iCubed

Usman is majoring in Chemistry with a concentration in Biochemistry. He is interested in immigrant populations and the different challenges they face in the healthcare world. As an aspiring surgeon, he hopes to work towards a healthcare community that is inclusive of all people no matter race, socioeconomic background, and gender. His current research is looking at different cognitive treatments for Alzheimer's patients in Richmond in hopes to establish a Neuro-Cardio clinic and brain center.

Mentor - Dr. Lana Sargent 

Brian Battle is a student in the master’s degree program in Gerontology at Virginia Commonwealth University. He graduated from VCU with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a minor in English in 2021. He works as a research assistant in the Department of Gerontology assisting with the Medication Management and ISP programs. His research interests include geropsychological theories and interventions, health equity, the history of psychology, and poetry and poetics.

Mentor - Dr. Faika Zanjani 

Emily is a first-year graduate student in VCU’s Environmental Studies Master’s Program who is also pursuing a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) certificate from the Wilder School. She has years of experience farming around the state of Virginia and brings that knowledge into her research. Her research involves using GIS to find the areas most suitable for urban agriculture around the Richmond Metro Area using a layered approach that considers systemic factors, such as redlining, which have impacted the equitable distribution of greenspaces since the 1930s. 

Mentor - Dr. John Jones

Christian Johnson is a senior majoring in health science, his field of interest is in dementia research. His particular interest is in developing and discovering new health tech interventions to support dementia caregivers. He is currently working towards his goal of creating a mobile health application that addresses what is currently lacking in the literature pertaining to dementia caregiver mobile health support. His immediate post-graduation plans are working on a master's in biomedical sciences which will allow him to continue his research and prepare him for medical school.

Mentor - Dr. Faika Zanjani 

Ariana is a senior majoring in Psychology with a minor in education. Her research interests include the mental health of Latinx students, transgenerational trauma, and the educational development of children. After graduation, she plans on attending graduate school to become a grade school teacher before pursuing a PhD in Psychology and teaching in higher education, where she hopes to continue conducting research with the purpose of uplifting the Latinx community.

Mentor - Dr. Oswaldo Moreno

Amy graduated from Virginia Tech in 2020, earning a B.S. in Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience. During this time, Amy cultivated a passion for understanding the ways that individual factors and environmental contexts play a role in developmental processes throughout the lifespan. This lead Amy to the field of counseling, in which she joined the Counselor Education 2021 cohort at Virginia Commonwealth University and pursued the School Counseling track. Set to graduate with a M.Ed. in Counselor Education in May 2023, Amy looks forward to working with students in the Richmond Metropolitan Area as a professional school counselor while continuing research in the field of Health & Wellness in Aging.

Mentor - Dr. Ana Diallo

Jonathan is a junior psychology major with a concentration in pre-graduate school. As a part of the Health and Wellness in Aging Populations core, his research interests include memory and neurodegenerative diseases due to aging. He also focuses on investigating human cognition and learning. After obtaining his degree, he plans to study cognitive psychology in graduate school as a prospective cognitive psychologist.

Mentor - Dr. Ana Diallo 

Meghan Farkas is a second-year graduate student at VCU in the Doctoral Occupational Therapy Program. She obtained her undergraduate degree in Exercise Science at VCU in 2019. She is part of the core Health and Wellness in Aging Populations and has the opportunity to be mentored by Annie Rhodes, M.S CGCM. Her research interests involve working with vulnerable populations in the Richmond Community, as well as brain health and occupational engagement for those with cognitive deficits or disabilities. After graduation, Meghan hopes to enter the workforce as an Occupational Therapist in the acute care setting with adults and pediatrics, as well as obtain the Aging in Place Specialist Certification.

Mentor - Ann Rhodes 

Raquel Jones is a third year student, majoring in Interdisciplinary Science with a concentration in Professional Science and a minor in Business. Her research interests include health disparities in women of color, including cancer treatment and occurrence, infertility, and the outcomes of such disparities. Raquel is also interested in the transgenerational trauma experienced by African Americans, and its impact on black experiences. After graduation, she plans to pursue a career in public health to further investigate adverse health outcomes in women, and promote change in the health system.

Mentor - Dr. Kristina Hood 

Sania Pullen is a sophomore at VCU majoring in pre-dental hygiene. Sania's research interest includes oral health disparities in refugee populations, racial and social inequalities, and learning about how these disparities affect access to dental care in disadvantaged communities.

After graduation, Sania plans to pursue her career as a dental hygienist and advocate for marginalized populations that lack access to dental care in her community.

Mentor - Dr. Dina Garcia

Nicole Serna is a junior at VCU majoring in Photography with Art History and Sociology minors. Her research interests are in Latinxs Culture and Art while using photography to engage and bring awareness to the systemic issues affecting these communities, specifically in academia. After graduation, Nicole plans to continue researching to advocate for change in the Latinxs community and become a professional photographer.

Mentor - Paul Rucker

Kwame Walker is a junior at VCU, majoring in Social Work. He is a prospective Social Work Practitioner, Archivist, Researcher, and Scholar on the intersections of race, gender, sexuality, socioeconomic status, and embodiment. He is interested in the ways Black Queer individuals build community, and archive their existence from the 1970s to the present. His career interests include macro-social work level community organizing and developing healing justice interventions for Black communities.

Mentor - Dr. Liz Canfield and Brooke Taylor 

Alyssa Mitchell is a sophomore at VCU with a major in Psychology and a minor in Criminal Justice. Her research interests include women’s healthcare disparities within the black community, specifically pertaining to pregnancy loss and access to methods of contraception amongst low-income communities. She plans to use her findings to promote change in the local communities within Richmond, Virginia. After graduation, she plans to obtain a professional degree in Clinical Psychology with a Forensic concentration and continue to fight for equal access to healthcare.

Mentor - Dr. Kristina Hood 

Annabelle Starr is a second-year student at VCU majoring in Painting & Printmaking with a minor in Art History. Her research interests include improving accessibility to arts education in underprivileged communities and investigating how art can serve to actuate positive change within urban communities. After graduating, she hopes to attend grad school for her MFA and teach painting at the collegiate level.

Mentor - Paul Rucker

Mentor - Dr. Cecelia Valrie