM projects, and prestigious scholarship awards, Agbugba has solidified her commitment to breaking down barriers for young Black women. Her vision is to build a future where young Nigerians, especially women, can thrive in STEM without having to leave home. In her own words: “Through every challenge and triumph, my journey remains centered on a purpose bigger than myself: to lift up others, so that they, too, may stand tall and transform the world.”
In recognition that the remarkable talent of the hundreds of applicants to the Rising Black Scientists Awards is not limited to four winners, honorable mentions are also selected each year.
The following honorees received recognition for their inspiring work this year, and their essays were published in the interdisciplinary journal iScience.
Physical, Data, or Earth & Environmental Sciences Category Winners
The Rising Black Scientists Awards is an annual essay competition presented by CST, Cell Press, and the Elsevier Foundation, that aims to highlight underrepresented voices in the scientific community by providing tangible funding and support for the professional development of early-career researchers. Established in 2020 by CST and Cell Press, the goal of the initiative is to improve representation and reduce inequalities in scientific fields.
Applicants submit essays describing their scientific vision and goals, formative experiences that shaped their interest in science, and how they want to contribute to a more inclusive scientific community. Two undergraduate and two graduate winners in the disciplines of life & health sciences, as well as Earth, environmental, data, and physical sciences, are selected by an academic advisory board. Each recipient is awarded $10,000 to support their science, a $500 travel grant, complimentary registration for an Elsevier conference, and the opportunity to publish their essay in the journal Cell. Four honorable mentions receive $500 each and publication in Science.
Learn more about the awards, including how to apply, by visiting the Cell Press website.
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