Cal State San Marcos cellular and molecular biology student and former California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) Bridges intern Kevin Brown Jr. has been awarded the Rising Black Scientist Award from the journal Cell Press, Cell Signaling Technology (CST), and the Elsevier Foundation.

Brown was selected from a pool of more than 350 applicants in various sciences. In the application, Cell Press asked emerging black scientists to share their scientific vision, experiences that sparked their interest in science, how they want to contribute to a more inclusive scientific community, and how these all fit together on their journey.

The awards were created in 2020 to break down barriers and provide visibility and funds to support talented black scientists in the life or medical sciences on their career journey. The awards have since then been expanded to include the physical, earth and environmental, and data sciences.

In addition to the publication of their essays in the prominent journal Cell, Brown and three other winners will receive $10,000 to support their research and a $500 travel grant.

How an Operating Table Experience Inspired Brown’s Passion for Science 

Brown’s essay “From the operating table to global science: How a near-death experience sparked my passion for life” details his experience receiving surgery for a heart condition as a child.

“The surgeon, a tall man with a cascade of dark hair framing his sharp facial features, not only put my anxiety to rest but also planted a seed of curiosity in my mind as he gracefully explained how he intended to ‘fix my heart,’” Brown wrote in his winning essay.

“The day I left the hospital, I told myself I’d leave my positive impact on the world through science and medicine, and I haven’t stopped striving for that since.”

He further explains his goal toward developing a robust stem cell model to explore personalized approaches into modern medical practice.

“My personal exploration into how stem cells can help us grapple with Alzheimer’s disease has sparked my interest in a blended neuroscience-regenerative medicine path. However, as someone who has had a lifelong battle with personal and familial cardiac complications, I’m deeply inspired by the possibility of understanding how to utilize stem cells to face the growing number of diverse patients with cardiovascular issues.” 

Sparking Curiosity in CIRM’s Bridges Internship Program 

In his Cell essay, Brown also details his experience joining the CIRM Bridges to Stem Cell Research and Therapy Program, which prepares California’s undergraduate and master’s graduate students for careers in stem cell research and therapy development.

In the program, he studied for one year in Dr. Hollis Cline’s neuroscience lab at The Scripps Research Institute, which he says sparked his curiosity even further.

“Surprisingly, I left her office with a fresh slate of objectives and a newfound confidence to allow my imagination to be the precursor for innovation,” Brown writes. “It was at that moment that my goal of blending science and medicine, in hopes of creating change, was finally materializing.”

Brown has been very forthcoming in sharing his story. Last year, he detailed his Bridges experience in a blog for The Stem Cellar and CIRM’s 2023 annual report, in which he highlighted his passion for medicine in neuroscience and the challenges he faced in science communication.

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To read the official press release about the Rising Black Scientists Awards, click here. Learn more about Kevin Brown Jr. in a feature from Cal State San Marcos.