2014 Pedrozzi Scholar Aubrianna Decker, now a Ph.D. student at Columbia, recently shared an update with the Pedrozzi Foundation:
“Many thanks to the Pedrozzi Foundation for supporting my undergraduate studies and those of so many other local students. In 2018, I finished my Bachelors degree at UC Berkeley in Molecular and Cellular Biology with an emphasis in Biochemistry, and in the Fall of 2018, I began a PhD program at Columbia University in the Biological Sciences Department. I am researching mechanisms of regulated cell death with a focus on liver cancer and have immensely enjoyed Teacher-Assisting for the undergraduate Biochemistry course this semester. I am a board member of Women in Science at Columbia and have founded a local STEM outreach program called STEM Starters to create free science and tech workshops to kids in the local Harlem community. Thank you for alleviating some of the financial strain of higher education and investing in young people’s futures.”
Aubrianna has recently received the 2022 Cinweike Okegbe Service Award from Columbia University. The award is given annually to two senior graduate students who demonstrate outstanding academic achievement and who have made a lasting impact on their department. It is meant to reflect Mr. Okegbe’s vision of a student being recognized for leaving the Department and the University, as a whole, more improved than when he/she first entered the program.
We are always amazed and inspired by Pedrozzi Scholars like Aubrianna, who utilize their education to make a difference in the lives of others. We know that Aubrianna will continue to contribute to society through her work and volunteer efforts, and we are looking forward to what else is in the future for her.
-June 2022
