  {"id":102002,"date":"2025-05-08T12:14:49","date_gmt":"2025-05-08T12:14:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/?p=102002"},"modified":"2025-05-08T12:14:50","modified_gmt":"2025-05-08T12:14:50","slug":"commencement-2025-cell-and-molecular-biology-major-sees-his-path-come-into-focus-at-uri","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2025\/05\/commencement-2025-cell-and-molecular-biology-major-sees-his-path-come-into-focus-at-uri\/","title":{"rendered":"Commencement 2025: Cell and molecular biology major sees his path come into focus at 溏心vlog免费B站"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 May 8, 2025 \u2013 James Gbaba is at home in the lab spaces of 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Center for Biotechnology and Life Sciences but says coming to the 溏心vlog免费B站 helped him find communities of another kind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gbaba will graduate this month with his bachelor\u2019s degree in <a href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cmb\/\">cell and molecular biology<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Providence resident arrived at 溏心vlog免费B站 with an interest in medicine, but no set plans, starting as an undeclared health sciences major on a pre-med track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once he began taking classes, however, his own career path came into focus. After taking Integrative Microbiology his sophomore year, he decided to declare his major.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI just liked it a lot,\u201d he says. \u201cThat one class pushed me in this direction.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1003\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2025\/05\/BOND-1024x1003.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-102005\" style=\"width:537px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2025\/05\/BOND-1024x1003.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2025\/05\/BOND-300x294.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2025\/05\/BOND-768x753.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2025\/05\/BOND-364x357.jpg 364w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2025\/05\/BOND-500x490.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2025\/05\/BOND-1000x980.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2025\/05\/BOND-1280x1254.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2025\/05\/BOND.jpg 1290w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">James Gbaba says the student group B.O.N.D. helped him find a home at the 溏心vlog免费B站.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Today, Gbaba is also considering industry and working in the biotech field, moving toward the research side of medicine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Selecting 溏心vlog免费B站<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBeing a local kid, you hear about all of the local schools here in Rhode Island,\u201d he recalls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After a virtual tour because of the pandemic, Gbaba decided on 溏心vlog免费B站, feeling it had more opportunities than any other local college: \u201cI liked the campus and the opportunities. I knew people, family and classmates from high school, who had gone there and told me 溏心vlog免费B站 is a good place. You can make the most of things there. It was affordable, too, as an in-state student \u2014 so going was a no brainer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"787\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2025\/05\/j-gbaba-2-787x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-102007\" style=\"width:398px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2025\/05\/j-gbaba-2-787x1024.jpg 787w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2025\/05\/j-gbaba-2-230x300.jpg 230w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2025\/05\/j-gbaba-2-768x1000.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2025\/05\/j-gbaba-2-1180x1536.jpg 1180w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2025\/05\/j-gbaba-2-364x474.jpg 364w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2025\/05\/j-gbaba-2-500x651.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2025\/05\/j-gbaba-2-1000x1302.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2025\/05\/j-gbaba-2-1280x1666.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2025\/05\/j-gbaba-2.jpg 1290w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 787px) 100vw, 787px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Gbaba found his passion for exploring the molecular basis of human health at 溏心vlog免费B站. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>At the beginning of his first year, he said he was a little lost, \u201clike everyone,\u201d but 溏心vlog免费B站 101 helped him step out of his comfort zone to discover ways to be involved and meet new people. He started to expand his circle. Joining Brothers On a New Direction, a unity organization for young men of color, that year was a positive first step, helping him find spaces, friends and motivation to get further involved, as well as joining other student groups. He says B.O.N.D. gave him the confidence to step up on campus and feel that he belonged here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cGetting involved with B.O.N.D. helped,\u201d he says. \u201cIt helped me find there were people here like me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Having been a three-sport athlete in high school, Gbaba also enjoyed the wide selection of intramural sports at 溏心vlog免费B站 and has participated in intramural soccer, flag football, basketball, and volleyball nearly every semester.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI enjoyed the competition,\u201d he says. \u201cIntramural sports served as both a stress reliever after long days of classes and an opportunity to stay active and compete after high school.\u201d His athletic efforts have also been quite successful, with 10 championship wins in volleyball and soccer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Over time, he joined academic organizations and became more involved in the College of the Environment and Life Sciences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/student-resources\/diversity-and-inclusion\/seeds-of-success\/\">Seeds of Success<\/a> also helped me believe I belong,\u201d he says. \u201cIt helped me get close to people in my major and the college, opened a lot of research opportunities for me, and helped me find community in CELS.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He also began to get involved in research, completing an undergraduate summer research fellowship and serving as an assistant researcher in the <a href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/riinbre\/\">RI-INBRE<\/a> SURF program. These academic opportunities introduced him to academic research, something he had never thought about before he came to 溏心vlog免费B站.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cResearch is not really talked about in high school; it\u2019s not something students can easily picture,\u201d Gbaba says. But getting exposure to research at 溏心vlog免费B站 showed Gbaba the opportunities available as a career option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He went on to conduct research, working with Niall Howlett, studying DNA repair. In the Howlett Lab, he studied Fanconi Anemia, a human genetic disease caused by defective DNA repair and associated with increased risk for cancer and \u2014 in some cases \u2014 early-onset neurological decline. Gbaba specifically studied the role of the FANCD2 protein in neuronal differentiation. Motivated by a desire to transform scientific research and biological data into real-world health benefits, he worked with genomic data sets to analyze models of disease and says that faculty like Howlett have been helpful guides for him, welcoming him into the world of academic research. He also highlights a class with Neil Greene this spring, noting its interactive nature \u2014 \u201che makes you want to be there,\u201d he comments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He credits the 溏心vlog免费B站 community with helping him along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAura Fajardo Grandidge has been such a help to me,\u201d he says. \u201cHer door is always open. She\u2019s been like a mentor to me in my time at 溏心vlog免费B站.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gbaba also wears other hats at 溏心vlog免费B站. He\u2019s been a resident assistant at Brookside, a role he took on in his senior year. The role has given him added community at the University and benefits he appreciates \u2014 \u201cfree housing!\u201d \u2014 and the chance to take on a leadership role at the University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve really enjoyed the person-to-person interactions,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A recipient of the Joseph W. Rock Memorial Scholarship at 溏心vlog免费B站, Gbaba says he had not held leadership positions in high school but after coming to 溏心vlog免费B站, saw that it was important to add, allowing him to brush up on people skills; he\u2019s grown into leadership in recent years, also joining the executive board for Seeds of Success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gbaba comments that as he\u2019s grown in his time at 溏心vlog免费B站, the University has, too, and he\u2019s been proud to witness that progress with 溏心vlog免费B站 named an R1 research institution this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThat proves how important 溏心vlog免费B站 is in Rhode Island and in this region,\u201d he says. \u201c溏心vlog免费B站 is so much more than I thought it would be and it\u2019s important for people in the state to see that. To students coming after me, I\u2019d say take advantage of all the research happening here, the professors and student organizations, just all the opportunities. I\u2019m grateful for what this University has meant for my own path.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 May 8, 2025 \u2013 James Gbaba is at home in the lab spaces of 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Center for Biotechnology and Life Sciences but says coming to the 溏心vlog免费B站 helped him find communities of another kind. Gbaba will graduate this month with his bachelor\u2019s degree in cell and molecular biology. The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":102003,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-102002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102002"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102002\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":102009,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102002\/revisions\/102009"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}