OUR TEAM
Our expert team of MD, MD/PhD, and PhD consultants help applicants brainstorm ideas, polish personal statements, and highlight competitive research internships, conference participation, and publications to position them to gain acceptance and funding for a host of post-baccalaureate opportunities. We walk applicants through the medical school interview process and provide comprehensive support for both the primary and secondary applications.
To date, we have helped exceptional candidates, as well as students with complicating factors such as lower Grade Point Averages or MCAT scores, gain acceptance to MD and MD/PhD programs. More importantly, our service has helped several clients secure full funding for tuition, fees, and living expenses. Our collaborative approach ensures that you receive targeted support while also giving you the benefit of our team’s collective expertise and experiences gaining acceptance to some of the most competitive graduate and medical school programs in the nation.
To date, we have helped exceptional candidates, as well as students with complicating factors such as lower Grade Point Averages or MCAT scores, gain acceptance to MD and MD/PhD programs. More importantly, our service has helped several clients secure full funding for tuition, fees, and living expenses. Our collaborative approach ensures that you receive targeted support while also giving you the benefit of our team’s collective expertise and experiences gaining acceptance to some of the most competitive graduate and medical school programs in the nation.
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DR. LUISEL RICKS-SANTI, the former Assistant Vice President for Research and the Director of the Cancer Research Center at Hampton University, is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacotherapy and Translational Research and Associate Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the University of Florida's Health Cancer Center. She earned her PhD from Georgetown University in Tumor Biology and completed the post-doctoral fellowship at Howard University in Cancer Genomics and Cancer Disparities research. Her current research aims to identify the genetic drivers of cancer disparities with a focus on the breast and prostate cancer, two (2) cancers with high mortality rates in the African American community. Her research studies have led to the establishment of the Cancer Genetics Program at the Howard University Cancer Center, the only program in the United States that has expertise in the genetics of cancer in African Americans and Hispanics, as well as the Cancer Research Center at Hampton University.
In her spare time, “Dr. Lulu” volunteers with several community-based organizations to educate about cancer screening recommendations, in addition to how to perform breast self-exams. Interacting directly with the community has inspired her to become a greater advocate for cancer screening especially in communities where cancer incidence is higher and access to screening is lower. Dr. Ricks-Santi is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and the Hampton Chapter of The Links, Inc., organizations dedicated to the implementation of programs that impact the global community. |
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OLIVIA MADISON earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Texas Southern University, where she interned as a junior researcher at NASA Johnson Space Center, studying the effects of space radiation and zero gravity on International Space Station astronauts. She earned a Master of Science in Medical Sciences from Hampton University, where she served as a Supplemental Instruction Leader for Student Support Services participants and Ronald McNair Scholars, coordinating peer-led group study for historically difficult courses such as Organic Chemistry.
A third-year medical student at Howard University College of Medicine, Olivia currently serves as Vice President of Howard’s chapter of the Student National Medical Association and recently published a paper on the high rates of COVID-19 infections among Indigenous Mayan communities in Oakland. She was recently awarded the Underrepresented Minority Scholarship in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University Medical School, where she will serve as a visiting student during the 2022-23 academic year. Ms. Madison is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, through which she lives out her deep commitment to mentorship, research, and community engagement. |
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SHANICE COX earned her Master of Science in Medical Sciences from Hampton University and her Bachelor of Science in Science – Pre-professional Studies from the University of Notre Dame. Ms. Cox is currently a third year medical student at Texas Christian University and University of North Texas Health Science Center School of Medicine.
As an undergraduate, Ms. Cox served as student researcher in the Cancer Neurocognitive Translational Research Lab focusing on the underlying mechanisms of treatment efforts to arrest neurocognitive dysfunction, increase cancer survivorship, and improve patients’ quality of life. At Hampton University, she served as the Graduate Assistant for Post-Baccalaureate Opportunities for the Ronald McNair Scholars program, coordinating a series of intrusive advising workshops to increase degree completion and graduate school enrollment rates among low-income, first generation college students. Ms. Cox aspires to practice evidence-based medicine in underserved communities, improving the life prospects for individuals who could not otherwise afford quality health care. Her current research focuses on prenatal health disparities in Tarrant County, TX. |
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BRITTANY HUGUE earned her Master of Science in Medical Sciences from Hampton University and her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Mary Baldwin University. Ms. HUGUE is currently a third-year medical student in Wright State University’s Boonshoft School of Medicine, where she serves on the Executive Board of the Global Health Initiative.
