Julian Broughton, Laure Bien Aime, Mikaela Nixon and Uma Sarder have received the Novartis Beacon of Hope Summer Fellowship at Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research.
The program is an opportunity for Historically Black Medical School students to learn drug discovery, data analytics and clinical research practices. Each student will spend 10 weeks during the summer of 2024 working with Novartis researchers on meaningful projects.
Broughton, an M.S. Biomedical Data Science student, will be working on a project to develop an R Shiny application that is focused on gaining insightful informatics based on trials involving Novartis’ products.
“Throughout my time in undergraduate and graduate school, I have had a growing interest in the medical and analytical fields and have been looking for the perfect opportunity to explore both of those interests,” says Broughton. “The fellowship is a chance to engage in work that I find beneficial to those interests while creating a positive impact for the world.”
Bien Aime, who is in her second year of the Biomedical Data Science Ph.D. program will work with the Novartis Analytics department in Sickle Cell Disease.
“The Beacon of Hope Summer Fellowship will provide an opportunity to work with the Analytics Department who are leaders in the quantitative disciplines. For the duration of the summer I will delve into the data that have leads on compounds to conduct cutting-edge, drug development clinical analysis in areas where Novartis has focused efforts to reimagine medicine,” says Bien Aime.
Nixon, a Ph.D. Biomedical Data Science student, is excited to expand her professional network while immersing herself in practical, hands-on experiences.
“This summer, I will be working in the neuroscience field. My focus will involve analyzing images of individuals with multiple sclerosis and comparing various data models,” says Nixon. “The insights derived from this work will play a crucial role in determining the appropriate medication dosage for individuals affected by MS.”
M.S. Data Science student Sarder will work with mentors on the project Drug Survival Analysis: Predicting patient’s health outcomes based on various clinical and demographic variables.
“Novartis is continuously providing significant breakthroughs and innovative solutions in the health care industry to address unmet needs for patients as well as diseases,” says Sarder. “I will bring knowledge gained at Novartis back to my classroom that will benefit other students at Meharry.”
