Here is this week’s news of grants or gifts to historically Black colleges and universities or for programs of particular interest to African Americans in higher education.
Washington University in St. Louis received a six-year, $4.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health for research on improving the treatment of teenagers and adults with sickle cell disease. Sickle cell disease affects about 100,000 people in the United States and African Americans are far more likely than Whites to have the sickle cell trait.
Historically Black Hampton University in Virginia, received a $400,000 grant from National Science Foundation for programs to increase the number of STEM majors who pursue careers as chemistry, mathematics, and science teachers in underserved areas. The program is under the direction of Isi Ero-Tolliver, an assistant professor of biological sciences at Hampton University. Dr. Ero-Tolliver holds bachelor’s and master’s degree in biology from Jackson State University in Mississippi. She earned a Ph.D. in biomedical science and science education from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.
