Lorri AngellozWhen she was in sixth grade, Najah Johnson sat in her classroom at Green Street Academy listening to a visitor describe a program that could change her life. She didn’t know then how research was conducted — or that one day she’d be studying sharks to fill in the evolutionary puzzle of immunity. But she signed up for the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) CURE Scholars Program, and her path began to take shape.
Since its launch in 2015, CURE has opened doors for West Baltimore students as early as sixth grade, offering mentorship, lab experience, and academic support that change the trajectory of their lives. The program has now graduated four cohorts, and many of its alumni are thriving in college, where they’re turning early curiosity into discovery.
That was clear this summer at UMB’s Summer Research Forum, a two-day event hosted by the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s (UMSOM) Office of Student Research, that brought more than 150 students together to present their work investigating cancer, microbiology, immunology, and much more. Among them were four CURE alumni — Johnson, Lynijah Russell, Princaya Sanders, and Samiatu Yussuf — who had come full circle. Once middle schoolers just beginning to imagine what their future might look like, they now stood as college students and researchers, sharing their own work with faculty and peers.
That journey from curious middle schoolers to confident young scientists echoes what Greg Carey, PhD, associate professor of microbiology and immunology, associate dean for biomedical and health profession pathways and workforce development, assistant dean for student research and education, and director of PRISM and UM Scholars Student Research Programs, UMSOM, has observed across the many programs represented at the forum. Carey has seen how early exposure to research can change students’ lives.
“By immersing them in a rich variety of research, they see discovery, they see patient care, they see the populations impacted — and it helps them discover what they’re most passionate about. There is nothing more rewarding than watching that transformation,” he said.
Yolanda Langhorne, EdD, MS, executive director of the UMB CURE Scholars Program, said that transformation is exactly what CURE was designed to achieve. “For over 10 years, the CURE Scholars Program has been transforming the lives of scholars in West Baltimore by bridging the gap between potential and opportunity. Our mission is simple: to prepare sixth- through 12th-grade scholars for bright futures in STEM fields,” she said. “With a seven-year commitment from scholars and their families, we provide them with hands-on STEM learning, tutoring, and comprehensive support to help them gain the confidence, skills, and connections needed for college and beyond. As a result, our scholars are thriving — excelling in college, securing prestigious internships, and positioning themselves to lead in medicine, research, and technology.”
For the four CURE alumni who took part in the forum, the event was more than a chance to present research. It was a moment to demonstrate the power of opportunity, and to show how investment in Baltimore’s youth creates innovators ready to shape the future of science and medicine.
Najah Johnson: Sharks and the Science of Immunity
As a sophomore at Virginia Tech majoring in dairy science on the veterinary track, Johnson spent her summer in the lab of Helen Dooley, PhD, associate professor of microbiology and immunology, UMSOM, at the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology in Baltimore through the Supporting Undergraduate Members in Microbiology and Immunology Research (SUMMIR) program. Her project examined whether nurse shark kidneys contain B cells — immune cells critical to producing antibodies in humans. Because sharks lack lymph nodes, identifying alternative sites where these immune responses occur could provide important insights into the evolution of immunity and potentially inform future medical research.
Johnson, who joined the program as a sixth-grader, noted that her middle school was poorly funded and credited CURE with giving her an outlet that made research “less of a dream and more of a reality.” She added that the program provided the foundation to pursue science. “Without CURE, I would have never stepped into this field. I would never have worked a day in a lab. It’s all thanks to CURE that I’m right here going to Virginia Tech and realizing my dream.”
Lynijah Russell: Modeling Cancer with Code
Russell, a sophomore studying computer science at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, participated in the Nathan Schnaper Intern Program in Translational Cancer Research under the guidance of Daniel Bergman, PhD, assistant professor of pharmacology and physiology, UMSOM, and Elana J. Fertig, PhD, professor of medicine and director of the Institute of Genome Science (IGS), UMSOM, and associate director for quantitative science in the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center. Her project focused on pancreatic cancer, one of the most aggressive forms, using PhysiCell, an open-source simulation tool. Russell developed a Python-based pipeline that allows researchers to model multiple cell types within a tumor microenvironment, streamlining a process that previously required extensive manual coding. Her work could eventually help scientists build patient-specific cancer models to test therapies virtually before moving to the lab.
Russell credits the CURE program with giving her the confidence and skills to step into research. “When I went to the first year of CURE, I was in an actual science lab. I was coming home telling my family, ‘Oh yeah, you know, guys, I’m a scientist,’” she recalled. “Without CURE, I don’t think I would have been as prepared. It gave me the boost I needed and showed me that this world was possible.”
Princaya Sanders: Investigating a Pediatric Virus
Sanders, a senior at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore majoring in rehabilitation psychology, joined the SUMMIR program, conducting research on Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68), a virus that can cause severe respiratory illness and neurological complications in children. Working in the lab of William Jackson, PhD, professor of microbiology and immunology, UMSOM, she examined the role of the autophagy protein ATG14 in viral replication. Her findings indicated that ATG14 is not required for viral entry into host cells but may influence replication, contributing to a better understanding of the virus’ life cycle.
Sanders said her time in CURE, which began in sixth grade, set her on her academic path by exposing her to careers in health and research — including the opportunity to observe an active operation at the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland Medical Center. “Without the CURE program, I would not be here,” she said. “They gave me the pathway. You can’t walk the pathway if you don’t see it.”
Samiatu Yussuf: Advancing Tools for Virus Research
As a sophomore at Spelman College majoring in psychology with a neuroscience concentration, Yussuf spent the summer as a SUMMIR intern at IGS. Under the mentorship of Julie Dunning Hotopp, PhD, professor of microbiology and immunology, UMSOM, and member of IGS, Yussef focused on developing a rapid diagnostic tool to detect CRISPR-induced genetic deletions in fruit flies, a model for studying RNA viruses such as Zika and Dengue. By improving detection methods, the research supports broader studies into how RNA viruses stabilize their genomes and evade immune responses.
A first-generation American of West African heritage, Yussuf joined CURE while in middle school. She said the program provided her with academic support, mentorship, and exposure to opportunities that helped her envision a future in medicine. “CURE has been life-changing for me,” she said. “It opened doors to opportunities I wouldn’t have had access to otherwise and gave me the chance to envision myself in spaces I once thought were out of reach.”
