jwester@jhu.edu<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nWyman 356<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr. Jennifer Wester (she\/her) is the Director of the Office of Undergraduate Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity (URSCA), and an Associate Research Scholar in the Department of the History of Art. Appointed in 2023, Dr. Wester manages the awarding of undergraduate research grants and leads our research fellowship programs; chairs the annual Macksey Symposium; oversees the implementation of summer research programs for visiting undergraduates; and serves as Executive Secretary of the JHU chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. A member of the KSAS Undergraduate Education Leadership Team, she works to align research programs with curricular objectives and oversees assessment of co-curricular research activities. Dr. Wester holds a Ph.D. in the History of Art from Johns Hopkins University, and a B.A., summa cum laude,<\/em> in the History of Art and French from Middlebury College. Prior to joining URSCA, she was Associate Professor of Art History at Notre Dame of Maryland University, where she also served as the director of campus art galleries. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
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Abdul-Hakeem Imoro, Ed.D. <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Assistant Director<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\naimoro2@jhu.edu<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wyman 359 A<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr. Abdul-Hakeem Imoro (he\/him) is the Assistant Director of the Office of Undergraduate Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity (URSCA). In addition to mentoring undergraduates and supporting their development as researchers, he specializes in assessing our programs and services. Dr. Imoro holds an Ed.D. in Higher Education Administration and Policy from Widener University, an M.S. in Public Policy from Drexel University, and a B.A. in Communication Studies from Kean University. An expert in education policy, data analysis, and advocacy, he has spent many years as a researcher and analyst in a variety of contexts — from higher education to private firms to government agencies — always with a personal commitment to equity and inclusion.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Valentina Arecy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Program Specialist<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nvarcey1@jhu.edu<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wyman 359 B<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Valentina Arecy (she\/her) is the Program Specialist responsible for the planning and execution of our undergraduate research programs and initiatives; the management of our finances; and the coordination of our events. With a background in program management across the higher education, nonprofit, and tech sectors, Ms. Arecy has a wealth of experience both launching new programs and improving operational efficiencies in existing ones. Throughout her career, she has also maintained a firm commitment to student support and mentorship, and has served as an advisor to first-generation college students. Ms. Arecy holds an M.S. in Global Studies and International Relations with a concentration in Global Student Mobility from Northeastern University, and a B.S. in Business Management from Bridgewater State University. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Leroy Myers, Ph.D. <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nlmyers25@jhu.edu<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wyman 357<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr. Leroy Myers (he\/him) joined the URSCA office in May 2024 as the Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in Research Administration and Student Mentorship. In this role, Dr. Myers leads our community college programming and partnerships and serves as a research mentor for both visiting students and Johns Hopkins undergraduates. In addition, he serves as managing editor of the Macksey Journal<\/em>. A committed scholar of public history, Dr. Myers holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in History from the University of Oklahoma and a B.A. in History from the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
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Shalima Wellington<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Graduate Assistant<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nWyman 358<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shalima Wellington is a PhD candidate in the English Department at Johns Hopkins University. Her research focuses on 20th-century African American and Afro-Caribbean immigrant literature. As URSCA’s graduate assistant, she develops resources for undergraduate researchers, reviews submissions for the Macksey Symposium, offers feedback on student work, and provides general administrative support in the office. Prior to coming to Hopkins, she taught in the SEEK program at the City University of New York. She holds a B.A. in English and Spanish from Agnes Scott College and an M.A. in English Literature from Fordham University.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Karen Dong<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Undergraduate Assistant<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nWyman 358<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Karen Dong is a junior at Johns Hopkins University majoring in Classics, English, and Writing Seminars. She joined the URSCA office in November 2025 to fulfill a variety of administrative duties and to serve on the editorial board of the Macksey Journal<\/em>, our national undergraduate humanities research journal. At Hopkins, Karen also serves as the publicity manager for Witness Theater and for the a cappella group Adoremus. She formerly worked in the Library and Archives at the Baltimore Museum of Art, digitizing consignment records from the Women\u2019s Committee Sales and Rental Gallery.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nMeet our Undergraduate Research Ambassadors<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nURSCA’s Undergraduate Research Ambassadors are a select team of past and current recipients of URSCA grants and fellowships who have been trained to provide mentorship, guidance, and support to their peers at every stage of the research journey. Undergraduate Research Ambassadors hold regular office hours; organize workshops, conversations, and panel discussions; and represent URSCA at various campus events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Mamadou Thiam ’27<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nNatural Sciences<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Returning for his second year as a Research Ambassador, Mamadou Thiam is a senior University Undergraduate Research Fellow majoring in Molecular and Cellular Biology.\u00a0His UURF project\u00a0examines\u00a0the reason that nerve regeneration fails once we remove\u00a0particular energy\u00a0transporters in Schwann cells. To do this, he uses many techniques related to cell cultures, behavior tests, and mouse surgeries.