The Charles R. Drew Graduate Fellowships was launched in June 2021 in honour of one of 麻豆AV鈥檚 most accomplished alumni: Charles R. Drew, MDCM鈥�33, (1904鈥�1950) an American surgeon and scientist who earned the title 鈥淔ather of Blood Banking鈥� for his trailblazing work on the long-term preservation of blood plasma. The fellowships aim to support Black students and increase their representation among 麻豆AV graduate students. The fellowships further seek to promote at 麻豆AV the values that Dr. Drew espoused and reflected throughout his lifetime: academic excellence, perseverance in the face of adversity, leadership, and a commitment to justice. The聽initiative is part of the university鈥檚聽Action Plan to Address Anti-Black Racism, and is given with preference to graduates of Howard University or other HBCU institution.
For more information, contact graduatefunding.gps [at] mcgill.ca.
2024-25 Scholar
Janet Akayenzi, Natural Resource Sciences
Janet Akayenzi is from Rwanda. She has joined 麻豆AV鈥檚 graduate program to pursue a PhD in Natural Resource Sciences, under the supervision and mentorship of Prof. Gordon Hickey. She holds a Master of Science degree in Environmental Change and Management from the University of Oxford, where her research explored how Rwanda is enhancing resilience to climate change and environmental degradation among its most vulnerable populations through innovative green village initiatives. Janet earned her Bachelor鈥檚 degree with honors, in Environmental Studies and a minor in Environmental Health, from Spelman College, as a Rwanda Presidential Scholar. Her academic excellence and dedication to environmental issues have been a consistent theme throughout her career.
Before embarking on her doctoral studies at 麻豆AV, Janet served as the Sustainable Finance Lead at the Kigali International Financial Centre (KIFC) in Rwanda. Prior to that, she was the Chief Sustainability Officer at MyHydro, an innovative platform that delivers affordable, renewable energy to underserved communities through low-cost mini-grids.
Janet鈥檚 work is driven by a profound passion for fostering inclusive and sustainable growth. As the recipient of this year鈥檚 prestigious Charles Drew Fellowship, she is exhilarated to delve deeper into research that addresses complex environmental challenges. Her work is focused on fostering collaboration across disciplines, integrating diverse forms of knowledge, and driving innovation that leads to meaningful and sustainable development outcomes.
2023-24 Scholar
Odufa Emike Kadiri, Information Studies
Odufa Kadiri, a recent graduate is from Nigeria. She is currently pursuing a Master of聽Information Studies degree at 麻豆AV. This comes after her BA in Political Science聽and Psychology from Howard University, where she graduated earning the highest honorary聽distinction, Summa Cum Laude. Through her undergraduate education, she has gained an聽understanding of the framework of human thought and behaviour. This knowledge is the basis of聽her research, which explores the聽 junction where human processes, information, and networks聽intersect for elevated user experiences in a time full of radical and transformative possibilities for聽computer applications and systems. Her specialization in user experience will centre on a聽command of working mechanisms pertaining to perceptual, cognitive, and social psychological聽processes in humans. She is thrilled at the prospects the Charles R. Drew Fellowship offers her to聽extensively research and predict the impacts of human-computer interaction to enhance usability聽and accessibility.
2022-23 Scholar
Shania Johnson, Art History and Communication Studies聽
Shania Johnson is a first year MA student in Art History at 麻豆AV. She received her BA at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin where she examined the visual lineage of racial thought from Western Europe in the Middle Ages to modern history. At 麻豆AV, Shania is primarily focused on similar questions concerning the Byzantine Period pre-13th century. Her work will consist of interdisciplinary examples racial othering, such as primary texts and visual art, and explain how an understanding of this complex history can change how we understand contemporary discourses surrounding race and representations. The Charles R. Drew Graduate Fellowship has made it possible for Shania to undertake this level of research in an area that is greatly understudied, and she is honored and grateful for this opportunity.
2021-22 Scholar
Asia Blackman, Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health
Image by Asia Blackman and Owen Egan/Joni Dufour.
Asia Blackman is a recent Howard University graduate who began graduate studies in the department of聽Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health in Fall 2021.
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