Amando Strong, a second-year PhD student in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology program within the Graduate Program in Life Sciences, was recognized for Black Excellence in Education by The Rising Sun Initiative in Allentown, Pa.
On Feb. 26, 2023, Amando Strong, a second-year PhD student in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology program, was recognized for Black Excellence in Education by The Rising Sun Initiative in Allentown, Pa. The Rising Sun Initiative annually celebrates Black excellence in education, activism, and the arts within the Allentown community.
Strong was presented with a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition from the Office of U.S. Rep. Susan Wild; a Proclamation from the Office of the Mayor of Allentown; and a Certificate of Recognition from the Office of the City Council of Allentown.
At the ceremony, Strong spoke about his accomplishments and what led him to succeed in science:
“Born into a five-generation household and raised by a single mother, I have witnessed first-hand, what genuine hard work is. I watched the four generations of strong fierce women that came before me work tirelessly to provide for our family. It has always been an aspiration of mine to be able to give back to my family by providing for them, so I began to make education my top priority right out of high school.
“I aim to empower the next generation of Black professionals as well as be a beacon to other underrepresented minorities in science, to show that we do not need to fit into the stereotypical ‘cookie cutter’ scientist, that our diversity and background is what will propel scientific findings further by bringing a unique and creative mindset to the field.”
Strong decided to attend the University of Maryland School of Medicine because of “their deep passion for diversity, success in their students, and amazing research projects.” He received a Meyerhoff Graduate Fellowship upon acceptance, which is a program designed to increase diversity among students pursuing PhD degrees in the biomedical and behavioral sciences.
Strong is a member of the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Program and is mentored by Dr. Toni Antalis. In her lab, he investigates protease activated receptor-2 (PAR-2) in ovarian cancer and how we can harness PAR-2's unique biased signaling characteristic as a novel anti-metastasis therapeutic.
While only in his second year of the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Program, Strong will have published co-author papers and one first-author scientific review paper by the end of the year and hopes to graduate by the end of his fifth year.