\u00a0He has presented\u00a0this research\u00a0at both national and international conferences. Mamadou has\u00a0also\u00a0contributed to\u00a0several other investigations in his lab\u00a0at the School of Medicine, mostly\u00a0pertaining to\u00a0nerve regeneration and degeneration, monocarboxylate-ablated macrophage mouse models, and diabetic mouse models.\u00a0In addition,\u00a0he\u00a0is\u00a0involved in\u00a0global health research, examining emergency medical systems in West Africa\u00a0with a focus on community-level education and reducing EMS response times.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Anika Kale ’27<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nSocial Sciences<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anika Kale, a junior Public Health Studies major, is also entering her second year as a Research Ambassador.\u00a0She has been the\u00a0recipient of\u00a0both a\u00a0Dean\u2019s ASPIRE Grant\u00a0(2025-26) and a Summer PURA (2026),\u00a0for the pursuit of two related projects looking to reduce blindness in rural\u00a0India. For her ASPIRE project, she\u00a0conducted fieldwork in Maharashtra, India, to investigate why patients continue to refuse free cataract surgery even when it is brought to their door through Mobile Ophthalmic Units.\u00a0Her PURA project\u00a0aims to translate\u00a0the\u00a0qualitative findings from her ASPIRE research into a culturally grounded health communication strategy that uses\u00a0Powada, a traditional Maharashtrian storytelling and\u00a0folk art\u00a0form, to improve trust, health literacy, and acceptance of cataract surgery.\u00a0In addition to\u00a0her\u00a0independent research, Anika has worked in three different labs at JHU and beyond, and has research experience in regenerative medicine, evolutionary biology, and developmental biology. She has also presented research at national and regional conferences.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Gio Kim ’28<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nNatural Sciences<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gio Kim, a junior majoring in Medicine, Science, and the Humanities,\u00a0is returning for her second year as a Research Ambassador.\u00a0Gio is a\u00a0University Undergraduate Research\u00a0Fellow and\u00a0is working on a three-year\u00a0project that aims to uncover the genetic mechanisms underlying poor sleep in neurodegenerative diseases using a forward genetic screen in Drosophila.\u00a0Since the fall of her first year at Hopkins, she has been working in the Mark Wu Lab in the Department of Neurology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, where she began her studies of the bidirectional relationship between sleep and neurodegeneration that informed her UURF proposal. She currently works with Dr. Mehmet Keles to continue studying potential genetic modifiers of\u00a0tau-induced\u00a0neurotoxicity. She previously worked as a research assistant in a stem cell biology and regenerative medicine lab at the University of Southern California, where she investigated the requirement of atoh1a enhancers for zebrafish inner ear hair cell regeneration using CRISPR\/Cas9 genome editing, and she presented her findings at the USC Summer Research Symposium.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Alessia Iannuzzi ’27<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nPublic Health<\/p>\n\n\n\n
New to the Research Ambassador team in 2026, Alessia Iannuzzi is a Molecular & Cellular Biology major and a University Undergraduate Research Fellow.\u00a0She has been working in the Johnston Lab in KSAS since September of her first year,\u00a0and for her UURF project, has been studying the role of MEIS2 in regulating cell fate decisions in retinal organoids. Through this work, she has gained experience in human stem cell culture, immunohistochemistry, and cellular birth-dating techniques to investigate mechanisms of retinal development.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Imad Ahmed ’28<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nNatural Sciences<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Imad Ahmed is a junior\u00a0University Undergraduate Research Fellow\u00a0majoring in Public Health Studies.\u00a0His research aims to understand the potential role of irisin in inhibiting the progression of Parkinson\u2019s Disease. Over the past few years, he has also worked in\u00a0both a neuroimmunology lab and a neuroscience lab at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School.\u00a0Imad is new to the Research Ambassador team in 2026, but has already been providing peer research support informally, including helping students navigate the grant application process.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Bryce Leiberman ’29<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Humanities and Social Sciences<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bryce Leiberman is a sophomore majoring in Political Science with a minor in Philosophy. He is\u00a0in his first year as a University Undergraduate Research Fellow, and as an Undergraduate Research Ambassador. Bryce\u2019s UURF project looks at gender polarization in young adult white men, within the context of the \u201cmanosphere\u2019s\u201d influence. His research entails qualitative interviewing as well as coding and aims to develop core explanations for gender polarization and\u00a0identify\u00a0potential pathways to reducing division. In addition to his\u00a0UURF project, he has worked in the\u00a0SNF Agora Institute\u2019s\u00a0Democracy and Division Lab helping to study the effects of media exposure on political polarization.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Contact us General inquiries: ursca@jhu.edu Wyman Park Building, Suite 350 3100 Wyman Park Drive Baltimore, MD 21211 Jennifer Wester, PhD Director jwester@jhu.edu Wyman 356 Dr. Jennifer Wester (she\/her) is the Director of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":5,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1739","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/krieger.jhu.edu\/ursca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/krieger.jhu.edu\/ursca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/krieger.jhu.edu\/ursca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krieger.jhu.edu\/ursca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krieger.jhu.edu\/ursca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1739"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/krieger.jhu.edu\/ursca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1739\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5183,"href":"https:\/\/krieger.jhu.edu\/ursca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1739\/revisions\/5183"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krieger.jhu.edu\/ursca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/krieger.jhu.edu\/ursca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Dr.](\"https:\/\/krieger.jhu.edu\/ursca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/86\/2025\/10\/JW-Headshot-d3-1-scaled.jpg\")
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