Xavier’s Festival of Scholars celebrates academic excellence beyond the classroom
Nothing About Us Without Us
Hands-on health equity experience for the next generation of healthcare professionals
Preserving and Displaying Artifacts and Illustrious History
Inside Xavier’s preservation assistance grant award
Future-Forward and Community Minded Xavier accelerates energy and sustainability programs
Thank you to all the phenomenal Xavierites who posed for the cover of “Forward.” Their respective professors and deans selected them for this opportunity because of their exceptional work, which you can read more about throughout this publication.
On the cover: Ivan Jubilee, Pharm.D., ’24
Hometown: Corning, New York
Gabriella Cotton
Major: Master of Public Health
Hometown: New Orleans, Louisiana
Brier Evans, ‘24
Major: Mass Communication Hometown: Roseau, Commonwealth of Dominica
Tiffany Numa, ‘24
Major:
Hometown: Douglasville, Georgia
Samaya Trawick, ‘24 Major:
Arneshia Sanders
Major: Master of Public Health Hometown: Memphis, Tennessee
Naana Ennin, ‘24
Major:
WE ARE THRILLED to showcase the work of our students, faculty, and staff in research, innovation, and engagement. Our campus community is on the move across disciplines. Through the mentoring and guidance for which our faculty is known, Xavier is cultivating an exceptional generation of talent and leaders poised to solve the challenges of today and tomorrow.
The name “Forward” derives from words spoken by our foundress, Saint Katharine Drexel, who shared so eloquently as she contemplated our mission that we must “Press forward and fear nothing” in our work of service to our neighbors. This publication is a glimpse into how the Xavier community continues to live that calling.
In this inaugural issue of “Forward,” we invite you to explore our scholarly engagement and interactions with the greater community and academia. As you peruse Xavier's wonderful work and discover the possibilities of what’s to come, please remember that your support and involvement are appreciated and integral to our success.
I hope you will reach out to ask how you can support our students and faculty in their quests as change-makers. Know that your contribution is valued and important. I hope this publication inspires you.
C. Reynold Verret, Ph.D. President
FROM STRIDES toward eradicating food insecurity to researching sickle cell, understanding colorism on a global scale, and diversifying study abroad programs, the Xavier community continues to exemplify its founding mission of creating a more just and humane society.
We are educating students who will go on to break down barriers across industries and institutions. Our students and graduates create diverse settings so that the communities they serve feel safe and comfortable. All of this is evident in the work undertaken in our classrooms, labs, our community, and in the workplaces of our dedicated alumni. Community spirit and hearts of advocacy are embedded in Xavierites, and our campus community strives to support each other in all areas.
Xavier may be widely revered for being a leader in producing African American students who go on to complete medical school, but that is just one of the amazing accolades we should be known for. We also have a high success rate for students completing graduate and professional programs. Our graduates are pharmacists, lawyers, business and civic leaders, journalists, high-ranking military officials, researchers, and so much more, all determined to increase equity in the workforce and the community.
This publication is an example of the like-minded work being done right here at Xavier. This work exemplifies our founding mission, supports equitable outcomes, and will eventually create a better world for us all.
Marguerite S. Giguette, Ph.D. Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs and Provost
Is the magazine of Xavier’s research, innovation, and engagement initiatives.
C. Reynold Verret, Ph.D. President
Marguerite S. Giguette, Ph.D. Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs and Provost
Phillip D. Adams Vice President of Institutional Advancement
Kaneisha Bailey Akinpelumi Associate Vice President, Office of Research & Sponsored Programs
Ashwith Chilvery, Ph.D. Assistant Vice President, Office of Research & Sponsored Programs, and Associate Professor of Physics
EDITED BY
Leslie D. Rose, ‘05 Director of Advancement Communications, Office of Institutional Advancement
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Jalah Bates, ’24 Martie Bowser Zerline Hughes-Spruill Alisha Tillery
CONTRIBUTING DEPARTMENTS
Institutional Advancement Research & Sponsored Programs Marketing & Communications
SPECIAL RECOGNITION:
Kimberly Reese, ’95, ’98, Associate Vice President for Institutional Advancement
Jeff A. Hale, Ph.D. Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations
Chloé Jobin Corporate and Foundation Relations Coordinator
PHOTOS COURTESY OF SUBJECTS AND BY Cierra Johnson, Office of Marketing & Communications, Leslie D. Rose, Darrin Defillo, Jeremy Tauriac, Elliot Thompson, and Archives & Special Collections
BY ALISHA TILLERY
Aligned with the University’s mission, Xavier is working to stay ahead of this global shift by expanding its focus on clean energy and sustainability to prepare its students for tomorrow’s impact.
Within the last two years, the University has been awarded nearly $10 million in active federal, state, and local grants and awards focused on climate, clean energy, and sustainability.
Xavier was named one of more than 50 public and private partners statewide, including ExxonMobil and Shell, to win the largest National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Regional Innovation Engines grant named Future of Energy Use in Louisiana (FUEL), to date
totaling up to $160 million over 10 years. The FUEL initiative (or "engine") aims to position the coalition to become a transformative leader and model for the nation's energy transition. Kaneisha Bailey Akinpelumi, Associate Vice President of Research and Sponsored Programs, is one of the core leadership team members of this awarded engine.
The award was flanked by representation at a Campus and Community-Scale Climate Solutions forum hosted by the White House in Spring 2023 and a $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Grid Innovation Program to focus on climate change and electricity accessibility as a State Hubs for Energy Resilient Operations (HERO) member.
Xavier is working to show students and the broader community how clean energy and sustainability connect to daily life. NASA provided scientific equipment to help students measure air quality and educate their networks about harmful health effects, such as cancers and COPD, caused by nearby Cancer Alley. The sensors have been installed on campus and in the Ninth Ward to determine the toxicity of the air residents breathe.
Another University initiative established to conserve the planet is XULA Green. Newly launched, it connects environmental and sustainability initiatives at Xavier and New Orleans to create comprehensive programming and long-term change on campus, the climate, and people. To date, XULA Green has revamped XU’s waste management and created a stormwater management infrastructure. Charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs) via the New Orleans Alternative Fuel Corridor have been installed on campus to preserve energy, decrease campus landfill waste, and reduce gas emissions.
Other campus activities have included hosting and participating in Earth Week celebrations and other national observances, such as Global Recycling Day and Bike to Work Day.
“We’re advancing research capacities in climate and energy areas,” said Ashwith Chilvery, Assistant Vice President, Research and Sponsored Programs. “As we speak, we’re working on an opportunity to lead a group of HBCUs to build scientific research capacities in and around the areas of climate and energy to better address the adverse impacts of climate in the communities we serve.”
Aligned with President Reynold Verret’s vision, faculty and staff are in the developmental planning stages for a center focusing solely on clean energy and sustainability. Moving forward, through grants and awards, programs and activities will shift based on three pillars: research, innovation and economic
development, policy and advocacy, and economic resilience.
An interdisciplinary cohort of faculty and staff from various departments, including science, public health, business, pharmacy, political science, and communications, will convene to determine key recommendations for the Center's initiatives.
Akinpelumi, the cross-functional group’s convener, said the group’s work aims to reach beyond the classroom and laboratory.
“This is a highly inclusive project. It’s not just research or limited to our campus,” she said. “We want to engage the community – the Xavier community as well as the Gert Town community in which we reside, and also more broadly, our region.
We are really passionate about climate change and sustainability issues in the community and, in particular, Louisiana. Cancer Alley is a critical issue here in this state, and usually, our communities of color are the ones most impacted by these kinds of environmental issues.”
As the University works to advance the energy and sustainability field, it’s also investing in economic development due to new job creation in clean and renewable energy and solar wind.
“Petrochemical companies recognize that there will be a need to train and upskill their current workforce,” Akinpelumi said. “There will also be a new clean energy economy, so it’s essential that people are trained and prepared for new positions, including entry-level positions, that will offer salaries that exceed a mere livable wage.”
As Xavier expands its portfolio and reach, students are prepared to compete and contribute to their communities. Ensuring they have the skills to affect change through their careers and secure opportunities to enhance their lives and those of others will help create a more just and humane society.
Brier Evans, ’24, found herself and her community during her time at Xavier University of Louisiana.
The Dominica native came to New Orleans to pursue a degree in speech pathology, but her plans quickly changed when she discovered her passion for mass communication.
“I love movies, and I love watching actors, and I just love it all. So, I knew I wanted to be an actress. I wanted to be a director but was scared to chase that dream. When I came to mass comm, I found out there are so many paths to entering that industry. There’s not just a traditional route,” Evans said.
Evans’ journey led her to significant milestones, including producing her documentary “TONED.” This project allowed her to interview notable figures and earned national recognition at the 49th Annual Gracie Awards.
“TONED” chronicles the story and effects of colorism within the Black community. Evans admitted that as a child growing up in the Caribbean, she was not oblivious to the different treatment of darkskinned and light-skinned women but realized it was a global issue when she moved to America. Her research for the documentary involved speaking with groups of women who she said validated her thoughts and made her realize that the issue of colorism was more significant than she thought.
“I just felt like that story needed to be out because there’s no way I’m gonna go on living my life feeling like this,” she said. “And no one knows that it exists. No one wants to talk about how much it impacts our culture, Black culture, Black women.”
Evans’s travels to Ghana, Brazil, and London as a UNCF Mellon Scholar allowed her to research the depth of colorism worldwide and contribute to her documentary, which she considers the biggest thing she’s done.
She said her time at Xavier has been a journey where she found self-confidence and built long-lasting relationships within the mass communication department.
“I built a great community within my major department,” she said. “We’re all like a little family. Everyone knows everybody. Everyone knows everything I’m working on, and we’re very supportive. The professors, the coordinators, the students – they are all supportive.”
Evans will attend the University of Southern California to complete her master’s in specialized journalism, focusing on documentaries, but the groundwork laid by Xavier will remain a huge part of her life.
“Xavier cultivated me. Xavier molded me. Xavier shaped me,” she said. “If I hadn’t been at Xavier, I don’t think I would have been able to accomplish as much as I have. I take pride in my university. [There’s] nothing like it. I will always have [this] university on my back.”
