Junior Quenton Bubb wins UNCF/Merck Undergraduate Science Research Award

Quenton Bubb, a Johns Hopkins junior from Brooklyn, New York, has won the eminent UNCF/Merck Undergraduate Science Research Award.

Each year, fifteen outstanding students in the U.S. are awarded undergraduate scholarships through a partnership between the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) and the Merck Science Initiative. Selection is based on academic excellence as well as future promise in the field of biomedical research. Committed to improving diversity in the fields of science and engineering, the UNCF/Merck Science Initiative generously funds the study of undergraduate recipients and pairs them with mentors in their areas of interest.

During the summer of 2013, Bubb was awarded an NIH-sponsored fellowship to participate in the Biophysical Society Summer Course, where he contributed to biomedical research at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. There, his focus was on the catalytic activity of the enzyme LipY, as it relates to the survival of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Since May of 2014, Bubb has worked as a research assistant in the lab of Dr. Karen Fleming of the Johns Hopkins Department of Biophysics. His current project involves study of Outer Membrane Protein (OMP) biogenesis in gram-negative bacteria.

After graduating from Johns Hopkins in 2016, Bubb will pursue an MD/PhD in Molecular Biophysics. As a future physician-researcher, he hopes to teach at the university level, as well as lead studies of the biophysical mechanisms that dictate protein folding, translating this knowledge into pharmaceutical discoveries that will prompt advancements in the treatment of a range of illnesses, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

For more information on the UNCF/Merck Undergraduate Science Research Award, please consult its page on our website (linked above) or email Dr. Miller at [email protected].