McNair Scholars

Meet current student scholars who have received doctoral degrees from some of the most prestigious institutions in the nation.

View Past McNair Scholars.

Meet Our Current McNair Scholars

Hiba Babekr

Research: First-Generation Teens Frequency In Seeking Mental Health Support Through Social Media
Faculty Mentor: Jessica Hamilton, Ph.D.

Rouan Esmail

Research: Development of fusion immunogens to characterize the T cell response in age-dependent La Crosse virus encephalitis
Faculty Mentor: Bobby Herrera, Ph.D.

Kaneshia Freeman

Research: Cloning & Characterizing of Novel Small Proteins Found in Escherichia Coli
Faculty Mentor: Srujana Yadavalli, Ph.D.

Natalia Galarza

Research: Identification of CC2D1A Binding Partners
Faculty Mentor: Chiara Manzini, Ph.D.

Kayla Hebbon

Research: The Impact of Race on Parental Perceptions of Teens’ AI Technology Use
Faculty Mentor: Amy Jordan, Ph.D.

Juan Jaramillo

Research: Intelligence Assessments: A tale to be repeated?
Faculty Mentor: Michele Mekel, J.D.

Kaila Knight

Research: Gender Roles During the Black Power Era and Modern Day Attitudes About Marriage/Family Dynamics
Faculty Mentor: Akissi Britton, Ph.D.

Elias Tavera

Research: Promoting Stem Cell-Derived Spiral Ganglion Neuron Differentiation by Transcription factor Overexpression
Faculty Mentor: Kelvin Kwan

Lanai McAuley

Project: The Lines Aren’t Painted, They’re Constructed: Genevieve Gaignard’sEngagement With Accessibility In The Art Market
Faculty Mentor: Roxane Gay, Ph.D.

Yanaisy Santana

Research: “My Body Isn’t Mine:” Afro-Latina Reproductive Voices
Faculty Mentor: Zamora Omaris, Ph.D.

McNair Cohorts

McNair Scholars have attended, accepted, and received full funding and doctoral degrees from some of the most prestigious institutions in the nation including Rutgers University, Harvard University, Yale University, Stanford University, Cornell University, University of California-Berkeley, and University of Massachusetts.

2023 McNair Cohort

Front Row: Kayla Hebbon, Rouan Esmail, Yanaisy Santana, Kaneshia Freeman, Elias Tavera, Juan Jaramillo, Natalia Galarza, Lanai McAuley, Kaila Knight, Hiba Babekr

2022 McNair Cohort

Front Row: Natalie Garcia, Gabriella Bobadilla, Elvenie Desrosiers
Back Row: Daniel Rosario, Jean Paul Sadia, Austin Crawley, Sebastian Gallon

2021 McNair Cohort

Top Row: Aldazia Green, Cedano Saidy, Wen Shao, Tyshana Campbell, Sundus Reshid
Middle Row: Amalia Jimenez, Mohammad Wiswall, Jonathan Freire, Jenika Scott, Jassie Morcos
Bottom Row: Amina Meky, Errol Brown, Georgina Duker, Devin Williams, Henry Velasquez

2019 McNair Cohort

Front Row: Cassandra Gonzalez, Danielle McCarthy, Siris Rodriguez, Favour Imhomoh, Destiny Morales, Rachelle Rivera, Eliana Mercedes
Back Row: Janiya Peters, Zenaida Rosario, Ibraheem Ahmad, Julian Acevedo, Jeffrey Garcia-Sanchez, Yenny Tavarez

2018 McNair Cohort

Front Row: Channel Jordan, Janibell Encarnacion, Olivia Baker, Toyosi Dickson, Alyssa Rodriguez, Ashlee Belgrave
Back Row: Bashir Herbert, Mateo Arango, Takondwa Musa, Joshua Cox, Andrew Cruz, Michael Edwin, Kierra Pean, Destiny Boynton, Alyssen Rivers, Uchenna Achebe, Renatta Fordyce

2017 McNair Cohort

Front Row: Loriana Hines, Misty Branch, Samantha Lanni, Jessica Dufort, Laniquah Demps, Aleah Bailey
Back Row: Salman Hoque, Amelo Bacchus, Wai-Kit Chia, D'Ajanai Lee, Ja'wana Wilson, Jonathan Vides

2016 McNair Cohort

Front Row: Kelly Hannavi, Tanla Ayik, Kayla Fowler, Cindy Le, Diego Atehotura, Jing Wang, Jada Anderson
Back Row: Chrystal Spencer, Nicole Ramos, Michael Satterfield, Andres Villegas, Andrew Cannon, Gregory Tomaini, Melissa James, Alice Cooper, Alexis Clavijo, Kelsie Thorne

2015 McNair Cohort

Front Row: Amanda Autore, Kadeem Pratt, Maegan Kae Sunaz, Dr. James H. Whitney III (staff), Michelle Arias, Isamar Hernandez, Daniela Silva, Valeria Montoya, Melisa Dennis, Jinalben Parikh, Lindsey Williams, Jakora Holman (staff), Madeline Hernandez
Second Row: Miguel Vivar Lazo, Monica Torres, Katherine Wright, Mercedez Ruiz, Wanda Quintanilla, Jhanna Jean-Louis (staff)
Third Row: Victor Gatica, Joshua Tedesco, Tracey Lattimer, Kesia Sommerville, Jackasha Wiley (staff)

2014 McNair Cohort

Front Row: Jackasha Wiley (staff), Anastasia Groce, Gabriella Estevez, Jessie Davis, Marie Callahan, Mark Lockwood, Ashley Garner, Ismelka Gomez, Kamaria Guity, Jennifer Beaugris (staff)
Back Row: Maria Hernandez, Nathali Arias, Nicolas Holt, Tiffany Weems, Dr. James H. Whitney III (staff), Kristine Baffo

2013 McNair Cohort

Front Row: Dennis Sholler, Solangel Troncoso, Aya Sakar, Amanda Mammas-Rodriguez, Eden Mesfun, Ashley Mena, Colin Annand, Gurneet Sangha, Shifan Li, Sherif Ibrahim, Naima Chowdhury, Shantae Bedassie
Back Row: Drs. Mark West, Paul Poast, Kathe Newman, Melanye Price, Ronald Miskoff

2012 McNair Cohort

Front Row: Tiffany Mayers, Nadia Schuman, Kevin Dahaghi, Lucille Gardner, Aisha Van Pratt, Minna Sabbahi, Wendy Flores, Ayodele Adegbola, Irene Hseih, Shanee Smith, Faith Kyeremateng, Kenya Graham, Vanessa Sirmans, Banan Adelrahman, Amarilis Rodriguez