Award-winning Documentarian Brier Evans Discovered Her Voice and Herself Through Mass Communication
BY MARTIE BOWSER
College of Pharmacy graduate Ivan Jubilee, Pharm.D., ’24 walked across the stage, knowing he’d found his perfect niche in pharmacy.
Jubilee came to Xavier with the idea that his pharmacy degree would land him behind a counter at a local drugstore. However, after a summer internship at Global Blood Therapeutics in San Francisco, he discovered clinical development and experienced the thrill of discovery to production.
“I think it’s so cool how you can take a molecule that you can’t even see in a lab, all the way to literally changing the lives of patients,” Jubilee said.
Throughout the internship, Jubilee had an “eye-opening” experience witnessing the disparities within the pharmaceutical and medical industries that affect millions daily. Determined to offset the disconnection between patients and pharmaceuticals, he found purpose in connecting with trial members and potential patients. He participated in community forums and other forms of outreach, listening to what people wanted and needed.
“I was considering perspectives that I never would have even considered, and that’s the beauty of diversity. When you have all these different viewpoints in one room, the end product has no choice but to be improved,” the Corning, New York native said.
Jubilee participated in several clinical trials and research projects, including one analyzing sickle cell disease and breast cancer. One of his most impactful projects was based on the methods to improve clinical trial diversity. Jubilee studied the disparities within trial groups in which demographics are missed, possibly leading to skewed results. Jubilee pointed out that because pharmaceuticals do not affect all races and ethnic groups the same, it is vital to have that diversity represented in trials.
“Increasing the diversity in clinical trials you get a better reflection of how the drug would work in the real population,” he said.
The study had a profound impact because he analyzed the research independently and created his project based on his sole data and findings. He claims the experience of completing the project proved his mind and possibilities within pharmacy were limitless.
“I gained that entire process of training your brain to think steps ahead, and that is pretty invaluable. It essentially teaches you how to scale up because your brain is unlimited.”
Jubilee’s postgraduate plans include a fellowship with Boehringer Ingelheim, one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies. He will run clinical trials and hone his project management skills. The XU alum is excited about following the path he created for himself while at Xavier and taking what his mentors and professors bestowed upon him.
“I make sure everything that I do can make the world a better place,” the Class of 2024 graduate said.
Four Xavier University of Louisiana Exponential Honors Program students took the first-place prize in the collegiate finals of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Invent2Prevent Competition. STAFF REPORT
The Invent2Prevent program encourages high school or college student teams to develop innovative projects to prevent targeted violence and terrorism in local communities. Xavier University has long formed its students as creative and able thinkers instilled with its mission to promote a more just and humane society.
The winning team included political science majors Jamya Davis and Aarinii Parms-Green, sociology major Anthony Jeanmarie IV, and chemistry/pre-medicine major Nehemiah Strawberry. Additionally, Parms-Green individually won a scholarship through the competition.
“We are incredibly proud of Jamya, Anthony, Aarinii, and Nehemiah. They are truly exemplary of the nearly 100 years of Xavier elevating its students to be leaders and change-makers towards a better future for all,” said Dr. Reynold Verret, President of Xavier University of Louisiana. “They shine with such a bright light, and Xavier will continue to support them as they grow to shine even more brightly.”
Xavier’s victory overcame competitive teams from Johns Hopkins University and George Washington University, which came in second and third place, respectively. These teams were comprised of recent college graduates and graduate students. DHS, Microsoft executives, and other targeted violence experts acted as judges for the competition.
The Xavierites presented their project, “Still We R.O.S.E. (Recognizing Our Shared Experience),” to bridge the misunderstanding between Black and Jewish communities due to controversial statements made by certain Black celebrities. The team partnered with 26 organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League and the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans, to educate HBCU and high school students about the history of Black and Jewish relations and solidarity.
The Invent2Prevent competition is a semester-long project. Each university team identifies, evaluates, and proposes a solution to a current threat facing the nation. The solution is a tool or program that would better educate a specific target audience on potential ideologies that can lead individuals to commit acts of violence.
Director of Xavier’s Exponential Honors Program, Dr. Shearon Roberts, Associate Professor of Mass Communication and faculty member in the University’s African Diaspora Studies program, acted as an advisor and escort for the team.
According to Roberts, Xavier’s appearance at the competition was a big draw.
“[DHS had] expressed a keen interest in [the team’s] initiative early on,” she said.
A generous donor who learned of the semester-long initiative has allowed the four Exponential students to travel to Israel with a team of other HBCU students to study the diversity of the Jewish people and culture.
BY MARTIE BOWSER
Amy Thierry, Ph.D., MPH, always knew she wanted to help people.
Upon completing her Bachelor of Science in biological sciences from LSU, Thierry initially hoped to pursue a premedicine degree, but she changed her plans when she discovered public health.
She holds an MPH in behavioral and community health sciences from the LSU Health Sciences Center. Later, with the encouragement of her mentors, Thierry completed her doctoral degree in biobehavioral health with a minor in demography from Pennsylvania State University and her postdoctoral fellowship at the Duke University Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development.
Armed with this knowledge and experience, Thierry took on the role of Assistant Professor in Xavier’s Department of Public Health Sciences within the College of Arts & Sciences.
Since joining Xavier in 2018, Thierry has mentored several students as they worked to gain their graduate degrees.
“I completely fell in love with public health. It was like, this is where I want to be. This is the kind of training that I want to do,” Thierry said. “This is the kind of career I want to have.”
Thierry’s scope of work focuses on understanding how social inequality via chronic stress pathways drives populationlevel disparities in chronic disease, physical disability, and cognitive impairment in Black and Hispanic older adults. Her strong ties to her grandparents and upbringing in a community of elders influenced her study area. As a population health scientist, extensive work with analytics and statistics is required to improve approaches and methods for patient testing, care, and health equity.
Thierry is vital to expanding Xavier’s MPH program, which was launched in 2018, to ensure an increase in the number of Black professionals in public health leadership positions.
“Contributing to diversifying public health [and] getting more Black faces and experiences into the field, from a research perspective or a community-ground grassroots approach, is how we brought a lot of visibility to public health,” she said. “[I think] we are one of the fastest-growing majors on campus.”
“The cool thing about our MPH program is that the students are really engaged in learning about the application toward health equity.”
Students Gabriella Cotton and Arneshia Sanders are enrolled in the immersive experience of Xavier’s MPH program.
Cotton is working alongside Thierry as a research assistant on a project examining intergenerational and biopsychosocial factors affecting the health of Black families in New Orleans. She is conducting research for a stateof-the-science review on Black maternal health. She will assist with survey design, surveying and collecting focus group data in the community, and data analysis. The project’s overall goal is to inform the development of tailored interventions to enhance Black families’ resilience and improve healthcare system equity to reduce health disparities locally and across Louisiana.
Sanders is a member of Xavier’s National Association of Health Services Executives (NAHSE) student case competition team. The NAHSE case competition requires teams from various universities to present proposals to address a real-world healthcare problem and compete for scholarship awards. As the faculty advisor, Thierry supports public health and health informatics graduate students in preparing their proposal presentations for NAHSE’s national meeting.
Thierry has received validating support from funding sources confirming her public health efforts. Through her research on the effects on the cognitive function of Black and brown people due to disparities in environmental stressors, she has earned a loan repayment award from the NIH and a research grant from the National Institute on Aging.
STORY BY ZERLINE HUGHES SPRUILL
Lacks, mistrust in healthcare has long been an issue for people representing the African diaspora.
Over time, health disparities have only grown in the Black community, in part due to the medical system’s implicit bias, poor communication, and refusal to listen to patients about their medical concerns. However, a solution has been created, and Xavier University of Louisiana has a significant role.
Dr. KiTani Lemieux, an Associate Professor at Xavier’s College of Pharmacy (COP), mobilizes her students to excel in molecular and cellular biology and pharmacology. She is also the Principal Investigator of Xavier’s All of Us Research Program, a National Institutes of Health (NIH) initiative dedicated to collecting expansive health data from diverse, underrepresented populations in biomedical research to make impactful healthcare prognoses.
“The All of Us Research Program is the precision medicine program that looks at three pillars of health — biology, environment, and lifestyle,” said Lemieux, whose research includes evaluating genes differentially expressed in breast and prostate cancers in patients from minority populations. “They’re talking about policy as it relates to inclusion, as it relates to safety and security of data. The variety of curricula across the campus provides talking points in history. [NIH can] use it from a historical context and talk about health disparities and the different bills that evolved in the United States with respect to public works. [It’s] so very panoramic.”
According to the NIH, All of Us is a free program in which participants answer survey questions, share electronic health data, and may choose to provide DNA, blood, and saliva samples. People who participate in the program will answer surveys on various topics. This vital information is securely stored in a database for researchers worldwide to study varying health conditions to create and inform better treatments and disease prevention.
Lemieux said the program aims to recruit 1 million people “as diverse as the nation.” All of Us aims to collect participants’ biospecimen, details on where they were raised, attended school, played as a child, and current conditions like where respondents work, live, and recreate to make evidence-based conclusions around how their exposure determines one’s health. Lemieux is tasked with ensuring the state of Louisiana is educated and inspired to participate.
“The idea now is that we can [better] predict health and wellness from the cradle to the grave,” she said.
Having received nearly $500,000 from the federal program over the last three years, Lemieux has had the opportunity to intentionally embed the All of Us research program not just in STEM education but throughout Xavier’s curricula.
“I have colleagues in psychology, colleagues in history, colleagues in public health, and colleagues in the Division of Education and Counseling that are supporting or have embedded All of Us in their respective curriculum,” she said. “I’ve had a number of people, Xavier faculty, students, staff, stop me in the parking lot at the grocery store or wherever and say, ‘Hey, I signed up.’ What I’m really understanding is that when you engage people, when you allow them to be a part of the conversation and create safe spaces for our community to ask questions, they are willing participants.”
“The idea now is that we can [better] predict health and wellness from the cradle to the grave.”
