Note:  While I do check them, sometimes the links are broken on the assignment pages.  If that happens, please try googling the person.  You may also find additional resources about their research.

Marie Maynard DailyDownload Marie Maynard Daily

To help us prepare for what we are about to study in our class, we are going to explore the work of Marie Maynard Daly. Marie Maynard Daly was born in NY in 1921 and paved the way as the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in Chemistry. Dr. Daly researched the impacts of cholesterol on heart health, sugars on our arteries, protein synthesis in our cells, and more! Her findings have shaped our modern day understanding of nutritional health. As a professor and with inspiration from her father, Dr. Daly sought to encourage more minority students to pursue higher education in the sciences.

Shilpa RavellaDownload Shilpa Ravella

To help us prepare for what we are about to study in our class, we are going to explore the work of Shilpa Ravella. Shilpa Ravella is a gastroenterologist who works at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City as an Assistant Professor of Medicine. She has a medical practice that focuses on treating patients with rare digestive diseases like short bowel syndrome or those who have undergone intestinal transplants. She offers an integrative approach to patient care and is especially interested in the potential of nutritional therapy to prevent and treat disease. Along with her accomplishments as a gastroenterologist, she is also a speaker, writer, and researcher. She has been featured on TedEd, Good Morning America, Forbes, and various other platforms discussing nutrition and its effects on the immune and digestive systems.

Babajide A. OjoDownload Babajide A. Ojo

To help us prepare for what we are about to study in our class, we are going to explore the work of Babajide A. Ojo. Babajide A. Ojo, M.S., Ph.D. is a Principal Investigator at Stanford University. His interest in the world of gut microbiota was ignited during his undergraduate research, which led him to pursue his master’s degree and doctorate in nutritional sciences. Inspired by the women in his life, he uses his platform to aid underrepresented people reach their scientific potential. His research looks into a type of inflammatory bowel disease in children. The science article below by Dr. Ojo includes some terminology that is beyond our goals but serves as an opportunity to see an example of original research. Do not worry about understanding the whole paper or looking up unknown words. Instead, simply try to look for what the broad ideas might be.

Ari KozikDownload Ari Kozik

To help us prepare for what we are about to study in our class, we are going to explore the work of Ari Kozik. Ari Kozik is a microbiome scientist who joined the Huang Microbiome Lab at University of Michigan in May 2018. Ari Kozik attended Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, for her undergraduate studies in biotechnology. She then continued to earn her Ph.D. from Purdue University. During graduate school, her research focused on investigating how a chemical mediator of inflammation called tumor necrosis factor may interact with the gut microbiome to drive inflammation in inflammatory bowel disease. Dr. Kozik’s research focus was to investigate the role of the respiratory microbiome in asthma.

Lawrence DavidDownload Lawrence David

When considering the functions of the colon (large intestine), we naturally want to discuss the most important cells living there. Strangely enough, in this case those cells are not human cells, but bacterial cells. This leads us to our next scientist. Lawrence David is a biologist currently working as a professor at Duke University. His work focuses on the trillions of bacteria that live on and in the human body. He also helped start a website to showcase illustrated, science-related poetry (http://www.sciku.org/Links to an external site.). In an email correspondence, Dr. David noted he does not often encounter Filipinos in academia and is willing to engage with students interested in how Filipino culture and values interface with professional science education and research in the United States.