Congratulations to the 2021 Taylor M. Brown Award Recipients
The Taylor M. Brown Memorial Award was established in honor of biosciences graduate student Taylor M. Brown. Taylor was a long-standing and vibrant member of the UCLA community. As a UCLA undergraduate, she majored in Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, receiving her B.S. in 2015. She then joined the Immunity, Microbes, and Molecular Pathogenesis Home Area in the Molecular Biology Interdepartmental Program for her Ph.D., where she pursued her interest in understanding host-pathogen interactions. Taylor was deeply committed to increasing diversity in the biosciences, serving as an active member of the Association for Multi-Ethnic Bioscientists’ Advancement (AMEBA) and the UCLA SACNAS Chapter (SACNAS@UCLA). She was passionate about teaching, mentoring, and outreach. Her kindness and compassion made a lasting and widespread impact on the UCLA biosciences community. Taylor’s many accomplishments, her promise as a scientist, and her strong dedication to diversifying the biosciences were recognized by her selection in 2018 as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Gilliam Fellow.
The Taylor M. Brown Award recognizes exceptional Ph.D. students in the biosciences who reflect the characteristics that made Taylor such a special member of the UCLA community. The awardees are well-rounded, with strong interpersonal skills and broad interests, and are passionate about mentorship, leadership, teaching, and science. They are highly engaged with the UCLA biosciences community and have a powerful commitment to increasing diversity in the biosciences.
Kimberly Martin, 2021 Awardee
- Kimberly Martin is a Ph.D. candidate in Social Psychology in the labs of Drs. Annette Stanton and Kerri Johnson. Kimberly’s dissertation research is focused on understanding the experiences of Black Americans in healthcare. She is actively involved in the UCLA Underrepresented Graduate Students in Psychology (UGSP) organization, and established UGSP’s Transfer Outreach Committee. She also serves on the Brain Research Institute’s Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Board. Kimberly is an instructor for the VIP Scholars Program, where she teaches social psychology courses to underrepresented high school students. She has also participated as a panelist and speaker in numerous outreach activities for high school and undergraduate students. Kimberly is currently a Cota Robles Fellow and was an NIMH T32 Predoctoral Fellow and a 2020 UCLA Political Psychology Fellow.
Tina Del Carpio, 2021 Awardee
- Tina Del Carpio is a Ph.D. candidate in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology in the lab of Dr. Kirk Lohmueller. Tina’s thesis research is focused on investigating recombination rates in dogs and wolves, and also on investigating the impact of the Competitive Edge program on graduate education. Tina is a passionate advocate for mental health and the founding member of the UCLA EEB Mental Health Working Group. They have contributed to training sessions for the EEB Department on supporting trans and non-binary students, were a member of the EEB Antiracism Task Force, and have participated in numerous career and mental health panels for undergraduate and graduate students. Tina is an NSF Graduate Research Fellow, a former NHGRI T32 Predoctoral Fellow, and a recipient of a 2021 UCLA EEB Special Faculty Award for Departmental Service.
Funds for the discretionary award are provided by UCLA Graduate Programs in Bioscience. Funds for the travel award are provided by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Gilliam Fellows Program.