Brianna Hill-Payne and Sam Preza are from different parts of the world with different scientific goals and motivations. He was born in El Salvador and plans to work in biotech; she is a mother of two from New Jersey working toward a career in academic research. Both are working to make an impact on the future of biochemistry and the environments where research, and ultimately scientific breakthroughs, happen.
What ties these two Perelman School of Medicine PhD students together in particular is their mutual passion for encouraging diversity of identity as well as ideology in their field—benefiting the research as well as the researchers. This passion was recently recognized at a national level, as they are two of the 50 graduate students selected to receive this year’s prestigious Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Gilliam Fellowship.
A program within the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the largest private biomedical research institution in the country, the HHMI Gilliam Fellowship cohort is awarded each July 9, or “Gilliam Day”, to graduate students and their advisors for their outstanding research and commitment to advancing equity and inclusion in science. The fellowship includes a one-year mentorship skills development course and support to promote healthy and inclusive graduate training environments at their home institution.
Hill-Payne and Preza represent the fellowship’s two aims: Both want to advance research and the tools that drive scientific and medical discoveries forward, and at the same time, they are helping the biomedical research world look more like the outside world—one where our varying backgrounds and diversity make us stronger.
Sam Preza: From El Salvador to Philadelphia researcher
Samuel Preza, PSOM Bioengineering PhD student
Preza has always been drawn to problem solving and building things with his hands. “It makes sense that I went into engineering,” he said.
After moving from El Salvador at age 11 and becoming a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient as a junior in high school, Preza decided to pursue chemical engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park. Growing up, he worked hard at assimilating with his American peers, but by the time he reached his undergraduate studies, felt like he was losing his individuality and culture. “I wanted to turn that on its head and celebrate our differences and backgrounds to foster better collaboration.”
Drawing from his college experiences, Preza worked as an upstream process development scientist in the biotech industry for three years, where he said he fell in love with science and research—and realized that he wanted to understand the science of discovering new therapies, not just manufacturing them.
He decided to pursue his PhD in bioengineering in a lab at the Perelman School of Medicine. He ultimately plans to return to industry to develop innovative solutions to solve unmet medical needs, with a strong focus on encouraging diversity of ideas in the field and promoting mentorship for the next generation of scientists.
“Penn’s program was the most compatible with my culture, lifestyle, and research. It is also at the forefront of cell therapy, and that was the research I really wanted to work on,” Preza said.
His PhD program harnesses the power of stem cells and circadian rhythms to ultimately develop a cure for Type I diabetes, which he researches alongside his advisor, Juan Alvarez, PhD, an assistant professor in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology. Their studies focus on beta cells, the type of cell found in the pancreas that helps regulate glucose. In the lab, they study how exposing cells to circadian rhythms could lead to functional beta cells that can be transplanted into diabetic patients to restore function. This work will be supported by their HHMI Fellowship grant.
The fellowship not only supports their scientific research but also helps foster an inclusive research environment, ensuring various backgrounds and ideologies contribute to their research. Preza is starting a DEI “potluck”, where bioengineering students can gather to discuss new research or career ideas. The meetups are catered by whichever student is hosting the meeting and can either showcase their nationality’s food or a cuisine they are passionate about, highlighting the celebration of diversity of ideas through food.
“I believe STEM fields should look more like a mosaic of all our backgrounds rather than a melting pot, to add to the richness that is the art of science,” Preza said.
Brianna Hill Payne: Full-time mom and future scientific leader
Brianna Hill-Payne, PSOM Chemical Biology PhD student
Brianna Hill-Payne acknowledges that her scientific journey hasn’t been a stereotypical one. The last time she was in school was over 10 years ago as the only Black student to graduate that year with a master's in chemistry from University of California-Davis. Since then, she and her family have made multiple cross-county moves from California and back home to New Jersey to continue her and her husband’s careers, while balancing the need for family connections and support for their two young children.
Once Hill-Payne had her second daughter in California, her family decided to move back to New Jersey for additional family support, and so she could attend school at Penn. The PhD program in the Biochemistry, Biophysics, Chemical Biology group at the Perelman School of Medicine stood out to her because of the location but also the innovative research being performed.
Her research, supported by her PI George Burslem, PhD, an assistant professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics, focuses on the tools used for chemical biology and cancer research. They are currently working on a tool to study ways to manipulate the progression of acute myeloid leukemia, a blood and bone marrow cancer. The funding from the HHMI Fellowship will help the lab team run specific, often expensive, tests to advance the work.
Hill-Payne's career goals are focused on making important discoveries in chemical biology, and also on supporting the next generation of biomedical researchers. After this program, she aims to advance to more senior roles as an academic researcher and ultimately hold leadership positions. “I was very conditioned to not seeing others in my field, especially in leadership positions, that looked like me—and I would like to change that,” she said.
As part of the grassroots work encouraged with the HHMI fellowship, she also wants to start an outreach program that gives underrepresented high school students insight into future biomedical research careers. “In high school I had no idea what cancer research looked like—I would like to show current high school students the options that exist for them.”
She said that her journey can be an example to the younger generation of not giving up on something you're passionate about. “Even if your career doesn’t take a linear path, pivot when you need to pivot and outsource when you need to outsource. But no matter what, don’t give up.”