Cal State San Marcos student Kevin Brown Jr., a former CIRM Bridges intern, has won the Rising Black Scientist Award from Cell Press, Cell Signaling Technology, and the Elsevier Foundation.
Brown was selected from more than 350 applicants across multiple scientific fields. Applicants were asked to share their scientific vision, formative experiences, commitment to inclusion, and how these shape their journey.
The award began in 2020 to increase visibility and support for talented Black scientists in the life and medical sciences. It has since expanded to include physical, earth, environmental, and data sciences.
Brown and three other winners will have their essays published in Cell, receive $10,000 for their research, and get 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,” describes his childhood heart surgery.
“The surgeon, a tall man with dark hair, eased my anxiety and sparked my curiosity as he explained how he would fix my heart,” Brown wrote in his winning essay.
“The day I left the hospital, I promised myself I would make a positive impact through science and medicine, and I have pursued that goal ever since.”
He explains his goal to develop a strong stem cell model for personalized medical approaches.
“My work with stem cells and Alzheimer’s disease sparked my interest in a combined neuroscience‑regenerative medicine path. As someone with personal and family cardiac issues, I’m also driven to explore how stem cells could help patients with diverse cardiovascular conditions.”
Sparking curiosity in CIRM’s Bridges Internship Program
In his Cell essay, Brown also describes his experience in the CIRM Bridges to Stem Cell Research and Therapy Program, which prepares California’s undergraduate and master’s students for careers in stem cell research and therapy development.
In the program, he spent a year in Dr. Hollis Cline’s neuroscience lab at The Scripps Research Institute, an experience that deepened his curiosity even further.
“Surprisingly, I left her office with new goals and a confidence to let my imagination spark innovation,” Brown writes. “At that moment, my plan to blend science and medicine—and create change—began to materialize.”
Brown has been open in sharing his story. Last year, he described his Bridges experience in a Stem Cellar blog and in CIRM’s 2023 annual report, highlighting his passion for neuroscience and the challenges he faced in science communication.
Learn more about Kevin Brown Jr. in a feature from Cal State San Marcos.