Lidadi Agbomi
“She is diligent, self-disciplined, and self-motivated,” said Dr. Nishika Edwards, educational research program coordinator at the University of South Carolina’s School of Medicine, Greenville, in the department of biomedical sciences.
Agbomi has worked closely with mentors there to investigate and research self-organizing neural units to model ischemic stroke and other neuropathology. Agbomi has also worked on analyzing data of the disruption of the extracellular morphogenesis of cardiac tissues in two avian models of cyanotic heart defects.
“As a researcher, she’s meticulous in her approach and very studious as well,” said Edwards.
Agbomi, who completed her bachelor’s degree at Clemson, first credits Jesus, her Lord and Savior, without whom she said she would not have been able to accomplish what she has done the past two years. She also acknowledges the supportive network of people, including her parents, who have been there for her during her undergraduate studies.
Throughout her life, Agbomi has dealt with asthma and eczema, which brought her into close contact with many doctors and sparked her fascination with science. She entered her undergraduate education planning on becoming a physician, most likely an immunologist, to address issues of asthma and other autoimmune diseases.
“I went into my undergrad doing bioengineering and premed, and then once I got the opportunity to do research it opened my eyes to a different side of bioengineering,” Agbomi said. “It excited me so much I actually finished everything for my premed requirements, but I decided to pursue a Ph.D. instead.”
