Our featured speaker for the Spring 2023 Graduate Hooding Ceremony, Amie Fornah Sankoh, is receiving her PhD from the Department of Biochemistry & Cellular and Molecular Biology.

Amie’s research interest is biological communication, specifically studying the effects of hormones on plant-pathogen interactions. Her experiences bring a very different perspective to research that is unfortunately rare due to the limited opportunities available in STEM to young Deaf persons of color.

Amie’s life has been a story of perseverance. Growing up Deaf during the civil war in Sierra Leone, she had to overcome barriers to survival, education, and language acquisition. She carries these experiences with her, and instead of breaking her, they have helped her to thrive. Equally important to Amie are her outreach activities helping to bring education to other young Deaf and Hard of Hearing students. Undoubtedly, the most exciting moment of Amie’s journey has been the breakthrough realization that her identity rests firmly and joyfully on two premises: she can be a great scientist and an advocate for her community.

Learn more about Amie and her work, and join us at the hooding ceremony on May 20 where she will address all the graduates for spring 2023.