BRASS Scholars

Sharon Bright Amanya hails from Hoima district, a beautiful small town in Western Uganda. Gifted by nature and a community of kind and happy people, western Uganda has also been ravaged by many disease outbreaks. Often, these outbreaks claim far too many lives because of having no known diagnostics or therapeutics. Having been raised in this community, she always felt a responsibility to be part of a solution. This cultivated her interest in infectious diseases. To pursue her passion, she was awarded a government of Uganda merit scholarship to undertake a BS in nursing, after which she enrolled for an MS immunology and clinical microbiology program at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda. During her masters’ studentship, she was competitively awarded a scholarship under the Microbiology and Immunology Training for HIV-related Research in Uganda, an NIH fogarty-funded program that supports the most promising young scientists in the fields of immunology and microbiology in Uganda. 

Sharon was awarded a Fulbright foreign student program scholarship to pursue a Ph.D. in immunology and microbiology program at Baylor College of Medicine with a research interest in virology. Her motivation is drawn from the fact that despite Africa bearing the biggest burden of these diseases, it lacks research scientists with the expertise needed to achieve sustainable disease control. Consequently, foreign expatriates are relied on for these tasks. Her ultimate goal is to become a leading virologist with expertise in therapeutics and vaccines development to address this unmet need in Africa. 

Aside from science, Sharon loves to volunteer at community events, cook and try new food, and meet new people. She also enjoys outdoor activities including hiking and biking. She’s excited to join the BRASS family and is already learning a lot about Houston from the BRASS community.  

English Laserna was born and raised in Charleston, S.C. She graduated in 2021, with degrees in biochemistry and biological sciences, with minors in genetics and microbiology, from Clemson University. English was always interested in science which she attributes to her mother; a marine biologist who showed her the beauty nature from a young age. During her time at Clemson, she was fortunate enough to discover research, and she worked four years in a canine genetics’ laboratory studying congenital myasthenic syndrome in a family of Great Danes and diabetes mellitus susceptibility in American Eskimo Dogs.  

English joined the Baylor College of Medicine graduate program this fall to pursue her Ph.D. in Genetics & Genomics. Being a member of the G&G program allows her to immerse in translational medicine research with a broad range of topics including development, endocrinology, stem cells, and therapeutics. She hopes to one day develop therapeutics or gene therapies for pressing health concerns: perhaps in heart disease or retinal degeneration although she won’t limit herself just yet.  

Outside of Baylor, English spends a lot of time outdoors. She regularly plays volleyball and badminton with her peers or runs at Hermann Park. She also has a passion for cooking and trying new healthy recipes for her favorite desserts. English was very excited to choose Houston to live in and she spends almost every weekend visiting new places and finding great spots in the city. When the weather isn’t so nice, she’s home with her cat and reading a novel from her classic books collection; her favorites being the Count of Monte Cristo and Journey to the Center of the Earth. English is so honored to be a part of BRASS and for the opportunities that await.

Malcolm McDonald was born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas. During high school, he became fascinated with the brain and chose to study neuroscience at Duke University. While at Duke, he began studying the Piezo ion channels and gravitated to the complexity and challenge of research. After graduating, he worked at MD Anderson studying glioblastoma therapeutics where he saw firsthand the incredible toll brain cancer takes on patients, and the difficulties associated with treating it.  

Malcolm joined the Baylor M.D./Ph.D. program in 2019. He is now a student in the Development, Disease Models, and Therapeutics Graduate Program, where he hopes to study how gliomas interact with the natural environment in the brain or functional connectivity within the brain. Malcolm is an aspiring neurosurgeon with the goal of seeing patients with neurological conditions like brain cancer, while studying their disease in the lab.  

Outside of school, Malcolm is an avid runner and hiker. He also enjoys sampling Houston’s many restaurants and breweries and trying his hand at cooking. Malcolm is an enthusiastic supporter of Duke Basketball, the Dallas Cowboys, and Dallas Mavericks. Malcolm is excited about joining the BRASS family and looks forward to making new connections with its many members and supporters.  

Apoorva Thatavarty is from Charlotte, N.C. Having spent much of her childhood in science museums, building bridges and robots, and doing wacky kitchen science, her interest in science and technology was nurtured from a young age. Her first exposure to medicine and the human body occurred during senior year of high school through the design of medical devices. With an appreciation for the potentially unlimited power of technology and scientific discovery, she was fascinated by the notion of applying engineering concepts to the human body. These interests led her to pursue a B.S. in chemical and biomolecular engineering at North Carolina State University, with minors in business administration and economics.

Through her undergraduate career followed by two years at the NIH as a post-baccalaureate research trainee, Apoorva began envisioning a career that encompassed both interpersonal and holistic aspects of medicine with the critical, hypothesis-driven nature of rigorous research. She is immensely grateful to be a part of the Baylor M.D./Ph.D. program pursuing her graduate studies in Genetics. She is interested in exploring the genetic underpinnings of why and how humans age to develop therapeutics to extend quality of life. She finds it to be a tremendous privilege to someday be able to reassure patients during their most vulnerable moments, while simultaneously working on the unsolved questions about the human condition.

Beyond the academics, Apoorva enjoy hiking, planning elaborate potlucks and taking care of her houseplants and garden. During the pandemic, one of the hobbies she invested the most time into was baking (much like many others during this time). She has always loved to cook and bake. But for the year of 2020, she made it a new year's resolution to do 52 bakes in 52 weeks. Among these bakes, she’s made chocolate soufflé, homemade pasta, baklava and, of course the pandemic classic, sourdough bread. She hopes to share these home bakes with the BRASS family and looks forward to giving back to the Houston community.