While it’s challenging for some to participate in medical studies due to mistrust, Lemieux said it’s all about the message and the carrier of the message. She said it’s important for people to see familiarity in those engaging with them and be authentic and honest. Once they understand what’s at stake, they don’t want their families left out of the opportunity to know more about what impacts their health and how they can increase their chances of living longer and healthier.
“We are absent from the literature in some of these areas,” Lemieux said. “A big leukemia study was done that used big data to determine which ethnic groups will respond best to certain drugs. Europeans benefited, certain Asian Americans benefited, African Americans did not because there were too few that participated in the trial to be able to say one thing or the other conclusively. And that pattern and trend was consistent across various disease domains. So, when I share this with people considering whether they should participate, it really resonates with them.”
“It’s bigger than any one of us. What we learn from this dataset will inform the overall health of future generations. It really is a collective decision about so many others,” she added.
A benefit to participating in the survey–in addition to learning more about what impacts respondents’ health–is that the program gives back. Survey respondents can receive their ancestry data, genomic data, and other information that can be shared with a health provider.
Not only are the Xavier community and area residents learning about the program and signing up to participate as survey respondents, but Xavier students are participating in this unique opportunity to gather data, collect lab samples, present findings on a national stage to other students and medical experts, and enroll survey participants.
L to R Ivan Jubilee, Pharm.D., Dr. KiTani Lemieux, and third-year pharmacy student Lauren Evans at the American Association for Cancer Research conference in San Diego, 2024. The group shared findings using the All of Us Research Program dataset during the conference.
“What would make Xavier unique is that we [could] serve as a site where participants choose to show up on Xavier’s campus and have their [diagnostics] captured. We have all the academic and clinical talent we need to do this work,” Lemieux said.
“It’s bigger than any one of us. What we learn from this dataset will inform the overall health of future generations."
Furthermore, because blood drawing is involved in the process, students who participate in the program must be licensed phlebotomists. Lemieux expects to see Xavier pharmacists, pharmacy students, clinical research laboratory students, physician assistants, and their students be involved with All of Us enrollment and onboarding.
In 2023, All of Us hosted four Xavier students, three representing the COP, including fourth-year student Andre Nguyen and second-year student Vu Pham. Their findings resulted in research titled “Ethnicity Association in Metformin Use and Breast Cancer Carcinoma” and “Healthcare Access and Utilization in Asian Breast Cancer Patients,” respectively. First-year COP student Alexandria Thomas also used the All of Us workbench and data set to research “Second Degree Heart Block: Population Disparities Identified in the All of Us Data.”
“Showcasing their work on using All of Us datasets speaks to the investment we’ve made in our students,” Lemieux said. She added that if there were additional financial resources, her students and the institution could dedicate even more time to such projects and opportunities.
“Showcasing their work on using All of Us datasets speaks to the investment we’ve made in our students."
The promise of stewarding student and faculty interests with more funding keeps Lemieux hopeful. She says Xavier students are always searching for opportunities to be involved in groundbreaking research and hands-on experience in their various disciplines.
“I have more people who are interested than we have resources to support,” Lemieux said. “We have more faculty who are interested than we’re able to train. We also have students who want to be involved with research. We have a number of academically talented and motivated students who, if we were able to provide some level of financial support, rather than get a job in a fast food or some other service industry, they could actually be paid to learn.”
an HBCU through a Centralized
STAFF REPORT
has been chosen among ten recipients to receive a substantial $1.5 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation as part of its impactful Humanities for All Times initiative.
Titled “Restoring the Black Intellectual Tradition at an HBCU through a Centralized University Honors Curriculum,” Xavier’s grant-funded project aims to revive a crucial aspect of history. It references a time when HBCUs were the driving force behind African American advancement and empowerment, producing the leading Black thinkers of their respective eras.
“As Xavier prepares for its next century, this grant will support our mission to create leaders who will impact their community, country, and world,” said Dr. Shearon Roberts, Director of Xavier’s Exponential Honors Program.
Roberts is leading the initiative at Xavier, which is funded by the grant. “As a top HBCU, honors education is vital for preparing our students to innovate in society and continue the legacy of our institution of empowering Black communities and those marginalized in society,” she said.
Initially launched in 2021 as a $16 million-plus initiative, Humanities for All Times awarded grants to its first cohort of 12 liberal arts colleges across the U.S. that same year. Through dynamic projects developed in a total of 22 liberal arts programs, the initiative aims to demonstrate the power of the humanities in addressing societal challenges. These distinctive analytical projects ensure students acquire skills to diagnose the cultural conditions hindering the achievement of a fully just and equitable society and to identify the steps necessary to change. As a long-time champion of social justice, Xavier’s grant through Humanities for All Times will help the University continue its mission to promote a more just and humane society by elevating Xavier Exponential.
Humanities for All Times humanities-based education provides tools for future visionaries and the next generation of social justice leaders and aims to support newly developed curricula that instruct students in humanities practice methods and demonstrate those methods’ relevance to broader social justice pursuits. Fifty liberal arts colleges were invited to submit proposals for the second cohort, and each selected institution received a grant of up to $1.5 million to be used over a three-year period to support the envisioned curricular projects and help students to see and experience the applicability of humanities in their real-world social justice objectives.
BY MARTIE BOWSER
Her determination to prevent history from repeating itself was a beacon of hope in those challenging times.
Upon obtaining her M.A. in political science at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, she changed her course of study to history, gaining her M.A. in Louisiana history two years later. She began with Xavier University of Louisiana in 2017 as a lecturer before transitioning into her role as Assistant Professor of History while obtaining her doctoral candidacy in 20thcentury U.S. history from Binghamton University.
St. Julien makes an early impression on students through her Freshman Foundations course, where they learn how impactful history is on their present and future.
“It is a history class, but the emphasis is truly pushing you to see your story as a byproduct of a historical moment,” she shared.
Controversial conversations are not taboo in her classes, as she urges students to consider every perspective and challenge social constructs.
“Teaching this history helps students combat generational trauma that may make them feel like the only way in this is to struggle,” she said. “What I do is teach students how to challenge preconceived notions they have about race so that when they go back into their communities, they don’t accidentally bring features of whiteness or blackness that reify the patterns that they want to get rid of.”
St. Julien serves as the Faculty Advisor for Xavier’s History Club and has witnessed students do the work to revive what was once the largest club on campus. She favors group activities and primary source-driven work to push students to consider and define their views.
She was recently awarded the inaugural American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) HBCU Faculty Fellowship. The ACLS HBCU Faculty Fellowship and Grant Program provides flexible support for research, teaching, and service commitments. Out of 150 applications, St. Julien was one of eight HBCU educators to receive the $50,000 fellowship. The funding will allow her to complete the research and study needed for her future book focused on the foundations of racial inequalities.
Xavier University of Louisiana and New Orleans BioInnovation Center (NOBIC) have a rich history of collaboration. The University is represented on the NOBIC board of directors, and the two are collaborators on a few high-impact federal programs from the U.S. Economic Development Administration. Recently, they have received $495,000 in grant funding from the JPMorgan Chase Foundation, championing the ethos that the expansion and robust support of small businesses are pivotal catalysts in diverse employment opportunities and the flourishing of vibrant, inclusive communities across city landscapes. The funds will be used to launch the Advancing Diversity in Life-Sciences Entrepreneurship project to increase access to capital for demographics historically underrepresented in the biosciences industry.
The BioDistrict New Orleans is an economic development district that seeks to evolve and transform the biosciences sector into a jobs engine for the city and region while improving the broader lives of communities across New Orleans. Xavier is a core partner in this district, with other health care, economic development, higher education, business, and nonprofit institutions in the region. The BioDistrict can strengthen its role in driving the regional economy through strategic investments and programming in the district that will catalyze private investment, grow the city’s biosciences and health innovation ecosystem, and create jobs and economic opportunities for New Orleanians. This plan provides transformational strategies and guidance for future implementation that BioDistrict leadership and partners can champion. Additionally, the Xavier Ochsner College of Medicine will open in the BioDistrict.
The XULA Investigative Stories Program brings together Xavier students and veteran journalists to examine some of our nation’s most critical issues, such as largely unexposed and overlooked industrial pollution and political corruption, and how they’re playing out locally in New Orleans. Funded by two grants totaling $900,000 by the Evelyn Y. Davis Foundation via Trustee Bank of America, N.A., the academic, research, and real-world documentary initiative approaches current and timely stories like a puzzle, scrutinizing evidence and reaching out to those whose experiences may not support official narratives. Working in the field with professional journalists, Xavier students research classic examples of penetrating investigative reporting and then produce their own video, print, and data visualization pieces—and are credited as contributors to every project. Several students from across the humanities and science disciplines have advanced both as paid apprentices to the program and in substantive jobs in some of the nation’s most distinguished public and private sector companies, institutions, and agencies. The program is managed by (and the brainchild of) Helen Malmgren, a two-time Emmy Award winner and former CBS 60 Minutes producer, who holds many distinguished investigative reporter awards, including a George Foster Peabody Award, a Society of Professional Journalists Award, and a National Association of Black Journalists Award.
Since spring 2022, Xavier University of Louisiana has partnered with the prestigious National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) on the multi-year Gulf Scholars Program. The five-year, $525,000 project is designed to build the capacity of universities and colleges in the Gulf region to prepare and inspire undergraduate students to address critical challenges facing the region at the intersections of human, environmental, and energy systems. Through pedagogical, co-curricular, and research-based activities, Xavier aims to educate, enrich, and empower the participating undergraduate students to practice active leadership in the survival and sustainability of the Gulf’s natural and human resources. Xavier’s NAS-GSP Principal Investigator is Dr. Anderson Sunda-Meya, Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences. He is supported by Program Director Dr. Harish Ratnayaka, Professor of biology and Evaluators Dr. Richard Peters, Associate Dean, CAS, and Dr. Dangale Meda, Assistant Dean, CAS.
