Alexis S. Lewis, PhD

Alexis (Alex) Stutzman Lewis (B.S. in Biological Sciences, University of Chicago; Ph.D. in Genetics & Molecular Biology, University of North Carolina) is a postdoctoral research scientist and E.E. Just Fellow at Columbia University’s Zuckerman Institute for Mind, Brain & Behavior. Her work in Dr. Bianca Jones Marlin’s lab seeks to understand the molecular mechanisms by which traumatic experiences impact sensory development in future generations. She is an expert in epigenetics and genomics, and is passionate about promoting equitable access to scientific education and career opportunities. She founded Black In Genetics, has served in a variety of leadership positions, and cites her involvement in Black In Genetics as her most meaningful accomplishment. In her spare time, Alex enjoys spending time with her family, reading books, playing video games, and taking her yorkie to the park.

Kimberlyn Ellis

Kimberlyn (Kim) Ellis (B.S. in Biology, Spelman College) is a doctoral candidate at the Vanderbilt Genetics Institute actively working to diversify and advance genomics-centered interdisciplinary research. Her expertise lies at the intersection of computational genomics, bioethics, and health policy, with the ultimate goal to promote equitable precision medicine for underserved populations. In her free time, Kim enjoys cooking, painting, reading, and spending time with her family.

Adetola Abdulkadir, MS

Adetola (Ade) is a bioinformatics scientist at the Medical Device Innovation Consortium (MDIC), where he focuses on the detection of genetic cancer biomarkers through computational diagnostic assays. Ade’s work includes developing benchmarks for low-frequency (mosaic) variants to support precision medicine efforts. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Computational Biology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), and a master’s degree in Bioinformatics from the University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC). Ade is particularly interested in advancing personalized medicine through liquid biopsy technologies and data-driven approaches to early cancer detection.

Randy Williams, MS

Randy is a PhD candidate in Biostatistics at Harvard University. He received his BA in Mathematics from Fordham University and later transitioned to the field of Biostatistics. After receiving a MS in Biostatistics at Columbia University, he worked as an Associate Researcher at Mount Sinai. His work at Mount Sinai involved analyzing placental epi/genomic data to investigate how molecular traits shape an infant’s disease susceptibility and response to environmental exposures. At Harvard, he works in the lab of Dr. Rafael Irizarry. He is interested in the development of statistical tools that help researchers analyze and better interpret genomic data. His current research specifically focuses on methylation and the epigenetics of aging.

Lynette Strickland, PhD

Lynette is an Assistant Professor in the Biology Department at Boston University. They were born and raised in Austin, Texas and completed their Bachelor's degree at Texas A&M University-Galveston. Lynette’s intrigue with tortoise beetles (Cassidines) began while she was hiking through the mountains of La Fortuna, Panama during a tropical ecology field course as a first year graduate student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She was immediately enamored by the striking coloration of these insects and her fascination by these "living jewels" has only grown since then. They are also into consuming too much reality tv, exploring new places, taking an obnoxious number of photos of my cats, red wines, and chocolatey stouts.

Markia Smith, PhD

Expert II, Data Science (Oncology) at Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research
PhD Student, Pathobiology and Translational Science at the UNC Chapel Hill
B.S. University of Delaware
Markia applies integrative genomic and statistical approaches to study tumor biology and identify biomarkers for oncology clinical trials.