During her tenure as the Graduate Assistant for Academic and Community Outreach, Ms. Shaw helped Ronald McNair Scholars and Student Support Services participants secure information on internships, fellowships, graduate assistantships, and summer research opportunities. In addition, she coordinated a Graduate and Professional School Tour to Eastern Carolina University that exposed twenty-one (21) low-income, first-generation undergraduates to graduate programs in Technology Management, Interdisciplinary Biological Sciences, Public Health, and Rehabilitation Counseling, to include small group sessions with school administrators and current graduate students, affording participants the opportunity to receive excellent feedback about the graduate school application process from members of their peer group. Ms. Hugue currently serves as a community doula advocate to expectant mothers with challenging circumstances. Committed to diminishing health disparities in her community, Brittany was recently awarded a United Health Foundation and National Medical Fellowship as a Diverse Scholar for her research in improving breastfeeding rates in the Black community in Dayton, OH. In her free time, she enjoys reading, HIIT workouts and eating different cultural cuisines. |
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DR. GREGG SUZANNE FERGUSON earned a Master of Arts in School Counseling and a Doctor of Education in Leadership Studies from Marshall University, and a Bachelor of Arts in the History of Art and Architecture from Harvard University.
She is the Founder of Mothers of Diversity America and currently serves as the Director of Hampton University’s Upward Bound program, a federal TRIO initiative to increase college access and post-secondary degree completion rates amongst low-income, first-generation students in Newport News Public Schools. Dr. Ferguson is adjunct faculty at West Virginia State University, where her research focuses on the consequences of unequal protections and access for marginalized employees and students. An anti-racism workshop facilitator, Dr. Ferguson has published articles in the Washington Post, the Charleston Gazette and the Southern Poverty Law Center periodical, Teaching Tolerance. |
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TANISHA MAITRE earned her Master of Science in Biology and her Bachelor of Science in Cellular and Molecular Biology from Hampton University. Her Master's thesis investigated the association of CDH1 variants with breast cancer in African-American women.
Ms. Maitre recently completed the first year as a PhD candidate in Temple University's Biomedical Science Program. Highly interested in cancer genomics, Tanisha's goal is to address cancer disparities by improving the translation and benefit of genomics in diverse populations. |
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MAYA GAINES-SMITH earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a Master of Science in Biology from Hampton University, where she competed on the Track and Field team, served on the National Alliance on Mental Illness, conducted research through the NanoHU initiative, and was active in the Pre-Students of Osteopathic Medicine Association. Passionate about public service, cooking, music, and scientific research, the Cleveland, Ohio native served as the Ronald McNair Scholars program's Graduate Assistant for Post-Baccaluareate Opportunities from August 2019 - May 2021. In that role, Maya helped McNair Scholars and Student Support Services participants secure information on internships, fellowships, graduate assistantships, and summer research opportunities.
Ms. Gaines-Smith recently completed the first year as a PhD student in Virginia Commonwealth University's Biomedical Sciences Doctoral Portal program. |
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SHANTINA CARRINGTON earned her Master of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology and her Bachelor of Science in Molecular and Cellular Biology from Hampton University, where she served as the Community Outreach and Development Aide for Student Support Services.
As an undergraduate, Ms. Carrington coordinated multiple service opportunities for SSS participants, recruited undergraduates for a monthly literacy initiative for children at the Eva C. Mitchell Early Childhood Center, and volunteered as a Peer Mentor to support incoming students’ transition to Hampton University, and regularly provided tutorial services for struggling Math students. For the past three years, Shantina has worked as a behavior therapist with experience in early intervention for children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). She is currently applying to PsyD/PhD programs with the long-term goal to synthesize studies of the biological and behavioral sciences to better understand how myriad influences on the mind and body impact human behavior. |