BY JALAH BATES, ‘24
Intellect and innovation are celebrated at Xavier’s annual Festival of Scholars, a beacon for student researchers and a platform for them to showcase their work, exchange ideas, and inspire the next generation of leaders. It’s a melting pot for knowledge, bringing together ideas and disciplines.
Through presentations, guest speakers, and discussions, Festival of Scholars participants enter an exciting educational environment motivated by a shared interest in exploration. Xavier’s Center for Undergraduate Research and Graduate Opportunity (CURGO) oversees the event as a commitment to promoting academic standards and igniting community curiosity.
Vanessa McRae, the director of CURGO and the McNair Scholars Program, has been instrumental in upholding this tradition. She ensures that each year surpasses the last in participation and spectacle. With over 100 students participating in diverse presentations over the two-day event, the Festival of Scholars is a testament to Xavier ’s dedication to empowering its students and engaging the broader community.
“It’s an opportunity for our students to showcase the work they are doing throughout the year,” McRae said.
But the Festival’s impact extends far beyond Xavier’s campus. It’s a showcase of the dedication and passion of its participants, like Malik Mason, a public health major on a pre-dental track in partnership with Jade Ravare, also a public health major, whose research on the Comparison of Mental Health & Recidivism Rates of U.S. and Norwegian Prisoners resonates with personal experience and a drive for societal change.
As Mason, who served as the team’s spokesperson, considered the effects of having close family members who have served time in prison, his investigation has made him aware of the potential for promoting healthcare and education to help lessen the differences between the two countries.
“Participating in the Festival of Scholars has helped to prepare [me for] what I want to do after Xavier,” Mason said. “[I’d like to become an] oral biology researcher with the national dental research.”
Overall, the Festival helps instill a sense of purpose and direction in Mason as he influences others to “Be passionate about the research that you do because you’re encouraged to dig deeper.”
Similarly, the Festival fosters essential skills such as public speaking and critical thinking, exemplified by public health major Kyla Willis, who presented research titled Infant Mortality Rates: Examining the Disparities Between the United States and Finland with Lydia McNair. This exploration extends beyond statistical analysis to advocacy for policy reforms to safeguard vulnerable populations, who found their voice through research-based projects.
“I’m not a big fan of research-based projects, but through the Festival of Scholars, I strengthened my public speaking,” Willis said.
This transformation speaks to the Festival’s ability to empower students and equip them with the necessary tools to effect change. As McRae emphasized, it’s not merely about disseminating knowledge but empowering students to become successful communicators and change agents in their respective fields.
Public health majors Samaya Trawick and Milhani Wilkerson’s exploration of the Comparison of Water and Sanitation
Policies Between the United States and Switzerland reveals the differences in governance and profound insights into healthcare access and social welfare. Through collaborative research and peer engagement, the two discovered the value of interdisciplinary dialogue and the potential for policy-driven solutions to global challenges.
Wilkerson reflected on the Festival’s collaborative environment, where peers offer support and guidance. It has honed her presentation skills and inspired her future pursuits in veterinary science.
“The Festival of Scholars was a welcoming environment,” Wilkerson said. “Everyone came in with open arms and was willing to give tips on how to present research better.”
As we look ahead to the future of the Festival of Scholars, let us celebrate the spirit of inquiry, innovation, and inclusivity that defines this esteemed tradition. It’s more than just an event; it’s a beacon of hope, lighting the way to a brighter, more enlightened future for all. McRae’s vision is to “engage the local youth with these student presenters and their work, hoping to encourage them to realize they can do this too.”
Ultimately, the Festival of Scholars transcends academic boundaries, leaving an indelible mark on the hearts and minds of all who participate.
Xavier University of Louisiana, in pursuit of its mission to promote a more just and humane society, uses research to uncover innovative breakthroughs that contribute to society’s positive progression.
“It falls directly into the mission of Xavier.”
Funding is vital to facilitate such research,
and thus, Xavier celebrates the renewal of the Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) $22.3 million award that will allow the University to continue its substantial work in lessening health disparities for the next five years.
The RCMI program is funded by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that is explicitly dedicated to research that improves the health of underrepresented communities and reduces health disparities. The program aims to develop and strengthen the research infrastructure necessary to conduct stateof-the-art biomedical research and foster the next generation of researchers from diverse backgrounds. Launched in 1985, RCMI awards funding every five years to institutions demonstrating their capability to live up to the program’s mission. These institutions also can compete for renewed
support after every five-year term. This is Xavier’s third award renewal after the initial approval.
“The point of RCMI is to continue to increase our research capacity. It funds a wide variety of research facilities, which include research instrumentation; people who are highly skilled at statistics that can help faculty with their projects; [and] in how to develop new drugs,” said Dr. Gene D’Amour, Special Assistant to the President and first principal investigator for Xavier’s RCMI program.
Though a member of the funded cohort in the 1980s, Xavier was not renewed in the 1990s and would not apply for the RCMI program again until after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. After three years of preparing to apply, Xavier was awarded the grant in 2009 and renewed for funding in 2014, 2019, and 2023. Each renewal cycle awards between $3 to $5 million a year for five years to support the projects developed in the proposal.
Originally, Xavier’s RCMI programs focused on cancer research, but in each renewal cycle, the grant’s use at the University has expanded to include the research of
other diseases, such as diabetes, HIV, and Alzheimer’s, with special consideration on research that impacts health disparities. For this renewal cycle, Xavier’s three projects focus on researching sugar consumption, vaccine hesitancy, and the use of protac molecules on the degeneration of molecular targets. The grant enables Xavier to have and operate core labs and equipment that make this research possible.
“Xavier has been able to dramatically expand its work in health disparities. Louisiana has the second highest proportion of African Americans in this country, and in those communities, they have the highest death numbers from cancer and diabetes and other diseases,” D’Amour said. “So, one of the things this grant has done is helped us further develop our work with federally qualified health clinics around the state to get in these communities...to study the diseases that are there and [how] those diseases can be prevented or assisted in their cure.”
Along with D’Amour, Dr. Guangdi Wang, a Professor in the Chemistry Department, and Dr. Christopher Williams, Chair of the Division of Basic Pharmaceutical Sciences in Xavier’s College of Pharmacy, were also heavily involved in the most recent renewal cycle as Multiple Principal Investigators (MPIs). As MPIs, they will provide guidance and facilitate the projects developed under the grant.
The grant renewal process required intense attention to and consideration of feedback from previous cycles, including incorporating more clinical research and community outreach to address more of the health disparities aspect. In each renewal cycle, there is a risk that the funding will not be renewed, so the PIs must create a highly competitive proposal.
“It wasn’t guaranteed at that time. Each institution that applies is scored, and the lower the number, the better,” Wang said. “Each renewal cycle we aim to get a good score so that we can continue to receive this funding, but it is not guaranteed that we will.”
“...we aim to get a good score so that we can continue to receive this funding, but it is not guaranteed that we will.”
Since its founding nearly 100 years ago, Xavier’s commitment to social justice and academic innovation has put it at the forefront of evolving curricula and research needs. The renewal of the RCMI grant marks the continuance of nuanced research that allows Xavier to continue its work to reduce health disparities and increase health equity, all of which further enable the institution to carry out its mission better. Without it, Xavier’s research capacity could be greatly reduced, making each renewal a cause of celebration.
“It falls directly into the mission of Xavier,” Williams said. “Our students are going to benefit from RCMI being here because the more active our faculty can be, the more individual opportunities for students can be provided along the way. It enhances the environment of discovery here, and it’s right in our wheelhouse of trying to create a more just and humane society.”
BY MARTIE BOWSER
“I want to see more students advocating for their rights and creating more sound food policies to create better food environments within our communities,” Knapp said.
After completing her MPH in behavioral science and health education at Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health in Atlanta, Knapp completed her doctoral degree in global community health and behavioral sciences at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.
Her public health education is rooted in preventative health, but after working in nutrition programs, she realized that prevention begins with what we put on our plates. Knapp’s courses focus on factors that impact food environments, food security, food access, and choices.
The “food environment audit” is her favorite assignment, as it causes her students to get “upset” about the disparities in food and nutrition. That anger has become fuel to make a change.
Under her direction, the campus group XULA FATE (Food Advocacy Training Education) trains students to meet with government officials and policymakers as advocates for farmers, underserved communities, and children.
In 2024, three of the 14 XULA FATE students traveled to Baton Rouge and received a front-row seat to the policies affecting the nutrition equity of Louisiana.
Knapp develops and prepares students to become leaders for nutrition equity who question the data and research that is being used to affect their community’s access to fruit, vegetables, and other healthy food options. She encourages her students to “use their lived experiences” to “drive change” to see healthier food environments.
“When my students tell me, ‘I never knew that I could have this sort of voice or that I could go in and sit in on these
meetings and be part of the process,’ that means the most to me,” Knapp said.
Xavierites Tiffany Numa and Naana Ennin worked alongside Knapp as research assistants on a project to identify and describe the challenges facing implementing and developing school meal programs in New Orleans during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The recent graduates assisted with analyzing and reporting semistructured key informant interviews conducted with school officials and food service management companies. The findings from this study will benefit future policies, practices, and emergency preparedness plans to improve equitable food access and reduce food insecurity among children.
Knapp is a Principal Investigator for the New Orleans Healthy Kids’ Beverage Menu Ordinance and the USDAfunded study identifying policy, systems, and environmental factors within school environments in minority-serving institutions that aim to address inequities in nutritional outcomes, including food insecurity and diet and physical activity behaviors.
As a senior, Samaya Trawick assisted Knapp with evaluating the Ordinance requiring all restaurants that offer kids’ meals to include water, low-fat milk, or 100% juice as the default beverages. The goal is to reduce children’s consumption of sugary drinks. Trawick interviewed restaurant managers and owners to assess the ordinance’s impact and perceptions and helped with qualitative data analysis.
Knapp said she believes her students have the power to create change through everything they do, and she works hard to instill this in them daily.
“I always end my classes with a countdown and say, ‘Make a great day,’ That’s empowering,” she said.
