2025-2026 Enosinian Scholars
Issa Samba*
School: Columbian College of Arts and Sciences
Majors: Chemistry; Biology (General Biology concentration)
Project Description:
Antibiotic resistance is one of the most urgent challenges facing medicine today. While broad-spectrum antibiotics have saved countless lives, their repeated use can wipe out beneficial bacteria and accelerate the rise of resistant strains. This project explores a more targeted approach: the development of antibiotic prodrugs that are selectively activated by enzymes found only in Staphylococcus bacteria.
The goal is to design antibiotic molecules that stay inactive until they reach a bacterial environment where certain enzymes, specifically GloB and FrmB, activate them. These enzymes are found in Staphylococcus species but not in most other bacteria. By attaching functional groups to known antibiotics that can be cleaved by these enzymes, the prodrugs can deliver a more precise treatment. This reduces off-target effects, helps preserve the normal microbiome, and lowers the risk of promoting further resistance.
The research involves synthesizing and purifying modified antibiotic compounds and analyzing how their structure interacts with the bacterial enzymes. Understanding how these enzymes recognize and process molecules guides the choice of functional groups and how they are connected to the antibiotic scaffold. Properties like solubility, toxicity, and stability in human serum will also be evaluated to make sure the prodrugs are both effective and safe.
This work aims to contribute to the development of next-generation antibiotics that are smarter, more targeted, and better suited to the ongoing fight against antimicrobial resistance.
Kaethe Ludford*
School: Elliott School of International Affairs
Major: International Affairs with an International Development concentration
Project Description:
Since the establishment of USAID in 1961 under President Kennedy, the United States has launched a series of presidential initiatives aimed at advancing development across the African continent. These efforts—from Clinton’s African Growth and Opportunity Act, Obama’s Young
African Leaders Initiative, to Trump’s Prosper Africa—reflect shifting presidential priorities and approaches to U.S.-Africa relations. While many of these programs still exist in some form, they are often fragmented or lack long-term strategic cohesion. This pattern has resulted in a series of partially effective development efforts without sustained coordination or enduring impact.
My research seeks to investigate how U.S. presidential development initiatives in Africa have evolved, and what factors have influenced their longevity, efficacy, and decline. Through analysis of policy documents and interviews with U.S.-Africa policy experts, I aim to uncover what contributes to programmatic success or failure, and how development has been leveraged as a tool of diplomacy.
Matt Jones*
School: Columbian College of Arts and Sciences
Majors: Philosophy with a Public Affairs focus; Business
Project Description:
What would it mean for the United States to no longer need race-conscious admissions policies and has that point truly been reached?
This thesis explores the philosophical legitimacy of race-conscious admissions in light of the SFFA v. Harvard and UNC decisions, focusing on when, if ever, structured racial preferences cease to be morally defensible.
Rather than approaching this question through traditional liberal frameworks like Rawls or Kant, I intend to examine the case through the lens of Black political thought to argue that race-conscious admissions are still justified until educational and socioeconomic outcomes no longer correlate with race. The project assesses whether current conditions satisfy moral benchmarks for ending affirmative action. In particular, I examine the Supreme Court’s critique
of Harvard and UNC’s indefinite policies—as lacking sunset criteria—as a procedural override, not a moral evaluation. The Court’s demand for timelines is critiqued as arbitrary unless tied to empirical evidence of sustained equality of opportunity.
Through comparisons of legal precedent, policy data, and philosophical literature, this thesis develops criteria indicating when—or if—a shift to colorblind admissions is warranted. It then evaluates current evidence on racial disparities in higher education, K–12 opportunity gaps, wealth distribution, and intergenerational mobility. The project seeks to define clear, justice based benchmarks beyond arbitrary deadlines.
The outcome: a normative framework that shows how and why ending affirmative action might someday be justified, while insisting that such a transition must be grounded in morality rather than politics or judicial review.
Riley Lima*
School: Milken Institute of Public Health
Major: Public Health
Project Description:
My undergraduate studies in public health and focus on health equity have been deeply enriched by the patients I have cared for over the past two years in our local emergency department. Interspersed between days packed with classes, my 12-hour shifts as an Emergency Department Technician exposed me to the incredible diversity of Washington D.C.’s patient population.
A population of interest are our clients who return to the ED frequently, often for non-emergent issues. This recurring pattern, known in the literature as “high-frequency emergency department
utilization,” reflects a broader concern about unmet social needs that drive repeated ED visits (Abbott, 2025). High-frequency users are typically defined as individuals with four or more ED visits within a 12-month period (Locker et al., 2007) and often face significant barriers to accessing consistent outpatient care. With guidance from my faculty mentor, Dr. Sonal Batra, my honors thesis will explore the social determinants of health contributing to this phenomenon. Using a qualitative approach including interviews with our patients, I aim to identify common factors or trends influencing high-frequency ED utilization and categorize patient types by chief complaints and overlapping social factors. These findings will inform the design of more targeted, effective interventions to reduce preventable return visits and improve the quality of care for this overlooked population.
*Member of the University Honors Program