OXFORD, Miss. – Three University of Mississippi students have been selected for the Robert L. Smith, M.D. Scholars Program as part of the Jackson Heart Study Graduate Training and Education Center at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, or UMMC-GTEC, in Jackson.
Joanne Canedo
Oxford campus students Joanne Canedo, Christine Hamadani and Destinee Manning will participate in the two-year program, which provides intensive research training and mentoring experience through various learning and networking opportunities.
Jennifer Reneker, assistant dean for scholarly innovation in the John D. Bower School of Population Health and interim chair of the Department of Population Health Science, is the program’s principal investigator.
“I am quite excited to begin working with this new group of excellent Cohort 5 scholars,” Reneker said. “This training and mentoring program is meant to complement the doctoral training each participant receives at their respective university.
“The hope is that we give them a competitive edge and enhanced skill set to move them forward into the next chapter in their professional life – as researchers.”
Canedo, of Valedo, California, is a third-year doctoral student in the Department of Pharmacy Administration and a research assistant at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Her research plans are to utilize her pharmacy background to investigate health care outcomes among underrepresented populations.
Destinee Manning
A Boston, Massachusetts native and third-year doctoral student in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Hamadani plans to become a principal scientist leading the development of targeted and personalized intravenous nanomedicine for blood disorders.
Manning, a second-year pharmaceutical sciences doctoral student, has a concentration in medicinal chemistry. The Memphis, Tennessee native’s goals include working in a research institute or in industry to develop new medicines.
Scholars commit to attending summer training institutes for two consecutive summers, two mid-year meetings and quarterly webinars, along with other opportunities for national conferencing and networking. Scholars will benefit from regular interaction with senior researchers and mentors who can counsel them on writing peer-reviewed manuscripts, conducting analyses and making scientific presentations.
Applicants for the program must be doctoral-level students in health-related programs at Ole Miss, Jackson State University, Mississippi State University, University of Southern Mississippi or the University of Mississippi Medical Center. The 2023-24 cohort consists of seven scholars, including two from UMMC and one from Mississippi State University.
Christine Hamdani
A native of Terry, Dr. Robert L. Smith is nationally respected for his leadership as founder of the Medical Committee for Human Rights. As part of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, this organization successfully pressured health care institutions across the South to expand access to health services for and end unequal treatment of African Americans. He founded the Mississippi Family Health Center in 1963 and remains a practicing physician.
“Our hope is that the scholars in UMMC-GTEC carry on the legacy of excellence provided by the program’s namesake, Dr. Robert Smith,” Reneker said. “I am anticipating great outcomes over the next two years with this terrific group of scholars in Cohort 5.”