Engineering students selected for prestigious fellows program

Two Washington University in St. Louis PhD candidates have been selected for the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education Inc. (AAHHE) Graduate Student Fellows Program. The students — Allison Martinez Mejia and Gerson Moreno Romero — are both studying biomedical engineering at the McKelvey School of Engineering. 

headshot of students Martinez Mejia and Moreno Romero
Martinez Mejia (left) and Moreno Romero

Martinez Mejia , a member of the McDonnell International Scholars Academy, researches novel therapeutic targets and biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease in the lab of Jin-Moo Lee, MD, the Andrew B. & Gretchen P. Jones Professor and chair of the Department of Neurology at WashU Medicine. 

Moreno Romero researches the role of multi-modal rehabilitative therapeutics in the Plasticity, Monoamines, and Recovery of Function Laboratory of Jacob McPherson, an assistant professor of physical therapy at WashU Medicine. 

Aurora Kamimura, assistant provost for inclusive excellence and an AAHHE emerita board member, said the program has a long history of preparing Latiné scholars for success as professors and campus leaders.

“It is a point of pride for AAHHE to see alumni now leading our nation’s campuses toward becoming more inclusive and academically excellent,” Kamimura said. “I am extremely proud that two of this year’s fellows are WashU graduate students. It speaks tremendously to their personal and professional accomplishments, and also to the encouragement they are receiving to seek support within the Latiné scholarly community more broadly.”

Read more on the McKelvey Engineering website.