Sherilynn Black facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sherilynn Black
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Black speaks on Culturally Aware Mentorship for the National Institute of General Medical Sciences in 2020
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| Born |
North Carolina
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| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | B.S. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Ph.D. and postdoctoral work at Duke University |
| Known for | Developing programs to increase diversity and equity in graduate education |
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| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Neuroscience, Education |
| Institutions | Duke University School of Medicine |
Sherilynn Black is an American neuroscientist. She works at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. She is an associate vice provost for faculty advancement. She is also an assistant professor of medical education.
Dr. Black studies how our brains work in social situations. She also creates programs to help more people from different backgrounds succeed in universities. Her goal is to make education fair for everyone.
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Sherilynn Black's Early Life and Education
Sherilynn Black grew up in North Carolina. She went to West Charlotte High School. There, she was the president of the student government. She also led the National Honor Society.
She volunteered at the United Way and a food bank. She also worked at Carolinas Medical Center. This made her think about a career in medicine.
College and Graduate Studies
Dr. Black went to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for college. She was a Morehead-Cain Scholar. This is a special scholarship for talented students. She studied psychology and biology. She graduated with top honors.
After college, she went to Duke University. She studied neurobiology, which is about how the brain works. In 2002, she made history. She was the first African American graduate student to pass a big exam in her program. While studying for her Ph.D., she also studied education at UNC at Chapel Hill.
Postdoctoral Research
Dr. Black finished her Ph.D. in 2008. She then did more research at Duke until 2012. She worked with Professor Kafui Dzirasa. She studied how the brain controls emotions.
She found that using light to stimulate brain cells could help with sadness in mice. This stimulation made different parts of the brain work together. These brain areas are important for managing feelings.
Sherilynn Black's Career and Research
In 2010, Duke University started a new office. It was called the Office of Biomedical Graduate Diversity. Dr. Black became its first director. She worked to help students from different backgrounds.
She helped students who felt like they didn't belong. She also helped those who lacked role models. She brought in diverse students and teachers. She started recruiting students early in their college years.
Making Education Fair for Everyone
Dr. Black created a special program. It helped fix differences in graduate education. These differences were often based on gender and race. She also made programs to help students facing challenges in school.
She believes that diversity is more than just a good thing to do. It helps science and society move forward. She organized a yearly meeting for graduate students from different backgrounds. This helped them meet, make friends, and get ready for Duke. Her work doubled the number of applications to Duke's science programs in five years. More students were accepted and received funding.
Helping Students Succeed in STEM
In 2012, Dr. Black became an assistant professor at Duke. She taught medical education. She researched what helps students succeed in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). She also created computer models to guess how well education programs would work.
She realized that student challenges often came from a lack of support. It wasn't always about how smart they were. She helped get a grant of almost $2 million. This money started the BioCoRE program. This program helps both college and graduate students with their research. It also helps them grow as people.
Dr. Black also helped students and teachers solve problems. She taught students not to take every insensitive comment personally. She helped teachers understand how their words affect others. She showed them how to communicate better.
Leading Faculty Advancement
In 2017, Dr. Black was promoted. She became the associate vice provost for faculty advancement. She helps teachers grow in their careers. She is part of many important groups at Duke. These groups work on science education, Black affairs, and diversity.
In 2023, she became a co-chair for a new project. It's from the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine. This project looks at how mentoring, career growth, and well-being are connected.
Dr. Black has pointed out that old ways of doing things can stop change. This is true in universities and companies. She says that making things fair is hard. But, she believes that schools need to change. If they don't, many talented people will continue to leave. She also warns that scientists might feel they have to fit in. This would stop the benefits that diversity brings.
Awards and Honors
- 2019 Inaugural Speaker for the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Diversity Speaker Series
- Duke AHEAD Fellow
- Deans Award for Inclusive Excellence in Graduate Education
- 2015 Samuel DuBois Cook Society Award
- Morehead-Cain Scholar
Appointments
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute Gilliam Fellowship mentor
- National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Committee Member
- American Association of Medical Colleges - Ph.D. Outreach Committee
- The Burroughs Wellcome Fund
- Society for Neuroscience - Faculty in the Neuroscience Scholars Program and Member of the Professional Development Committee
