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Meharry School of Applied Computational Sciences (SACS) doctoral students Olayinka Ajao, LaPorchia Davis, Ph.D. and Ebony Weems-Oluremi, Ph.D., received a 2026 Novartis Beacon of Hope Fellowships at Novartis Biomedical Research. This was the second fellowship for both Dr. Davis and Dr. Weems-Oluremi.
The program is an opportunity for historically Black colleges and universities, HBCU, students to learn drug discovery, data analytics and clinical research practices. Each student spent 10 weeks during summer 2026 conducting an independent research project under the guidance of a Novartis Biomedical Research scientist.
Novartis provided the Meharry fellows an opportunity to experience firsthand how the pharmaceutical company applies artificial intelligence to improve both the speed and accuracy of drug discovery. All three Meharry fellows were able to participate in that work through their summer projects.
The program also included weekly professional training sessions covering different areas of pharmaceutical research and development, including drug development, clinical trials and patient safety.
Ajao, a biomedical data science doctoral candidate, worked with Novartis Discovery Sciences on a computational drug-discovery project that closely aligns with his research using machine learning, statistical modeling, network analysis and biological data to study cancer.
“The fellowship allowed me to apply biomedical data science approaches in an industry drug-discovery setting,” Ajao said. “We used proteomics, molecular data, machine learning and molecular docking to study protein-compound interactions and help prioritize candidates for further investigation.”
As a second time fellow, Dr. Weems-Oluremi, a biomedical data science doctoral candidate, sought to show that continuous glucose monitor (CGM) derived glucodensities, a mathematical and functional representation of CGM data, can be used alongside traditional metrics to monitor and manage Type 1 diabetes. Her expertise in molecular computational biology and now data science helped to inform the progression and completion of the project this past summer.
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“I finished a paper that is out for review, built a dashboard for clinicians and an app that can be used by researchers and physician-scientists,” Dr. Weems-Oluremi said.
Dr. Davis’ second fellowship offered further growth in imaging data science, as she transitioned from processing cardiac CT images, with a focus on segmentation and 3D reconstruction, to lesion tracking and algorithm development.
“One of the biggest differences was my level of confidence and independence. I returned after completing my master's degree in biomedical data science, which allowed me to approach the project with a stronger understanding of programming, computational methods and research methodology,” she said. “It was rewarding to see how much I had grown between the two summers, both technically and professionally.”
Returning for a second summer also made the mentorship experience even more valuable for Dr. Davis, who began the biomedical data science doctoral program in August.
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“I was able to build upon relationships established during my first fellowship, ask more thoughtful questions and become more confident in my ability to contribute to technical discussions,” she said. “Most importantly, my mentors helped me recognize the importance of continuous learning, scientific curiosity and being comfortable working through challenging research problems. Those lessons will continue to influence my development as a biomedical data scientist and researcher.”
Ajao, Dr. Davis and Dr. Weems-Oluremi are among 15 Meharry SACS students who have been selected for a Novartis Beacon of Hope Fellowship since 2023, the summer after the first academic year in the school’s history.
Dr. Weems-Oluremi looks forward to more SACS students becoming fellows and an even stronger collaboration between the school and Novartis.
“My hope is that this experience will help build a lasting bridge between Meharry SACS and Novartis, creating pathways for students to pursue internships, collaborative research opportunities and potentially careers within the company,” she said.
The goal of the Novartis Beacon of Hope program is to develop solutions for improving access and help develop the next generation of health care leaders. In addition to the summer fellowship, the program includes the Thurgood Marshall College Fund-Novartis US Foundation HBCU Scholarship Program, the TMCF-Novartis HBCU Mentorship Program and the TMCF-Novartis US Foundation HBCU Faculty Grants.
