Rising Black Scientists Awards

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On this last day of #BlackHistoryMonth, I wanted to take a moment to revisit the essays from the four winners of the Rising Black Scientists Awards. cell.com/diversity/awards #BlackinSTEM @CellCellPress

I had the incredible privilege of working with these four remarkable young Black scientists @CellCellPress.

Their words and stories are so inspiring. Theirs are tales of insight, resolve, ambition and seemingly limitless hope. Stories like theirs show how the true catalysts for change have only just begun their work.

Camryn Carter tells the story of the "isolating feeling of being the only person of color in a classroom" and how she "survived behind a weary smile." cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(23)00058-2

She recounts gaining the confidence through research to shed her weary smile and confidently say, "I am a proud Black scientist." She wants "to help others cast aside their weary smiles and confidently say they are too."

Admirabilis Kalolella talks about spending Christmas as a child in Mngeta, Tanzania. There, he helped his father provide healthcare and realized "how important giving back is." cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(23)00060-0

He wondered how he could use his "knowledge to benefit my community," and the answer led him to his current studies and his desire "to be a physician-scientist."

He also talks about the "self-doubt" when he "walk[s] into lab and class to see that [he is] the only Black person." He helps students with "limited resources, to receive the best education they can... to see more people like me in STEM and higher education."

Representation in STEM is so important. One needs to see others like them in the room as colleagues, teachers and mentors. Many do not seek or persist in STEM careers because they do not see their reflection, and that is society's loss.

Elijah Malik Persad-Paisley tells a story that begins with transcending socioeconomic status only to find continued "outward rejection." He "suspected that racism lay at the root of this lack of acceptance." cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(23)00057-0 @elijahpp_

He was drawn to medicine, where he found that, as is all too unfortunately common, his "class of 144 students contained only three Black men." He has already accomplished a staggering amount of DEI-based research and community work.

He aspires to be a plastic surgeon and "aim[s] to continue my disparities research in the hopes of improving representation and equitable patient care in medicine." His accomplishments thus far should encourage us all.

Dr. Christine Wilkinson tells the story of kid who chased urban wildlife and grew into a "conservation scientist who considers ethics, justice, and elevating community voices to be critical for affecting...conservation change." cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(23)00059-4 @ScrapNaturalist

She speaks of recognizing her positionality and how she can "deeply relate to the wildlife" she studies. And she writes of "bittersweet mirrored experiences [that] provide avenues for connection." Her "research species...reflected [her] own intersectionality."

She writes: "Coyotes...have a story that mirrors that of my Black slave ancestors and my own: they were historically ubiquitously persecuted, are in many places still considered shoot-on-sight “vermin,” yet have managed to persist, recover, and thrive nonetheless."

She plans to "develop strategies for more positive human-wildlife interactions while connecting people who are different from one another."

These four essays are worth a (re)read and reflection, not just because it is #BlackHistoryMonth but because they comprise a truly motivational and inspiring collection. Their themes are relevant 24/7/365. A huge thank you to all four for sharing their work.