She is an a Biological Sciences major with a minor in Statistics. She was also a presenter at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS) in 2016. Her project focused on measuring the binding interaction between small molecule ligands and the Core Encapsidation Signal of HIV-1 RNA as a potential drug target. Her future goal will to include obtaining her MD/PhD. She would like to open her own research lab, or have a teaching position at a university or be a clinical researcher. In her free time she is a member of the UMBC gospel choir and Learning Assistant for Biology 141.

Ugonna's research will focus on understanding how and in which orientation certain classes of ligands bind to the recently determined CES structure. Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 (HIV-1) has become a worldwide epidemic with a high rate of infection. HIV attacks and destroys the infection-fighting CD4 cells of the immune system. Without treatment, HIV can gradually destroy the immune system and advance to AIDS, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. The purpose of this project is to develop therapeutics that target functional RNA elements within the highly-conserved 5′-untranslated region (UTR). The core encapsidation signal (CES) was identified as a minimal region within the 5’- UTR that is independently capable of directing the packaging of the virus’s unspliced dimeric genome.

Read more about her research here…

Undergraduate Research Awards provide up to $1,500 to undergraduate students to support their research or creative work with a UMBC faculty mentor on an original project. 

UMBC students of all years and disciplines are invited to apply, as long as they will remain enrolled at UMBC long enough to complete the proposed work.

This is an award for all majors!  Visual artists, filmmakers, photographers-- we want your projects!

Apply Now!

Instructions to Faculty

 a short reflection by Shira Devorah, Women’s Center student staff member

This semester has only just begun, and I’m already feeling pretty anxious. Granted, I’m usually pretty anxious – but this feels different.

If you’ve been following the news recently, you may understand. For many marginalized groups, it’s hard to feel stable right now. While I’m privileged in many ways, integral parts of my identity are under attack right now.  I’m proud of being a queer Jewish woman, but these parts of who I am feel very vulnerable and exposed at the moment. My uncertainty is manifesting as physical sensations. There’s a constant tightness in the pit of my stomach, and it’s hard to focus on things outside of the instability surrounding me. This is a difficult moment in time, and I want to be doing something about it, but my mental illness flare-ups make me question my ability to do so. I want to help, but  I also have to take care of my anxiety.

Amidst the current chaos, it is also my last semester at UMBC. If I know myself at all, this means I may be more susceptible to anxiety attacks during this life change. School work is a balancing act for me, and while I’ve had a few shaky semesters, I care a lot about my education. Most of my anxiety is tied up in how well I do, and this is my last chance to (literally) make the grade. UMBC students are held to a high standard of excellence, and I want my last semester to reflect this. To meet my personal achievement goals, I have to put a lot of energy into my studies. This can be draining and difficult to juggle with clinical anxiety.

I’m sure I’m not alone – Many people, especially women, deal with anxiety.  I’ve talked to a bunch of friends who live with similar anxiety conditions. We’re all struggling to figure out how to contribute, how to be present for people and speak up. It can be really, really difficult- but I know it isn’t impossible.

I’m aware that I haven’t been as active as I would like to be. My form of anxiety feels like being blocked up, like all of these things are happening at once. Everything becomes muddled and difficult to parse. I’ve been mostly absent from social media as of late, because it’s been difficult to come up with the words for what I’m feeling. I have not attended any protests, as I get very overwhelmed in large crowds. Sometimes I feel like I have to remove myself from political conversations and go hide away. I know I’m just trying to consider my mental health, yet I have this nagging sense that I’m not doing enough. I want to be a more  prepared and available activist, but my identities as a student and mentally ill person have a habit of getting in my way. When I’m not exhausted from a full load of classes, I’m immobilized by my anxious mind. Things can get overwhelming very easily.

Even though it’s hard to be fully present at the moment, it has been possible for me to do some really small things without exacerbating myself. While I’ve more or less stayed off of Facebook, I’ve been able to use other platforms like Twitter and Tumblr to spread information and support. With Facebook, I feel pressured to add my two-cents to everything I share or to write something from scratch. This can be very anxiety provoking for me. So instead, I’ve stuck to the classic ‘read and re-tweet’. This way, I get to stay informed and promote the work of activists without having to author anything personally.

Here’s an example of a doodle I made for this blog post

While I can’t really go to protests, I follow them diligently. If there is a live stream, you can bet I’m watching it. I have a hard time making phone calls, but I can sign a petition or send an email like a champ. I’ve been coming up with ideas for art that I can make, which is usually a therapeutic process for me. Mainstream forms of protesting are not the only way to contribute to a movement. I know my strengths lie in my artistic capabilities, So I can maneuver around my anxieties and continue to create and share activist art. I know that I am far more than my mental illness, and anyone going through a similar time can use their own strengths in similar ways. Working at the Women’s Center makes me feel like I have the capability to do good things and give support to people. So even though I know I’m limited in the activist work that I can do right now, this doesn’t mean I have to stand still.

If you’re going through something similar, I just want you to know that you aren’t alone, and there are valuable contributions that you can make in this difficult time. Just because your form of activism might not look the same as others, the work you do isn’t any less valid. Everyone has the capability to help in different ways. What is important is finding a way accessible to you, while taking care of your own needs. I know I’m not always going to be able to write the right words or yell in a crowd, but I can do something, and that something can make a difference.

*****

If you’re interested in more resources on how to get involved if you have anxiety, check out the following resources!

Bustle wrote about protesting while socially anxious

Everyday Feminism on how marching isn’t the only way to be an activist

How to call your reps when you have social anxiety

four tech tools to help you get involved

Check out the Counseling Center- they are hosting a variety of  mindfulness workshops this semester

This handout is to call your attention to just some of the many nationally and internationally recognized and/or celebrated diverse days of observance and religious/ethnic holidays that fall within the month of February 2017. We invite you to share it with the students, staff, and faculty you work with across campus.  For more information, feel free to visit the Diversity Resource Calendar located on the Office of Student Life’s website:http://www.diversityresources.com/aa_gsr/index.php?key=adCaO2Shix6u

Thank you,

Student Life’s Mosaic: Center for Culture and Diversity & Interfaith Center Staff

View story at Medium.com

A weekly round-up curated by Women’s Center staff member, Michael Jalloh Jamboria

In the spirit of my friend, who gave us the glorious name ‘Slaying on the Weekly’, every week I will be bringing you some interesting, funny or thought-provoking content from the internet! Be sure to join us next week for more and continue to slay! Due to scheduling not working, we’re posting last weeks SOTW today, which is great! Why you ask? Because now we get to talk about Beyonce!

Things you should know:

February is Black History Month! Join us in celebrating the lives, activism, and labor of African-American and Black activists, scholars and thinkers this month.Who better to celebrate than the celestial being that is Beyonce. Did you catch her performance on the Grammy’s last night? Check it out here! 

UMBC Happenings:

The Women’s Center is continually dedicated to support throughout this semester and beyond. February is full of events and programs, all of which are geared towards expanding our knowledge and understanding of feminism and social justice. Join us for our first Roundtable discussion, What Now? UMBC Police Meet & Greet and Money 201: Basic Investing Program.

The Mosaic Center released a list of Black History Month Events available on the myUMBC Mosiac Center page. Be sure to download the list.

Woman of the Week:  

During Black History Month, Slaying on the Weekly will be featuring inspiring, innovative or groundbreaking black women. This week’s Woman of the Week is Sister Rosetta Tharpe. She was one of the most influential guitarists of the 20th century, so much so that she is regarded as the Godmother of Rock and Roll. Check her out! 

National Black History Month 2017 continues through February!

See our attached UMBC calendar of events highlighting what's happening on and off-campus for the remainder of this month!  This calendar is produced by Student Life’s Mosaic: Center for Culture and Diversity and highlights some of the many events happening this month at UMBC and in the Baltimore/DC Metro Area.  All events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.  

If we missed adding your group’s event, just let us know!  Send the details to mosaic@umbc.edu and we’ll be happy to add them on this myUMBC post. (On and off-campus events are welcomed.)

*THIS WEEK'S UPDATES*

Over the last several weeks, various offices and departments across campus have come together to plan a special showing of the movie Hidden Figures on Friday, February 24, 2017 at 2 p.m. Tickets are available for free at the CIC. Please encourage faculty, staff, and students in your area to attend the showing. 

I Heard It Through the Grapevine: Film Screening and Conversation

Maurice Wallace, Associate Professor of English and Associate Director of the Carter G. Woodson Institute for African American and African Studies at the University of Virginia; and Maleda Belilgne, Assistant Professor of Africana Studies and English, UMBC

Thursday, February 23, 5:30 p.m., 132 Performing Arts and Humanities Building

The spellbinding 1982 documentary I Heard It Through the Grapevine chronicles James Baldwin's return to the American South two decades after the passage of the Civil Rights Act. Directed by Dick Fontaine and Pat Hartley, this rare film includes Baldwin's conversations with Sterling Brown, Amiri Baraka, and Chinua Achebe on the meaning of racial progress. Maurice Wallace and Maleda Belilgne will lead a conversation on the film's historical importance and Baldwin's continuing significance today.