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Invited Research Seminar
Spring 2026 Seminar
Topic: Transforming Lives Through Resilience, Leadership, and Health Equity
Speaker: Stanley Andrisse, Ph.D., Endocrinologist scientist; Assistant Professor, Howard University College of Medicine; Executive Director & Founder, From Prison Cells to Ph.D.
Dr. Andrisse’s talk will include an overview of his personal journey from incarceration to academia, how second chances change lives, and how grit, perseverance, and mentorship helped him transform his life and career. He will also discuss his current research on the metabolic, cellular, and molecular mechanisms of insulin resistance, as well as the intersection of chronic disease, incarceration, and health disparities in marginalized communities.
Fall 2025 Seminar
Topic: Flight Lines: Reading Black Geographies
Speaker: Elleza Kelley, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of English & Black Studies, Yale University
Dr. Kelley’s interdisciplinary work is at the intersection of African American Studies, American Literature, Black Geographies, and Environmental Humanities. She will discuss her academic journey, approach to scholarly research, and current book project, Flight Lines: A Poetics of Black Space, which traces the relationship between black geographies and black aesthetics in African American literature and visual art.
