Luis Grande was born in Caracas, Venezuela, and has worked in the field of communication for more than a decade—as a journalist, videographer, film critic, media producer and video editor. Luis chose Drexel's Communication, Culture and Media PhD program to become a college professor and expand his research on the symbolic impact of digital entities like AI and digital influencers.

Abdifatah Ahmed Mohamed is founder and executive director of the Somali Deaf Development Association, based in Jigjiga, Ethiopia. Mohamed was Drexel University's representative for the 2023 Mandela Washington Fellowship Summit Ignite Talks. His moving speech about the inclusion and education of disabled African children earned the only standing ovation at the event.

LeeAnn Haaf, PhD ’22, works to ensure a better future for our wetlands as the Assistant Director of Estuary Science at the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary. Here, Haaf expands on the coastal wetland research she first began exploring as a student, with the goal of translating science into positive change. Haaf earned her bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in environmental science at Drexel, making her a “Triple Dragon.”

In 2023, chemistry PhD candidate John-Paul R. Marrazzo captured first-place for “Dearomatization of Benzonitriles with Lithiated Nucleophiles” at the annual American Association for the Advancement of Science conference. Marrazzo competed in the Student E-Poster competition physical sciences/graduate student category.

Matt Cowan, a PhD student in the biology department, was part of the team that won first place at the National Science Policy Network's 2023 Science Policy Writing Competition for early career scientists and engineers. The team’s brief explored how to improve indoor air quality to alleviate childhood asthma in Chicago.

Ive-Anwuli got her bachelors in biological science from Anambra State University now Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Uli, Nigeria. Ralph-Uyalor explores potential therapeutic approaches to promote wound healing. She is a graduate teaching fellow in the Department of Biology where she is a member of the Petrie Lab.