Victoria Stephens is a graduate student in the laboratories of Dr. Kevin Osteen and Dr. Kaylon Bruner-Tran. In 2017, she graduated from Albany State University (Albany, Georgia) with a B.S. in Forensic Science and a minor in Chemistry. Following graduation, she participated in a one year post-baccalaureate program at the University of Iowa (PREP@Iowa). She is now part of the Molecular Pathology and Immunology Department as well as the Women’s Reproductive Health Research Center at Vanderbilt University. Her proposed thesis research involves examining the disease processes of endometriosis and related adverse pregnancy outcomes. Her approach will focus on the development of therapeutic interventions that hold promise for improving reproductive success.

Jelonia Rumph graduated from Florida Memorial University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology in 2018. Following graduation, she matriculated into the Biomedical Sciences PhD Program at Meharry Medical College. In effort to pursue a career as an Environmental Toxicologist, Jelonia now participates in a joint appointment with Meharry Medical College and Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC). At VUMC, she conducts research under the mentorship of Dr. Kaylon Bruner-Tran, a Reproductive Pathologist, in the Women’s Health Research Center. Jelonia’s dissertation project investigates how males exposed to dioxin contribute to Preterm Birth in their unexposed mates and Necrotizing Enterocolitis in their offspring. In the future, Jelonia plans to study the physiological effects of toxicant exposure in communities subjected to environmental injustices.

Madison is a 4th year undergraduate student at Vanderbilt University. Originally from Tampa, FL, Madison is currently majoring in Biological Sciences with minors in Anthropology and Medicine, Health, and Society (MHS). She is an executive board member of Vanderbilt’s Next Steps Ambassadors program, which works to provide individualized support for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Under the mentorship of Dr. Kaylon Bruner-Tran and Dr. Shilpa Mokshagundam, she has studied the association between developmental toxicant exposure and increased transgenerational risk of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). Her future research interests include the germline epigenetic effects of developmental toxicant exposure and the microbiome conditions associated with NEC.