Story By ZERLINE HUGHES SPRUILL
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE and the ability to do a quick internet search have changed the scope–and speed–of information gathering. Whether looking for an actor’s name while watching television or getting help to find the square root of 1925, research has taken on new meanings ever since the discovery of the World Wide Web. When examining, scrutinizing, and investigating, the internet may be a required tool, but Xavier University of Louisiana leaves space in its toolkit to ensure the research process is a comprehensive experience for its undergraduate students.
Xavier’s Center for Undergraduate Research and Graduate Opportunity (CURGO) supports that deep dive. The Center ensures students have access to scholarly research opportunities. It also inspires students to prioritize creative inquiry, a fundamental part of their academic experience at Xavier. The CURGO team also alerts students about national scholarships and prestigious fellowships and assists them with applying. CURGO also functions to support students interested in continuing their studies at the graduate school level, according to Vanessa McRae, Director of the CURGO/ McNair Scholars Program.
“We help students check all the boxes that will make them the most competitive for graduate school,” McRae said. “We help students by pairing them with faculty. They can actually work with faculty mentors and engage in other professional development opportunities to help them prepare for graduate school and how to find our summer research opportunities as they continue to matriculate and go forward.”
The CURGO Catalog of Opportunities is an interactive digital catalog that is vast and entices all Xavier students. From a 10-week summer program at Colorado State University’s Department of Chemistry to a University of Central Florida research program at its Center for Advanced Turbomachinery and Energy Research, students can choose from around the nation. Some applications even have rolling admissions, and there are also undergraduate research opportunities outside the United States. The programs provide stipends, travel expenses, and other benefits as accommodating as Boston University’s 10-week Summer Research Program for those focused on biology, molecular biology, biochemistry, genetics, and environmental sciences. This program provides undergraduate students an $8000 stipend, up to $600 for lab supplies, $500 for travel expenses, apartment-style housing, and travel and lodging to return for a fall research symposium. CURGO’s YouTube channel offers many step-by-step guides in short videos.
“These are paid opportunities,” McRae said. “When they first start coming out, we put them in that catalog with as much information as we can to let the students know if they are eligible, if it’s on the West Coast, etc., so they get a basic overview. If they decide ‘I want to apply for that,’ we are here to support them in the application process with personal statements, statements of purpose, resumes for research, and just any way we can help.”
CURGO is the home of two structured programs funded via the Department of Education’s TRiO grant and Futures Act grant. The programs are designed to support Xavier students with engaging in research and graduate school preparation. The GRADStar Rising Scholars program is a structured research skills training program for first-year students; the GRADStar Scholars program supports students who are engaging in faculty-mentored research; and the McNair Scholars program supports participants through summer research internship experiences and graduate school preparation.
McNair Scholar Zyaire Smith said the program workshops are incredibly helpful, and she believes they will contribute to her future successes.
“Being a McNair student has been a monumental asset in my educational career,” Smith said. “McNair constantly provides students with resume-building opportunities, such as research programs, internships, and university work with faculty members. The opportunities provided by McNair have largely improved my experience as a Xavier student and McNair student. I know McNair will provide me with all the resources needed to reach my goal of receiving a doctorate.”
With so many offerings, the Center makes sure to sound the bullhorn about its resources to ensure students take advantage of them and the mentorship. McRae said CURGO is grateful to have the opportunity to serve a bevy of students.
"WE HELP STUDENTS CHECK ALL THE BOXES THAT WILL MAKE THEM THE MOST COMPETITIVE FOR GRADUATE SCHOOL."
STORY BY MARTIE BOWSER
The significance of preserving Xavier’s archives is as essential as the University itself.
The University’s archives department documents the institution’s history, including its founding, development, milestones, and achievements, providing a valuable resource for researchers, historians, and students seeking to understand Xavier’s evolution.
With so much history to protect amid natural disasters and normal wear and tear, Vincent Barraza, Assistant Librarian – Digital Preservation, who manages library archives and special collections, explained that the core reason for the grant is to create a sustainable environment for the items.
“We deal with many environmental issues, from hurricane season to humidity problems. All of these can affect archival collections very, very heavily,” Barraza said.
Funds are used for digital preservation and evaluation of the University’s storage and archival plan to prevent further damage and deterioration of archives and special collections.
Oneof the many standout items is a medal previously owned by Thomas Mundy Peterson, the first African American to cast a vote. Perth Amboy, New Jersey, presented Peterson with the medal after his historic ballot on March 31, 1870. The medal changed hands throughout the decades. The Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament eventually purchased it and left it with the University. The medal is one of the most sought-after items in Black and American history. It has been loaned to several museums, including the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.
Barraza said other standout artifacts include signed books from impactful historical figures such as Jackie Robinson, Jesse Jackson, Anne Rice, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
“We’re still constantly rediscovering a lot of the hidden items in our collection that either the Sisters purchased or someone donated to the campus,” he said. “So, pretty much every day, I find something new and interesting.”
Other artifacts are specifically connected to the University, such as the collection of items donated by the family of the late Bishop Fernand Joseph Cheri III of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. The bishop received his Master of Theology from Xavier
in 1997. Barraza shared that the collection includes several medallions worn by the bishop during his tenure and photos of him accompanying Pope John Paul II on his visit to Xavier in 1987.
While not all the items in the collection are considered American history, they are important to the University, its alumni, students, and the community that supports it. Barraza shared an instance when he placed older yearbooks out for the public to grab and noticed all the books for classes between the ‘60s and ‘80s quickly disappeared.
“Alumni would come up and say, ‘I lost everything in Katrina. I’m so happy that I now have a copy of my yearbook!’”
Additional funds supported items such as environmental monitors and pest control to maintain the area. Although the grant is an excellent achievement for the Xavier archives, Barraza stated that donations are still key to the department’s financial and physical growth.
“When it comes to the long-term goals of the archives, we want to continue bringing in historical collections,” Barraza said. “We still want to work with alumni and donors. And without funding, we’re going to run out of space. I will continue to do grant applications and reach out to other institutions for assistance, but we could always use more help.”
Asthe physical condition undergoes changes, people are encouraged to view the University’s digital archives at xula.contentdm. oclc.org. Xavier University of Louisiana’s Digital Archives contains various pieces of internationally and locally valued historical manuscripts, photographs, videos, ephemera, and university records that visitors can view and research at their leisure.
Professor Jayalakshmi Sridhar, Ph.D., is ensuring Xavier students are ahead of the curve and ready to educate their professional and personal networks about science.
STORY BY ALISHA TILLERY
Thanks to a National Science Foundation grant, she has spearheaded a new course and curriculum that will provide contextual and contemporary knowledge of chemistry while developing soft skills in science communication.
Under her leadership, Xavier secured a grant to engage scientific communities in science communication. The “Enabling deliberative science communication between science and non-science faculty, students at Xavier University of Louisiana” grant will fill the gap in addressing nonscientific communities. Overall, the grant will result in dual outcomes.
“The grant is regarding inculcating pedagogical practices on science communication to the public,” Sridhar said. “This is to train our undergraduate students to communicate science in a
better way to the public and not make it a technical communication, but more of an informative communication to them.”
Sridhar developed a course to teach students how to engage with other key professions in the industry, such as journalism and politics. It's offered to chemistry and non-chemistry majors and those enrolled in general chemistry, biology, and some English courses. Sridhar said the goal is to get students involved as early as freshman year to allow for mastery throughout their undergraduate matriculation.
Ultimately, the science communication course will directly impact students, the community, and the workplace. Acquiring these skills will help students with science backgrounds properly engage with managers and other colleagues with nonscientific backgrounds. Xavier will be the launch pad.
“Many of the science issues adversely affect minority populations, and if our students are able to communicate this, not only to their friends but to their family, acquaintances, and anyone they come across, this is a skill that can help them advocate for science throughout their lifetime,” Sridhar said.
The complement to the grant is advancing public policy work focused on science, often created with the help of scientists. In science communication courses, the classroom is a setting for exploration and
deliberation to learn about public policy, its inner workings, and various outcomes. Some classes that are engaged in the grant have explored key topics such as water contamination, energy options, and the opioid epidemic.
Faculty have been enrolled and trained in science communication to, in turn, create their own modules to teach students. In the second year of the three-year grant, mini grant awards have been distributed to faculty developing those course modules for implementation.
Sridhar is working to secure more grant funding to expand these workshops for both students and faculty and training to other institutions, including other HBCUs, in the future. She said more resources would allow for advanced technology and communications channels via podcasts and documentaries to make science topics accessible to the public, specifically disproportionately affected populations like African American and Latine communities.
Her work has achieved several University goals, such as creating relevant learning opportunities for students, creating community within the department and courses, and advancing research and instruction. Thanks to innovative and dedicated faculty, Xavier students continue to set the bar for institutions of higher learning.
—BY LESLIE D. ROSE
While health equity swiftly became an industry buzzword at the height of the current social justice movement, with companies swarming at the opportunity to work toward equitable outcomes due to new RFP and grant requirements, health equity was never a set of buzzwords for Xavier. It’s a deeply rooted commitment that matches the University’s mission to create a more just and humane society.
Xavierites are instilled with the desire to shape the lives of everyone they interact with while giving back and paying it forward to create a cycle of responsibility. The University continues to impact the pursuit of equitable outcomes, with countless Xavierites out in the world showcasing this commitment and several creating opportunities to benefit the Xavier community directly.
Lauren Powell, Ph.D. ’06, former Vice President of the U.S. Health Equity & Community Wellness at Takeda Pharmaceuticals helped launch the company’s multi-year partnership with Xavier. The partnership aims to improve health outcomes for disadvantaged and marginalized populations. While Powell sought out her university, its reputation alone made it an easy choice for Takeda.
“Ultimately, Xavier’s reputation stood for itself,” Powell said. “So, all I did, I feel like, was put the profile of a school that already has very noteworthy accomplishments in front of some people who needed to see it. That’s all I did.”
Takeda’s multi-million-dollar investment will support the development of a technical research and exchange center at Xavier, known as T-REX (Technical Research and Exchange Center at Xavier). T-REX is anticipated to accelerate Xavier’s health informatics, research findings, and interventions at the intersection of basic science, clinical practice, and data to advance health equity and create community wellness.
