Black Faculty
Black Faculty
This page showcases some of the University of Massachusetts' excellent scientists from its Black community. In perusing this page, one can read about their important contributions in such areas as agriculture, biochemistry, biology, chemistry, engineering, geology, mathematics, microbiology, public health, and psychology.
Steve Acquah
Associate Research Professor, Chemistry
Dr. Acquah is an Associate Research Professor of Chemistry, The Digital Media Lab Coordinator, and Director of the Global Educational Outreach for Science Engineering and Technology (GEOSET) initiative. His research focuses on carbon nanomaterials, including carbon nanotubes. He received his doctorate from Sussex University (United Kingdom) under the supervision of the Nobel Laureate, Sir Harold Kroto.
Sofiya Alhassan
Associate Professor, Kinesiology
Dr. Sofiya Alhassan is a Professor in the Department of Kinesiology. She examines the impact of health behavior (i.e., physical activity, screen time) intervention on obesity and cognitive outcomes in young children from low-income communities. Her research is centered within the community.
Stacyann Bailey
Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering
Dr. Bailey is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Her research lab focuses on developing strategies that mitigate skeletal fragility in patients at risk for bone fractures, particularly due to aging, disease, and pharmacological therapies. Her research web site is https://bme.umass.edu/faculty/stacyann-bailey
Gerald Downes
Associate Professor, Biology
Dr. Downes is an Associate Professor in the Biology Department who's lab uses zebrafish to study motor behavior and epilepsy. His laboratory web site is https://www.downeslab.org.
Karine Fenelon
Assistant Professor, Biology
Dr. Fenelon is an Assistant Professor in Biology. Her research program focuses on better understanding the neural elements and circuits underlying sensory information filtering. Hallmark of schizophrenia, abnormal sensory filtering is seen in many psychiatric and neurodevelopmental diseases associated with cognitive and behavioral deficits. The overall goal of her team is to provide a better understanding of the physiological dysfunction in patients suffering from sensory information filtering and identify potential targets for therapeutic interventions.
Peter Jeranyama
Extension Associate Professor
Dr. Jeranyama conducts research in cranberry environmental physiology targeted at areas where grower practices can be modified to improve plant performance and conserve resources. He applies basic principles of plant physiology to study questions related to water use, plant stress (heat and cold), and photosynthesis both in the laboratory and in the field, translating from basic principles to applied research. The research information generated from his research projects is used to develop grower usable recommendations regarding irrigation and frost management practices that improve crop yield and quality and conserve water. This fits the model of the Cranberry Station where the integration of research and extension is emphasized and faculty are expected to conduct research that has both scientific merit and measurable outcomes.
Giverson Mupambi
Extension Assistant Professor
Dr. Giverson Mupambi is an Extension Assistant Professor at the Cranberry Station. He conducts applied research on integrated approaches to cranberry production and transfers research-based information to the Massachusetts cranberry industry. His research program applies basic principles of plant physiology to study questions related to fruit quality, heat stress, and the co-location of solar with cranberry production (agrivoltaics)
Allecia Reid
Assistant Professor, PBS
Dr. Allecia Reid is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences. She studies the influence of social factors, including risky peers and stigma, on health behaviors. She also designs interventions to promote uptake and long-term maintenance of healthy behaviors, particularly in the context of alcohol use.
Justin B. Richardson
Assistant Professor, Geosciences
Dr. Justin B. Richardson is a southern California native and holds a B.S. in Environmental Science from University of California Riverside, a PhD in Earth Sciences from Dartmouth College and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Critical Zone National Office at Cornell University. His research focuses on nutrient and toxic metal cycling and transport in the plant-soil-water system in the forested watersheds of New England.
Shannon C. Roberts
Assistant Professor, Mechanical Industrial Engineering
Dr. Shannon C. Roberts is an Assistant Professor of Industrial Engineering who studies Human Factors in transportation safety, with a focus on young novice drivers and automated vehicle technology. She received her BS in Mechanical Engineering from MIT and her MS and PhD in Industrial Engineering from the University of Wisconsin Madison. Her research web site is https://people.umass.edu/scroberts/index.html
Lindiwe Sibeko
Professor and Department Chair of Nutrition, School of Public Health + Health Sciences
Dr Lindiwe Sibeko is an Associate Professor in the Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health and Health Sciences. Her maternal and child health community-engaged research is focused on improving breastfeeding equity among Black families; her clinical research examines the impact of human lactation on early health outcomes of mother infant dyads.
Wilmore Webley
Associate Professor of Microbiology
Webley completed a bachelor of science degree in medical technology at Northern Caribbean University. He then went on to earn an M.Sc. and Ph.D. in microbiology at UMass Amherst, with expertise in immunology, infectious disease and host-pathogen interaction, with a concentration in vaccine development.
Webley is an associate professor of microbiology. His research has focused on two parallel themes: (1) understanding chlamydial interaction with the infected host in an attempt to better characterize the diseases that this family of bacteria cause and (2) design and development of interventional and therapeutic strategies to prevent or treat chlamydial infections and associated sequelae.
Nathaniel Whitaker
Interim Dean of CNS / Professor and Department Head, Math Statistics
Dr. Whitaker is Professor and Department Head of Math & Sat. In his research he studies problems in Math Biology such as the growth of cancerous tumors and blood flow in the kidney. He also work in computational fluid mechanics.
DEI News
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College of Natural Sciences Interim Dean Appointed
We are pleased to announce the appointment of Nathaniel Whitaker, head and professor of mathematics and statistics, as the interim dean of the College of Natural Sciences. He will start on July 18. -
Environmental Conservation Graduate is Water Hackathon Winner
UMass graduate student wins this prestigious MIT award for her proposed solution to the problem of urban flooding. -
The Institute of Diversity Sciences Receives Diversity Grant
Grant will help fund students in tech and engineering -
STEM Students Win Goldwater Scholarships
The scholarship supports students who thrive in research and plan to pursue a graduate degree
Explore DEI at CNS
We are committed to increasing, retaining, and supporting the success of faculty and students who have been historically underrepresented in academic science.
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