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Meet the Team

The current Council Members of the STEM Trainee Development Council.

Co-Founders Abass Oduola, Caitlyn B. Smith, Izuchukwu Francis Okpalanwaka, Llaran Turner, Jessica Watts and Carlos Ventura founded this Council in 2024 as a group project as 5 of the 50 Invited Participants in the Inaugural ABRCMS Innovation Programs’ Leadership Development Academy.

Co-Founder and Council Member

Caitlyn B. Smith

Caitlyn B. Smith is currently a PhD Candidate at the University of Kentucky, focusing on the immunological profile of adipose tissue and its deleterious effects in aging and obesity. Caitlyn fiercely works to aid in the betterment of STEM training via commitments to this council and various local programs at their university. Outside of the lab, Caitlyn enjoys a bit of everything - hiking, video games, cooking, motorcycles, cosplaying, camping, plants, reading, dancing and more.

Co-Founder and Council Member

Abass Oduola, Ph.D.

Abass Oduola joined Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) as a Postdoctoral Research Scientist in March 2024. His research is focused on the pathogenesis of Klebsiella pneumoniae and the host immune response (murine model). Abass enjoys biking, dancing, and gardening when he is not playing with his microbial friends.

Co-Founder and Council Member

Llaran Turner

Llaran Turner is currently in the fourth year of her PhD studies in Genetics & Epigenetics at UTHealth MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston Texas. Her research focuses on understanding the mechanisms that promote elimination of defective cells from living epithelial tissues, and how this goes awry in pathogenic conditions using zebrafish. In her free time, she enjoys support community events, pilates, and coffee shop runs!

Co-Founder and Council Member

Izuchukwu Francis Okpalanwaka

Izuchukwu Francis Okpalanwaka is a Ph.D. candidate at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. His research focuses on developing innovative and novel bispecific antibodies and therapeutic vaccines and testing their efficacy and safety in animal cancer models.

Co-Founder and Council Member

Jessica Watts

Co-Founder and Council Member

Carlos Ventura