“The partnership is something that will continue to develop over time,” Powell said. “We’ll also be focusing on building trust. And we know that building trust is essential to helping to advance things like clinical trial participation and making sure that we’re creating therapeutics that are going to help everyone.”
The grant will also elevate graduate students to advance health equity research while improving community engagement and advocacy to uncover and focus resources on Xavier’s graduate health science programs.
“We have more responsibility now than ever to create the world we want to lead for generations to come,” Powell said. “We know that multiple racial, social, and systemic factors determine the ability for individuals to access the care they need or whether they receive any care really at all. In the U.S., patients can face huge challenges with diagnoses, access, affordability, and lots of other systemic barriers rooted in racism and other forms of oppression. So, we know that we have a lot to do to push forward in the face of opposition to cultivate sustainable change and equitable solutions. We recognize that a patient’s health and wellbeing is inextricably tied to geography, finances, education, age, race, ethnicity, gender orientation, and community for health equity to be achieved.”
For the Xavierites able to uplift the University through transformational funding and partnership opportunities, paying it forward feels essential.
Tiffany West, ’00, serves as Senior Director, Advancing Health and Black Equity at Gilead Sciences. In 2020, Gilead started its Racial Equity Community Impact Fund as a three-year $10 million commitment to racial equity and social justice. Xavier was named among the 20 fund recipients.
“As a healthcare company, we want to make sure that we are investing in winners,” West said. “But I also think for me personally, my Xavier experience and my seat at the table representation in corporate America is important. It’s important for us to wield our influence in a way where we are using our own journey as a testimony of what success looks like but also investing in institutions that have demonstrated success and where we can use our resources to amplify that success in different spaces. Our schools graduate some of the most prolific voices in the United States and across the globe. So, my question is, why not HBCUs? Why not Xavier?”
Gilead Sciences’ Racial Equity Community Impact Fund (RECIF) initially provided $10 million in grants to 20 organizations over three years. Through Gilead’s continued support, Xavier has significantly expanded its pre-college programs. Xavier’s College of Pharmacy has also partnered with Gilead for a health equity collaboration to serve underserved populations. The RECIF grant will continue to support the University’s strong goals of continuing to serve underrepresented populations as it enters its next century of service.
“We don’t dictate what the schools have to do,” West said. “We are just really excited to support that social justice work and highlight and support students who are emerging in the movement.”
In August 2022, Gilead announced a new health equity collaboration with the Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities Research and Education (CMHDRE) at the College of Pharmacy and the Satcher Health Leadership Institute (SHLI) at Morehouse School of Medicine. Xavier was also one of 13 recipients of the Gilead Foundation’s Creating Possible Fund in 2022, launched to support creative, high-impact strategies that advance health through education equity. The fund grants Xavier $3,000,000 for a three-year period, which is responsible for expanding Xavier’s precollegiate STEM programming, including its SOAR-X and MATHStar I and II, CHEMStar, BIOStar, PHYStar programs. It will also support re-establishing the very successful Louisiana Engineering Advancement Program and a pre-college, for-credit dual enrollment program for high school seniors and recent high school graduates known as XULA Achieve.
’96, a New Orleans native, has always been familiar with Xavier’s impact on its community. When she knew she wanted to become a doctor, there was no question she’d begin her education at Xavier. As her career has advanced over the years, she’s always sought to return the favor the University has given her. So, when an opportunity to fund a scholarship through her role as President/CEO of Healthy Blue Louisiana came about, Xavier was indeed one of the schools that was not only a top choice for Theard but one that easily fit the description of being a university of choice for future healthcare champions.
The Healthy Blue scholarship is a fund for students pursuing a Master of Public Health in health equity. It covers the entire cost of an academic year in exchange for a commitment to work in a rural area in Louisiana.
“I’m grateful for these scholarships, and the students are grateful in the communities that benefit, but we have so much work to do,” Theard said. “We have to make sure that we remain open to create spaces where people can share things that weigh on them and be inspired to do more because we realize there’s so much more that needs to be done.”
The scholarship fund notes a success story in recipient Almetra Granger, ’22. Granger completed her MPH in health equity with honors. Her thesis was “Utilizing PRAMS and Healthy People 2020 to Examine Black Women’s Breastfeeding Behavior in Louisiana Prior to the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic.” She worked at St. Mary Parish Community Action Agency in Franklin, Louisiana, during her MPH studies. She is now pursuing her Ph.D. at LSU Health Sciences Center School of Public Health in New Orleans.
During Xavier’s annual online fundraiser, Give.Love. Xavier Day, Healthy Blue provided an additional $400,000 gift for the scholarship.
“This additional contribution signifies our commitment to fostering a new generation of healthcare professionals who will bridge the gaping hole of health inequity. And we thank Xavier University because their partnership and alignment gives us an impactful path to achieving this goal,” Theard said.
Over the past two years, Healthy Blue has invested nearly $200,000 in rural health scholarships for Xavier students. The $400,000 gift renews Healthy Blue’s commitment to creating more endowed scholarships to fortify a more diverse and equitable healthcare workforce.
BY ALISHA TILLERY
a trauma surgeon and startup co-founder, always knew he wanted to become a doctor, so he chose to attend Xavier. Majoring in chemistry and serving as Student Government Association President, McCray received academic training and experiences that placed him on a path in medicine to directly solve healthcare problems for a specific population, thereby changing lives.
McCray earned his medical degree from the University of Illinois. He completed a residency in general surgery at the University of California, San Francisco-Fresno, and practiced in the Bay Area for over 10 years.
His first foray into BioDesign, a practice that uses living organisms in design, came through a fellowship at the Byers Center for BioDesign at Stanford University. There, he studied Ophthalmology and focused on the dry eye space. His in-depth studies uncovered a need for advanced technology for that specific vision problem. After completing the fellowship, as a spin-off to that eye care work, he co-founded Tangible Science, a healthcare startup, to ease discomfort and other problems for contact wearers who suffer from severe dry eye.
“We all recognize that there are some significant health disparities both in our country and around the globe, and there are a lot of institutionalized reasons for that,” McCray said. “We (BioDesign) focus on where the need is, in the healthcare space, usually around a patient-based need, and then everything that we do moving forward is trying to solve that need for that specific population that we’re targeting.”
Previously partnered with only institutions outside of the U.S., under McCray’s leadership, BioDesign is working to select an HBCU as its first partner stateside to explore ways to solve a healthcare problem specific to a different area.
“Our feeling is that if we’re able to partner with an institution that is very different than Stanford, using our process might identify
very different needs for very different populations.
We’ve seen how valuable this type of programming can be at other universities that we’ve partnered with, and I’d really love to see that value brought into an HBCU,” he said.
After working in three healthcare roles simultaneously for a time, McCray recently stopped practicing medicine to focus solely on his startup and the Byers directorship.
“I began to enjoy the creation of the health care startup and the scalability of how many patients I can help with a technology compared to the day-to-day of practicing medicine,” he said.
McCray’s Tangible Science created a polymer coating technology that is integrated into contact lenses at the time of manufacture to improve their success and help wearers see better. The company partners with manufacturers worldwide to make these lenses and then sells companion products, such as cleaning aids, for the polymer coating directly to physicians and patients.
In addition to his entrepreneurial efforts, McCray continues to contribute to the healthcare industry and academia through several research and published works, registered patents, and national and international consultant work.
He credits his dynamic career path and accomplishments to his foundational experience at Xavier.
“One of the fantastic things about Xavier is it’s focused on getting African Americans into medical school because it bridges a very significant gap —getting them on that pathway to accelerate with the end goal being to have more underrepresented minority physicians better focused on, living in and practicing in areas that tend to be underrepresented,” he said. “The mission of Xavier and how it accomplishes that is integral to healthcare and our society, in general.”
Whether through her work as an esteemed Xavier faculty member or a community health advocate, LaKeisha Williams, Pharm.D., R.Ph, ‘02, ‘09, focuses on healthcare equity to address widening disparities in Louisiana.
When Xavier received a grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute via a sub-award from Tulane University in 2020, Williams said she embarked on a multiyear initiative that has grown with the ongoing health, social, and socioeconomic effects of COVID-19.
By monitoring the community health impact of high rates of COVID-19 in its very early stages, Xavier partnered with Tulane University, along with a network of clinicians and educators, to impact the community at a crucial time. The project expanded to include faith-based organizations, schools, area nonprofits, and neighborhood associations. Using an integrated approach, they incorporated community ambassadors and educational video campaigns to “address the elephant in the room” and to focus on key issues early on: COVID-19 prevention and management and participation in clinical trials, especially in the Black community.
BY ALISHA TILLERY
Williams, who started as a Drug Information Specialist at Xavier in 2011, joined the faculty in 2014 and is now a Clinical Associate Professor in the Division of Clinical and Administrative Sciences. Additionally, she is the Director of Engagement and Community Outreach for the Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities Research and Education (CMHDRE). For nearly two decades, the CMHDRE has worked to foster collaboration within academic research centers and provide a supportive environment that strengthens faculty research capacity in health disparities.
Since 2020, Williams and colleagues have published the findings of numerous studies, relying heavily on community engagement and feedback. One such publication is Using Community Feedback to Inform Strategies for Inclusive Participation in Research: Lessons Learned from the Louisiana Community Engagement Alliance (LA-CEAL). Williams’ work as project lead continues to provide education about health complications, prevention, and treatment of Long COVID-19.
Like her work with LA-CEAL, she said community trust moves the Center forward and, consequently, public health forward.
“Overall, leveraging on the mission of Xavier, and then specifically when we look at the Center for Minority Health, and the goal of really being able to mitigate those priorities has allowed us to develop so many different initiatives,” she said.
Several initiatives have sprung from the Center, including Louisiana Can, a
program addressing HIV prevention, and the Health and Wellness Center, which allows Xavier to be frequently visible to the community through health fairs, screenings, and other community-based programming.
“The goal is that you want to be able to gain the trust of the community, and the community wants to know that we are concerned and care outside of research. They just want to be able to see that you’re going to show up,” Williams said.
