INSPIRE

INfectious Diseases Summer Program Integrating Research at Emory

The objective of INSPIRE is to prepare 48  undergraduate students from throughout the country for a career in infectious diseases (ID) research by implementing a 10-week summer research experience, delivering courses for professional and research skills development, and establishing a mentorship program. At the same time and in preparation, the program will strengthen the mentoring capacity of the institution by conducting workshops in mentoring and facilitation for post-doctoral fellows and junior faculty and faculty who are research mentors. 

Aims

  1. Implementing an in-person summer research experience at Emory University.
  2. Instill skills in professional development and research by delivering in-person and online career guidance to how to enter medical and graduate school and pursue a path in research and healthcare.
  3. Support trainees in their ID research career by creating a welcoming research environment and providing mentors who have been trained in research mentorship.

Approach

In Aim 1, undergraduate students will be matched with a research mentor and a laboratory or clinical field site for a 10-week in-person summer research experience that will result in an abstract and poster presentation at a research symposium conducted at the end of the period. In Aim 2, we will deliver in-person and online courses on: a) career guidance to enter medical and/or graduate school; b) biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research topics related to the NIAID mission. In Aim 3, we will: a) conduct Mentoring Up workshops for 75 post-doctoral fellows and junior faculty; and b) provide workshops on mentoring and facilitation for 87 faculty members who are research mentors.  

  • Anita Corbett
  • Zanthia Wiley
  • Michael H. Chung

  • Christopher Beck
  • Annelys Roque Gardner
  • Paulina Rebolledo
  • Laila Woc-Colburn

  • Emory University

How to Apply

Applications for INSPIRE will open on Monday, October 5, 2026, for Emory and non-Emory undergraduate students who will be juniors or seniors during the 2027–2028 academic year.

The Application has Two Paths:

  • Current Sophomores or Juniors in Emory College of Arts and Sciences:
    • Apply through the CollegeConnect Portal by clicking this link and selecting the Application Center in the navigation menu.
  • All Other Sophomores or Juniors:

Applicants will be asked to provide a CV, transcript, reference letter, personal statement, and career goals statement. Please apply by Friday, January 15, 2027 to be considered.

If you have any questions about the application, please reach out to Kristen Walden at kawalde@emory.edu.

Funding

INSPIRE is funded through a US National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) grant: R25 AI175048.

Financial Support

(Contingent upon NIH grant funding; provided to selected INSPIRE Scholars)

  • Housing award for residence on Emory’s campus
  • Apartment-style housing accommodations with other INSPIRE Scholars
  • Sponsored travel to and from Emory campus at the start and end of the program (may be available depending on funding and circumstances)
  • A stipend will be provided by the INSPIRE program

INSPIRE Participants and their Emory Research Mentors

  • Mya Osibogun (University of Miami) - Nadine Rouphael, MD (Research Mentor); Melody Palmore, MD (Identity Mentor)
  • Sasha Forniss (Xavier University) - Colleen Kelley, MD (Research Mentor); Boghuma K. Titanji, MD (Identity Mentor)
  • Yasha Joseph (Emory University) - Zanthia Wiley, MD (Research Mentor); Nadine Harris, MD (Identity Mentor)
  • Simone Lester (Howard University) - Erin Scherer, PhD (Research Mentor); Sophia Hussen, MD (Identity Mentor)
  • Alejandro Chavarria (Broome Community College) - Sohail Khoshnevis, PhD (Research Mentor); Paulina Rebolledo, MD (Identity Mentor)

Brandon Artis, North Carolina A&T University

  • Research mentor: Cheryl Day, Associate Professor, Emory University Department of Microbiology and ImmunologyEmory Vaccine Center
  • Identity mentor: Zanthia Wiley, Associate Professor, Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases 

Nkemka Chukwumerije, Wesleyan University

  • Research mentor: Anandi Sheth, Professor, Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases
  • Identity mentor: Igho Ofotokun, Professor, Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases 

Bella Grace Parker, Stetson University

  • Research mentor: Marcin Grabowicz, Associate Professor, Emory School of Medicine, Departments of Microbiology and Immunology and Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases
  • Identity mentor: Boghuma Titanji, Assistant Professor, Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases

Daelyn Pena, Columbia University

  • Research mentor: Sohail Khoshnevis, Assistant Professor, Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Biochemistry
  • Identity mentor: Paulina Rebolledo, Associate Professor, Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases

