Current IMSD Graduate Fellows

 
 

Kimberly Diaz Perez (GMB)

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Kimberly Diaz Perez was born and raised in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. In 2018, she obtained her undergraduate degree in Biology from Georgia State University. Currently, she is a graduate student in the Genetics & Molecular Biology program at Emory University, studying potential disease-related genetic variants using bioinformatics tools. 

 Cheyenne Lee (MMG)

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Cheyenne Lee is from Cheraw, South Carolina and she graduated with a BS in biotechnology from The University of North Carolina at Pembroke in May 2019. At UNCP, she worked with Dr. Conner Sandefur on characterizing the antimicrobial properties of Lumbee Native American herbal teas under the NSF-COMPASS and NIH-RISE programs. Currently, she is a first year graduate student in the Microbiology and Molecular Genetics (MMG) program interested in studying fundamental microbiology in bacterial cells.
 

Lewis Marquez (MSP)

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Lewis was born and raised in Pacoima, California. He completed his undergraduate degree in 2018 at the California State University, Northridge where he spent two and a half years as a research assistant in an organic chemistry laboratory synthesizing biologically active benzimidazole compounds. As of August 2018, he is a graduate student in the Molecular and Systems Pharmacology program and is interested in developing new therapies for neurodegenerative diseases.

 Quincy McKoy (Chem)

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Quincy McKoy was born in Brooklyn, NY and lived in New York until the age of 15 when he moved to Chester, VA. In 2014, he graduated from Thomas Dale High School in Chester before going on to pursue my undergraduate studies at the University of Richmond. Originally, he intended on being an accounting major. However, following a summer in the pre-freshman URISE program which allowed him to do many things including research with Dr. Carol Parish, he explored majoring in chemistry. That first summer he used quantum mechanics to study tautomerization in small molecules. He was fortunate to research with Dr. Parish for all four years of undergrad, including summers. The main project that he worked on throughout this time focused on using molecular dynamics to understand the interaction between enediyne antibiotics and DNA. In May 2018, he graduated from the University of Richmond having majored in chemistry while also minoring in mathematics and economics (couldn’t stay too far from business school). He is excited to join the Department of Chemistry at Emory and intends to study some combination of total synthesis and methods development.
 

Sarahna Moyd (EHS)

 Sarahna Moyd
Sarahna Moyd was born and raised in sunny Phoenix, AZ.  She completed a B.S. in Molecular and Cellular Biology, with minors in chemistry and anthropology at the University of Arizona in 2013.  She realized her love of science and interest in research would include the life, physical, and social sciences. While participating in a NSF predoctoral training program, her PI encouraged her to explore Environmental and Occupational Health to unite her unique interests.  She then pursued a MPH in Maternal and Child Health at the Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, also at the University of Arizona, to understand how place and space influence health of women, families, and infants. Her MPH and experience in public health practice provide context to examine public health through maternal health and early life development.  She is now a doctoral student in the Environmental Health Science program at the Rollins School of Public Health where she intends to explore psychosocial and other environmental determinants of human reproduction, developmental origins of health, as well as community-based approaches to sustainable wellness.

 Rachel Parker (Biostat)

 
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Rachel Parker is a native of Pine Bluff, Arkansas. She obtained her B.S. in Applied Mathematics from the University of Central Arkansas in 2015. In 2017, she received her Master in Public Health with a concentration in Biostatistics from Boston University where she served as a Peet Tutor, Research Assistant and Teaching Assistant. After completing her MPH, she worked as a Data Analyst for the U.S Department of Veterans Affairs for the Cardiology Consortium Research Team. In this role, she performed SQL programming, data extraction and statistical analysis aimed at improving the health of veterans. Currently, Rachel is a doctoral student in the Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics at Emory University. 

 Jacoby Robinson (PBEE)

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Jacoby Robinson was born and raised in Abilene, KS. He graduated from the University of Kansas with a degree in Biology in 2019. As an undergrad, Jacoby was both an IMSD and McNair Scholar as he conducted research focused on identifying molecular methods of pathogenesis in Chlamydia. Additionally, he took part in the Emory’s Summer Opportunity for Academic Research (SOAR) in the summer of 2018 where he investigated the host-specificity of a parasitic fungus by assessing resistance to antifungal compounds. Currently, Jacoby is a student in the Population Biology, Ecology and Evolution program at Emory and is interested in disease ecology and STEM mentoring aimed at underrepresented groups.

Dariana Torres Rivera (BCDB)

 
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Dariana Torres Rivera was born and raised in Cidra, Puerto Rico. She graduated in 2017 from the University of Puerto Rico at Cayey with a bachelor degree in Biology. She then entered the PREP program at UNC-Chapel Hill in 2018. Currently, she is a first-year in the BCDB program.  

Kharrie Wimberly (PBEE)

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Kharrie Wimberly’s hometown is Albany, GA. She received her undergraduate B.S. in Forensic Biology at Virginia Commonwealth University. She is a former undergraduate IMSD scholar and NIH-PREP participant. Her previous research focused on evolutionary genetic signatures to urban adaptation of the Western Black Widow spider. She is currently a 1st Year PBEE (population biology, ecology and evolution) student.