Showing up looks like reimagining the work of pharmacists, essentially moving their engagement to the top of the care process rather than reactionary. Under Williams’ leadership, nearly 1000 blood pressure screenings were conducted during Essence Fest 2023, and they plan to surpass that number in 2024. Keeping social determinants – family health history, access to transportation, and personal finances–at the forefront when engaging and advising patients on healthcare plans is key.
“Having the students to understand that aspect because as a pharmacy practitioner that determines how you will respond, how you’re going to interact with patients and the customer service that you provide,” Williams said.
Taking cues from the community on how to fill gaps and advocate on their behalf, paired with vital grant-funded programs, has catalyzed Williams’ success and ability to serve better the pharmacy students she leads.
“It takes a village,” she said.
Approaching a historic centennial, Xavier University of Louisiana, the nation’s only Catholic Historically Black College and University (HBCU) promises to press forward and fear nothing as it marks a century of eXcellence.
Approaching a historic centennial, Xavier University of Louisiana, the nation’s only Catholic Historically Black College and University (HBCU) promises to press forward and fear nothing as it marks a century of eXcellence.
Xavier and Ochsner Health recently announced an agreement to establish a joint College of Medicine to address disparities in representation of Black physicians in the United States. Xavier and Ochsner will create a strong physician pipeline that addresses longstanding inequities within the nation’s health care system and builds the health care workforce of the future.
Xavier and Ochsner Health recently announced an agreement to establish a joint College of Medicine to address disparities in representation of Black physicians in the United States. Xavier and Ochsner will create a strong physician pipeline that addresses longstanding inequities within the nation’s health care system and builds the health care workforce of the future.
Throughout Xavier’s existence, its faculty, staff and students have demonstrated a unique awareness of, and commitment to our foundational identity, as well as fidelity to Mother Katharine’s foundational vision that a quality education is the key to racial justice and empowerment mandates our legacy. Our cultural and religious roots have shaped our mission and core values such that our identity and mission are integrated into every aspect of the university.
Throughout Xavier’s existence, its faculty, staff and students have demonstrated a unique awareness of, and commitment to our foundational identity, as well as fidelity to Mother Katharine’s foundational vision that a quality education is the key to racial justice and empowerment mandates our legacy. Our cultural and religious roots have shaped our mission and core values such that our identity and mission are integrated into every aspect of the university.
In 2023, Xavier University of Louisiana received national recognition with multiple accolades.
In 2023, Xavier University of Louisiana received national recognition with multiple accolades.
Xavier University of Louisiana is recognized as a national leader in the sciences and the liberal arts:
• A recent American Medical Association (AMA) report revealed that Xavier remains a top institution graduating African American alums who successfully complete Medical School. Xavier also remains among the top ten in sending African American Graduates to Medical School.
Xavier University of Louisiana is recognized as a national leader in the sciences and the liberal arts.
For information about gifts to Xavier, please scan the QR code below.
• Xavier is recognized as a top 10 “Best Buy” private college by the 2024 Fiske Guide to Colleges
• Xavier was singled out as one of the nation’s best institutions for undergraduate education by The Princeton Review in the 2024 edition of its “The Best 386 Colleges” publication.
• Xavier was again ranked #3 in a special 2023 report on
• A recent American Medical Association (AMA) report revealed that Xavier remains a top institution graduating African American alums who successfully complete Medical School. Xavier also remains among the top ten in sending African American Graduates to Medical School.
Xavier University of Louisiana is recognized as a national leader in the sciences and the liberal arts:
• Data from the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) indicates that Xavier’s College of Pharmacy ranks #2 nationally in awarding first professional Doctor of Pharmacy degrees to African Americans.
• Data from the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) indicates that Xavier’s College of Pharmacy ranks #2 nationally in awarding first professional Doctor of Pharmacy degrees to African Americans.
• Xavier is recognized as a top 10 “Best Buy” private college by the 2024 Fiske Guide to Colleges
• Xavier was singled out as one of the nation’s best institutions for undergraduate education by The Princeton Review in the 2024 edition of its “The Best 386 Colleges” publication.
• Xavier was again ranked #3 in a special 2023 report on the “Best Catholic Colleges and Universities” by the Edvocate.
• National Science Foundation data demonstrates that Xavier is ranked the #3 undergraduate source of African American students who go on to complete Doctoral degrees in Physical and Earth Sciences, and is ranked fifth for those who go on to complete Doctoral degrees in Life Sciences.
• National Science Foundation data demonstrates that Xavier is ranked the #3 undergraduate source of African American students who go on to complete Doctoral degrees in Physical and Earth Sciences, and is ranked fifth for those who go on to complete Doctoral degrees in Life Sciences.
• According to the U.S. Department of Education, Xavier ranks second nationally in the number of African American students earning undergraduate degrees in Chemistry and the Physical Sciences overall, and number six in Biological and Biomedical Sciences.
• Xavier’s bachelor’s degree in biology program has been ranked #1 by Study. com using data from the Department of Education, including tuition, retention, and graduation rates.
• Xavier’s bachelor’s degree in biology program has been ranked #1 by Study. com using data from the Department of Education, including tuition, retention, and graduation rates.
• Despite Xavier’s Neuroscience program just starting in 2017, the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) found that Xavier ranks highly in the number of African American 2022 baccalaureate degree Neuroscience graduates.
• Xavier was identified as a 2023 Military Times Best for Vets Institution.
• Xavier was recently named the Best HBCU in the state of Louisiana by University Headquarters (University HQ), an independent hub of resources and information for those considering higher education.
• Despite Xavier’s Neuroscience program just starting in 2017, the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) found that Xavier ranks highly in the number of African American 2022 baccalaureate degree Neuroscience graduates.
• The Wall Street Journal/ Times Higher Education College Rankings notes Xavier as one of the 2023 Best Colleges in America
• Xavier was identified as a 2023 Military Times Best for Vets Institution.
• Xavier was recently named
• According to a report by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, Xavier University of Louisiana is the highest-ranking HBCU regarding students’ 15, 30, and 40-year return on investment (ROI)
• OnlineU, a college research resource website, recently published a report noting that Xavier University of Louisiana offers the highest financial payoff for Black graduates
• According to a report by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, Xavier University of Louisiana is the highest-ranking HBCU regarding students’ 15, 30, and 40-year return on
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College Department
Arts & Sciences Chemistry
Arts & Sciences Chemistry
Arts & Sciences Education & Counseling
Institutional Office of Research & Sponsored Programs (ORSP)
Institutional ORSP
Pharmacy Division of Clinical & Administrative Sciences (DCAS)
Pharmacy Division of Basic & Pharmaceutical Sciences (DBPS)
Arts & Sciences Chemistry
PI First Name
PI Last Name Sponsor Project Title
Asem Abdulahad National Science Foundation (NSF)
Asem Abdulahad NSF
Renee Akbar U.S. Department of Education (DoEd)
Kaneisha Akinpelumi U.S. Economic Development Agency (EDA)
Kaneisha Akinpelumi NSF
Sara Al-Dahir National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Rami Al-Horani NIH
Mehnaaz Ali NSF
Arts & Sciences Chemistry Mehnaaz Ali NIH
Arts & Sciences Biology Partha Bhattacharjee NIH
Arts & Sciences Biology Hector Biliran NIH
Pharmacy DBPS Robert Blake NSF
Catalyst Project: Incorporating Inclusive Teaching Practices in the Design of a Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience in Polymer Chemistry
Xavier-Uchicago Partnership for Research & Education in Materials for Energy Storage & Sensing
NOLA SEED - A Project to Improve & Expand Nontraditional Educator Pathways
Build Back Better Technical Assistance Award - Gulf Coast Health Sciences Corridor Phase 1
NSF Engines: Louisiana Energy Transition Engine - Future Use of Energy in Louisiana (FUEL)
Using a Telehealth Model to Address Vaccine Hesitancy and Increase Vaccine Completion Among Communities in Southeastern Louisiana
Inhibitors of Human Factor XIIIa as New Anticoagulants
Excellence in Research: MicroRNA Detection Strategies via Exploration of Flavin Binding Allosteric Switches
Xavier University of Louisiana-Mobile Outreach for Laboratory Enrichment (XULA-MOLE)
PP2A targeted protection of retinal pigment epithelial cell against oxidative stress
Role of the Transcriptional Corepressor TLE1 in the Lung Adenocarcinoma Aggressiveness and Progression
Excellence in Research: Spectroelectrochemical Measurements on Intact Microorganisms Under Oxic and Anoxic Conditions
Pharmacy DBPS Robert Blake Department of Defense (DoD) Mechanisms used by Cycloclasticus pugetii to oxidize polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
Arts & Sciences Biology Christopher Bolden LA Cancer Research Center (LCRC)
Institutional Office of the President/ Chemistry/Pharmacy -DBPS