Taylor Richardson, Spelman College

  • Research mentor: Stephanie Pouch, Associate Professor, Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases
  • Identity mentor: Melody Palmore, Associate Professor, Emeritus, Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases

Angel Santos, University of Puerto Rico

  • Research mentor: Gonzalo Vasquez Prokopec, Associate Professor, Emory College of Arts and Sciences, Winship Distinguished Research Professor in Environmental Sciences
  • Identity mentor: Annelys Roque Gardner, Assistant Professor, Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases 

Itunuoluwa Adejare, Cornell University

  • Research mentors: Zanthia Wiley, Associate Professor, Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases; Igho Ofotokun, Professor, Emory School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases
  • Identity mentor: Boghuma K. Titanji, Assistant Professor, Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases

Kelvin Asare, University of South Florida

  • Research mentor: Gonzalo Vazquez-Prokopec, Associate Professor, Emory College of Arts and Sciences, Winship Distinguished Research Professor in Environmental Sciences
  • Identity mentor: Michael Chung, Professor, Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases

Gabriela Carneiro, Georgia Institute of Technology

  • Research mentor: Sohail Khoshnevis, Assistant Professor, Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Biochemistry
  • Identity mentor: Annelys Roque Gardner, Assistant Professor, Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases 

Marlyne Gonzalez, Messiah College

  • Research mentor: Jaap de Roode, Professor, Emory College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Biology
  • Identity mentor: Paulina Rebolledo, Associate Professor, Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases 

Mikayla Jones, Spelman College

  • Research mentor: Sophia Hussen, Associate Professor, Emory Rollins School of Public Health, Department of Global Health
  • Identity mentor: Melody Palmore, Associate Professor, Emeritus, Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases

Aronoel Matthews, North Carolina Agricultural and Technological State University

  • Research mentor: Sophia Hussen, Associate Professor, Emory Rollins School of Public Health, Department of Global Health
  • Identity mentor: Nadine Harris, Assistant Professor, Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine

Jareth Navas, University of Rochester

  • Research mentor: Marcin Grabowicz, Associate Professor, Emory University School of Medicine, Departments of Microbiology and Immunology and Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases
  • Identity mentor: Carlos Saldana, Assistant Professor, Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases

Kaylin Vang, University of Wisconsin-Madison

  • Research mentor: Nadine Rouphael, Professor, Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases
  • Identity mentor: Paulina Rebolledo, Associate Professor, Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases

Jennifer Beltran, Stevenson University

  • Research mentor: Vincent Marconi, Professor, Emory University School of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases
  • Identity mentor: Paulina Rebolledo, Associate Professor, Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases

Amanda Benneh, Columbia University

  • Research mentor: Gonzalo Vazquez-Prokopec, Associate Professor, Emory College of Arts and Sciences, Winship Distinguished Research Professor in Environmental Sciences
  • Identity mentor: Melody Palmore, Associate Professor, Emeritus, Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases

Sha'Myia Burgess, Virginia State University

  • Research mentor: Sohail Khoshnevis, Assistant Professor, Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Biochemistry
  • Identity mentor: Boghuma K. Titanji, Assistant Professor, Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases

Kyndall Coker, Spelman College

  • Research mentor: Zanthia Wiley, Associate Professor, Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases; Sri Edupuganti, Professor, Emory University School of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases
  • Identity mentor: Kristen Walden, Associate Program Director, IMSD Program

Kylie Flores, University of Tennessee: Chattanooga

  • Research mentor: Graeme Conn, Professor, Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Biochemistry
  • Identity mentor: Alejandro Lopez, Assistant Director, IMSD Program

Collin France, Emory University

  • Research mentor: Cecil Delile Lahiri, Associate Professor, Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine
  • Identity mentor: Michael Chung, Professor, Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases

Madison Knavel, Brown University

  • Research mentor: Luisa Cervantes Barragan, Assistant Professor, Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Microbiology and Immunology
  • Identity mentor: Anne Piantadosi, Assistant Professor, Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Soleil Laroche,Howard University

  • Research mentor: Sophia Hussen Associate Professor, Emory Rollins School of Public Health, Department of Global Health
  • Identity mentor: Nadine Harris, Assistant Professor, Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine

Jahianna Ramírez, University of Puerto Rico: Mayaguez

  • Research mentor: Erin Scherer, Assistant Professor, Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine; Stacey Abigail Smith, Assistant Professor, Emory University School of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases  
  • Identity mentor: Leandro Mena, Professor, Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine