Around Tappan Square
Nexial Prize Winner to Study Cultural Influences on Neuropsychiatric Disorders BY AMANDA NAGY
marwan ghanem ’22 came to Oberlin College from a STEM-centered high school in Egypt, where he worked in teams to design and test solutions for Egypt’s challenges. While he considers himself fortunate to have an early foundation in interdisciplinary research, it was through Oberlin’s liberal arts courses in anthropology, history, and sociology that Ghanem began to rethink approaches to problem solving. A resident of El Mahalla El Kobra, Egypt, Ghanem is the winner of Oberlin’s 2022 Nexial Prize, a $50,000 award made annually to a member of the graduating class whose science studies are complemented by a profound interest 6
in the study of culture. With majors in biology and neuroscience and a minor in Middle Eastern and North African studies, Ghanem will use the Nexial Prize to study how cultural upbringing might influence the development of neuropsychiatric disorders among Arab youth. “I feel honored that Oberlin believes in my potential as a next-generation leader and scientist,” Ghanem says. “The Nexial Prize will advance my goal of understanding neuropsychiatric disorders.” The Nexial Prize was launched in 2017 with support from an alumnus who wanted to recognize the contribution that Oberlin’s liberal arts education made to his successful career as a
LADIES COURSE CORRECTION—AND COMMENCEMENT “Boldly and fiercely,
she fashioned internationally esteemed works of art and created a trailblazing career that exemplifies the complexities and paradoxes of Oberlin’s vision. She has long deserved to have her official recognition of her interrupted studies. It is my honor, Madame President, to present Mary Edmonia Lewis her diploma of the Ladies Course, Class of 1863.” With those final words, spoken during the 2022 commencement exercises, Caroline Jackson Smith, professor of theater and Africana studies, bestowed upon Lewis the diploma she was denied a century and a half before. Lewis, born of a Native American mother and an AfroHaitian father, had been accused of trying to poison two of her classmates. Though she was found blameless in this and in a subsequent accusation, she was not allowed to enroll for her final semester. This year’s commencement exercises returned to Tappan Square following a cancelled 2020 commencement and a socially distant ceremony at Oberlin’s athletic fields in 2021. The commencement speaker was recent Nobel Prize winner Joshua D. Angrist ’82. He received an honorary doctorate, as did musicians John Brombaugh and George E. Lewis. Earning Distinguished Service to the Community awards were James Anthony ’75, who helped lead Oberlin’s COVID response, and Oberlin High School teacher Kurt Russell, the 2022 National Teacher of the Year.
TANYA ROSEN-JONES ’97, HENRY ROCHER / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
AWA R D S
scientist and manager, as well as his growth intellectually and culturally. During his academic and experiential learning journey at Oberlin, Ghanem received the Oberlin College Research Fellowship award through the Office of Undergraduate Research and studied the neural mechanisms behind drug addiction and learning with Assistant Professor of Neuroscience Christopher Howard. Ghanem was a contributing author on three papers. Under the mentorship of Biggs Professor of Neuroscience Gunnar Kwakye, he developed his understanding of genetic and environmental influences in neurodegeneration. Specifically, Ghanem and Kwakye are co-authors on a paper in preparation that examines how the huntingtin gene and heavy metals cooperatively alter cellular and biochemical processes to promote Huntington’s disease. He also studied Middle Eastern cinema history in a private reading with history professor Zeinab Abul-Magd. “I was attracted to Oberlin’s liberal arts education, which widened my horizons to non-STEM fields like the study of cultures in anthropology, history, and sociology, in addition to the exceptional training in neuroscience research,” Ghanem says. “Oberlin reshaped the way I approach the world and its challenges. I came to discover the key to solving problems is vulnerability—being vulnerable to admit lacking the knowledge and to find humility is what a scientist needs to solve big problems.”