Gene/Guangdi/ Christopher D’Amour/Wang/Williams NIH
Arts & Sciences Chemistry Stassi DiMaggio NIH
Arts & Sciences Chemistry Stassi/Mehnaaz/ Robin DiMaggio/Ali/Vander NSF
Arts & Sciences Chemistry Samrat Dutta NSF
Arts & Sciences Chemistry
Institutional Chemistry & Office of the Provost
Institutional Chemistry & Office of the Provost
Institutional Chemistry & Office of the Provost
Maryam Foroozesh NIH
Maryam/Kathleen/ Marguerite
Maryam/Kathleen/ Marguerite
Maryam/Kathleen/ Marguerite
Foroozesh/Morgan/Giguette NIH
Foroozesh/Morgan/Giguette NIH
Foroozesh/Morgan/ Marguerite NIH
Evaluating the role of neurotoxic reactive astrocytes in an in vitro model of glioblastoma
Xavier RCMI Center for Cancer Research
Development of a Targeted Drug Delivery System
Xavier ADVANCE Adaptation - Supporting Transformation: Intersectional Directions to Engender Success (STrIDES)
Research Initiation Award: Analyzing Imidazolium-Based Ionic Liquid Systems Using C-D Vibrational Labels on Cations
Developing Inhibitors of Cytochrome P450 2A6 to Investigate Polymorphism
BUILD at Xavier, Project Pathways II (Student Training Core)
BUILD at Xavier, Project Pathways II (Administrative & Institutional Development Core)
BUILD at Xavier, Project Pathways II (Research Enrichment Core)
Institutional XULA Art Collection Daniele Gair LA Endowment for the Humanities Xavier University Art Collection and Gallery Emergency Planning Initiative
Arts & Sciences Physics & Computer Science Morewell Gasseller National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA)
Arts & Sciences Physics & Computer Science
Arts
Arts & Sciences Physics & Computer Science
Mission Earth: Fusing GLOBE with NASA Assets to Build Systemic Innovation in STEM Education
NASA XULA Surface-Based Measurement Initiative for Environmental/Air Quality Monitoring
GP-EXTRA: Using a Multidisciplinary Approach to Environment Geo-Risk Analysis Careers
Morewell Gasseller NSF
Arts & Sciences Education & Counseling Timothy Glaude NSF
Arts & Sciences Physics & Computer Science Ouloide Yannick Goue U.S. Department of Energy (DoE)
Environmental Computing and Community Engagement in Undergraduate STEM Education
Broadening Participation Research Center: HBCU Center for Math Education and Research
Training the Future of Renewable Energy
Arts & Sciences CAS-Dean Ouloide Yannick Goue DoE HERO
Arts & Sciences Chemistry Navneet Goyal NIH
Arts & Sciences Public Health Sciences L. Faye Grimsley City of New Orleans
Arts & Sciences Public Health Sciences L. Faye Grimsley National Academies of Sciences (NAS)
Arts & Sciences Public Health Sciences Tyra Gross HRSA
Arts & Sciences Biology Joanna Haye NIH
Arts & Sciences Physics & Computer Science Matthew Hayes NSF
Institutional Office of Student Success Nathaniel Holmes DoEd
Arts & Sciences Biology Thomas Huckaba NIH
Arts & Sciences Biology Thomas Huckaba NIH
Arts & Sciences Biology/Chemistry Thomas/Guangdi Huckaba/Wang NIH
Arts & Sciences Biology Shubha Ireland NSF
Design and Synthesis of Small Molecules as Inhibitors of Cytochrome P450 2A6 for Tobacco Use Cessation
Advancing Health Literacy in Racial and Ethnic Communities in Response to COVID-19
Bridging the Gap between Climate Change and Determinants of Health in South Louisiana
Maternal and Child Health Equity Research and Engagement Center (MA CHERE)
Regulation and Localization of Mismatch Repair Proteins
Research Initiation Award: Computational Inference of Mechanisms Underlying Double Minute Chromosome Formation
XULA McNair Scholars Program
Louisiana Biomedical Research Network (LBRN)
Developing a First in Class Reverse Transcriptase Degrader for the Treatment of HIV Infection
Developing a Selective PROTAC of Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase for Treatment of ALK+ NSCLC
Targeted Infusion Project: Course Based Research Experiences for all Biology Freshmen: A Model for Increased Retention
College Department PI First Name PI Last Name Sponsor Project Title
Arts & Sciences Physics & Computer Science Shafiqul Islam Office of Naval Research
Institutional Division of Global Engagement Yu Jiang U.S. Department of State
Diversifying and Engaging the Navy Through Technical Education and Recruitment Partnerships for Research Innovations in Science and Engineering
Develop Impactful Vietnam-based Education Abroad and Reimangine Student Engagement
Pharmacy Office of the Dean Kathleen Kennedy HRSA Centers of Excellence (COE-HBCU)
Pharmacy Office of the Dean Kathleen Kennedy NIH
Arts & Sciences Public Health Sciences Megan Knapp USDA
Arts & Sciences Public Health Sciences Megan Knapp USDA
Arts & Sciences Public Health Sciences Megan Knapp NIH
Precision Medicine, Education, Data Informatics and Community Translation Institute (PREDICT)
Addressing Food Insecurity and Dietary Behaviors Among College Students at Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) in the United States
Collaborating to Increase Diversity in Nutrition and Dietetics
Evaluation of New Orleans Healthy Kids Beverage Menu Ordinance
Arts & Sciences Chemistry Vladimir Kolesnichenko NIH Cancer-Specific Magnetic Imaging Agent
Arts & Sciences Biology Anup Kundu NIH
Pharmacy DBPS KiTani Lemieux NIH
Arts & Sciences Chemistry Lamartine Meda DoE
Arts & Sciences Chemistry Lamartine Meda NSF
Arts & Sciences Biology Syed Muniruzzaman NSF
Arts & Sciences Public Health Sciences Marion Okon NIH
Arts & Sciences Chemistry Florastina Payton-Stewart NIH
Arts & Sciences Chemistry Florastina/Shuba Payton-Stewart/Ireland NSF
Arts & Sciences Business Mark Quinn U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)
Arts & Sciences Biology Harish Ratnayaka NAS
Arts & Sciences Chemistry & Office of the Dean Kevin/Anderson Riley/Sunda-Meya NSF
Institutional Office of Facility Planning & Management Helena Robinson DoE
Formulation of a Targeted Nanoparticle System for the Treatment of Chemoresistant Breast Cancer
Xavier University of Louisiana Helps, Educates, Advocates, and Leads in Collaborativ Outreach and Member Mentorship in UNITY (XULA HEALs in the CommUNITY)
EFRC: Center for Mesoscale Transport Properties
Excellence in Research: Investigation of Interfacial Chemical and Ion Transport in Solid Inorganic-Polymer Electrolytes
LA Alliance for Minority Participation Senior Alliance - LAMP
Impact of Comorbidities on Clinical Acute PostStroke Hyperglycemia
Irreversible Estrogen Receptor Inhibitors
Broadening Life STEM Participation Among Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Small Business Development Center
The Mississippi River Delta Transition Initiative (MissDelta)
Excellence in Research (EiR): Investigations of Small Molecule Absorption and Conversion on the Semiconductor/IonicLiquid Interface and Application to Sensing and Catalysis (SUPPLEMENT)
Awareness to Transformation (A2 T): Accelerating Student Learning & Employment Outcomes in Clean Energy
Arts & Sciences English Robin Runia National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Maria Edgeworth Letters
Pharmacy DBPS Dinithia Sampson NIH
Pharmacy DBPS Sunil Sirohi NIH
Arts & Sciences Chemistry Jayalakshmi Sridhar NSF
Arts & Sciences Chemistry
Arts & Sciences Chemistry
Jayalakshmi Sridhar NIH
Jayalakshmi Sridhar NIH
Arts & Sciences Chemistry Jayalakshmi/Kevin Sridhar/Riley NSF
Arts & Sciences Office of the Dean Anderson Sunda-Meya EDA
Arts & Sciences Education & Counseling Kim Vaz-Deville LA Board of Regents
Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health
The Impact of Patterned Feeding of a Palatable Diet on Excessive Alcohol Drinking
Enabling deliberative science communication between science and non-science faculty, students at Xavier University of Louisiana
Development of Pyrazoles and Related Heterocyclic Compounds as Anti-Cancer Agents: Design, Synthesis and Anti-Cancer Activity Studies (Mentor)
Development of Casein Kinase 1 epsilon Inhibitors with Improved Potency
Excellence in Research- Dimeric Bis-Naphthoquinone Formation Via a Green and Straightforward Approach Mechanistic and Adaptability Studies
H2theFuture: A Transformative Energy Cluster Strategy to Decarbonize the South Louisiana Industrial Corridor
The Art of Resistance: Sacred Visual Creations of New Orleans’ African American Mardi Gras Maskers
Arts & Sciences Education & Counseling Kim Vaz-Deville LA Division of the Arts New Orleans Baby Doll Maskers Recapturing Afro-Creole Language and Culture
Arts & Sciences Chemistry Abha Verma NIH
Designing, synthesizing and evaluating novel 1,2,3-triazole compounds as potential CB1- receptor antagonists for the treatment of psychostimulants
Arts & Sciences Political Science Pamela Waldron-Moore NSF How Built and Social Environments Affect COVID-19 Disaster Impacts in the Gulf of Mexico
Arts & Sciences Chemistry Terry Watt NSF RUI: Mapping lysine deacetylase substrate selectivity
Arts & Sciences Chemistry Terry Watt NIH Factors contributing to the specificity of lysine deacetylases
Pharmacy DBPS Thomas Wiese USDA Activated Foods Promote Health
Pharmacy
Pharmacy
Pharmacy
DBPS Thomas Wiese LCRC Louisiana Cancer Research Center - Operating Grant
DBPS Christopher Williams NIH Effect of CX4945 in Tamoxifen Resistant Bca
DBPS Christopher Williams U.S. Department of Commerce
Establishing Testbeds for Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing Workforce Development in Louisiana, North Carolina, Maryland, Delaware, and Texas
Pharmacy DCAS LaKeisha Williams NIH Louisiana Clinical and Translational Science Center (LaCaTS)
Pharmacy DCAS LaKeisha Williams NIH LA-CEAL - Louisiana Community Engagement Research Alliance Against COVID-19 in Disproportionately Affected Communities
Pharmacy DCAS Lakeisha Williams NIH
Enhancing Louisiana Health Professionals in Communication Methods/Strategies to Increase COVID 19 Vaccination Rates of Residents of Vulnerable Communities
Arts & Sciences Chemistry Heather Williamson NIH Exploring the pH sensitivity of Hemoglobin Compound II autoreduction mechanism
Arts & Sciences Chemistry Heather Williamson NIH Exploring the Protein Structural Features Which Regulate Myoglobin’s Proton Transfer Dependent High-Valent Reduction
Arts & Sciences Physics & Computer Science Kun Zhang NIH
Trans-omics Integration of Multi-omics for Male Osteoporosis
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“If
we wish to serve God and love our neighbor well, we must manifest our joy in the service we render to Him and them. Let us open wide our hearts. It is joy which invites us. Press forward and fear nothing.”
– Saint Katharine Drexel
