FAMU students awarded 2013-14 McKnight Doctoral Fellowships

Fellow Gladys Asong, FAMU Interim Assistant Vice President for Research and Dean for Graduate Studies Verian Thomas, President and CEO of the Florida Education Fund Lawrence Morehouse, and fellows Ivory Council and Cherrishe Brown.

Eight FAMU students were named 2013-2014 McKnight Doctoral Fellows (MDFs). The MDF Program is administered by the Florida Education Fund (FEF), and provides opportunities for historically underrepresented individuals to pursue Ph.D.s at nine participating universities within the state of Florida. 

Three of the 56 new fellows will be attending FAMU in the fall.  They are the following individuals:

· Gladys Asong received her B.S. in chemistry and Pharm.D. from FAMU. She will be pursuing doctoral studies in medicinal chemistry in the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (COPPS). Asong seeks to discover new drugs from plants and hopes to develop medications with reduced side effects, thus increasing patient compliance and ultimately, societal wellness.

· Ivory Council will be pursuing her doctoral studies in environmental chemistry. Council is currently making radiological assessments of Florida phosphate pit lakes after the completion of phosphate mining. She hopes that her research will lead to a better understanding of radiation transfer between various media in reclaimed pit lake environments.

· Cherrishe Brown, who will be pursuing her doctoral studies in health outcomes research and pharmacoeconomics.

In addition, six other FAMU students were awarded McKnight Doctoral Fellowships to attend other universities within the state. Brandon Armstrong will be attending the University of Florida (UF) to study political science; Henrietta Fasanya will be pursuing interdisciplinary studies in biomedical sciences at UF; Allen Starke will be pursuing his studies in electrical engineering at UF; Lauren Thomas will be studying mathematics at the University of Central Florida (UCF); Rasheda Thompson will be attending Florida State University (FSU) to pursue studies in developmental psychology; and Vickie Tyler, who obtained her J.D. from FAMU, will be attending UCF to pursue her studies in public affairs.

Many of these minority Ph.D. graduates are currently employed as college and university faculty in the state of Florida and across the nation.

Some of the McKnight doctoral graduates, who are currently employed as FAMU faculty, are Shawnta Friday-Stroud, Gary Paul, Mark House, Fran Close, Yvonne McIntosh, Nathaniel Johnson, Bobby Granville, Carl Goodman, Selina Darling-Reed, Richard Gragg, Brenda Jarmon, John Warford and Sonya Stephens.