Aliyah Webster is a graduating senior biochemistry major and math minor from Virginia Beach, Virginia. She is an inaugural Dovey Johnson Roundtree Presidential Scholar, a 2020 WiSTEM participant, and a member of the Ethel Waddell Githii Honors Program. Aliyah is also co-chair of the MiniSKIRTS mentorship committee of Sisters Keeping It Real Through Service, a student ambassador, Social Media Chair of Spelmanites United for Justice, and a Fall 2022 graduate of the Women of Excellence in Leadership at Spelman (WELS) program. In May 2024, Aliyah was initiated into the Epsilon of Georgia Chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa Society and will be graduating Magna Cum Laude with Honors with High Distinction.
During her time at Spelman, Aliyah has conducted research with environmental and health sciences professor Dr. Armita Davarpanah and the Army Research Lab, organic chemistry professor Dr. Shanina Sanders Johnson, the Station1 Frontiers Fellowship, GC Therapeutics, Inc., biology professor Dr. Mentewab Ayalew, and the Institute for Cell Engineering at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. While at Hopkins, Aliyah examined the efficacy of CEST MRI for evaluation of glutamine utilization and ASCT2 transport in human prostate cancer and presented her work at the Leadership Alliance National Symposium, the Johns Hopkins CARES Symposium, and the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Scientists (ABRCMS).
In the fall of 2024, Aliyah will pursue a fully funded Ph.D. in Integrated Toxicology and Environmental Health at Duke University. She plans to research the toxicological effects of proximity to landfills, incinerators, and other hazardous facilities on the health of residents in low-income communities, as well as the impact of toxic metal exposure on neurodevelopment in urban youth. Afterward, Aliyah is interested in working for the Environmental Protection Agency and improving the EPA’s responses to environmental injustices through lab-based data. Ultimately, Aliyah plans to use her scientific background to reduce the presence of pollutants and mitigate health disparities in marginalized communities plagued by
environmental racism.
“LINCS Scholars are two-year cohorts of women scientists at Spelman College, who aspire to become leaders in STEM. These students contribute dynamic science and diverse perspective to a growing field. Typically, most of our LINCS Scholars reside in Laura Spelman Residence Hall, a social justice dorm on Spelman’s campus."