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Daenique Jengelley wants to change the world. With a lifelong passion for science, the medical field has always called her name. Growing up, Jengelley watched some of her family members battle diseases – some of which were unknown or chronic – and not have equitable care in the hospital.
She wanted to be the person to investigate and study mechanisms that were underlying causes to these diseases.
"Seeing my family deal with diseases helped drive my purpose," she said."It gave me a mission to do things for other people. I wanted to know more and be more passionate about research and science."
For Jengelley, graduate school at IUPUI was not just a step towards creating change, but also a step towards paving the way for women of color to dominate the medical field.
While completing her undergraduate degree in biology at Tuskegee University, Jengelley participated in an undergraduate research program where she received the American Physiological Society fellowship. This fellowship connected her with the Getting You Into program at IUPUI, which is a two-day institute for students interested in pursuing a doctoral or MFA program offered by IUPUI.
Due to the many biomedical research options through the School of Medicine, Jengelley saw what her future at IUPUI would look like – a place where she could gain comprehensive training.
"At the IUPUI program, I was able to go to different conferences, learn about the graduate school and really picture pursuing a degree in biomedical science," she said. "That’s when I decided to apply and come to IUPUI."
Once at IUPUI, Jengelley realized that she wanted to impact academia by setting an example for the future women of STEM. As a peer wellness mentor in the School of Medicine, she has been able to advocate for and mentor first-year students as they navigate going into a lab environment for the first time.
"Growing up, I didn’t know about a lot of the opportunities that existed in research and in STEM," said Jengelley. "It is really important to me that I give back and that I can be a tool for other people to see what steps to take. It is important to have someone that looks like you and be in an environment where you feel comfortable and welcomed."
Through mentoring, Jengelley has also had the opportunity to help first-year students with mental health. Graduate school is hard, and she wants others to acknowledge that.
"I have been able to bring awareness to mental health issues with my peers," she said. "There is no shame in saying you have difficulties, and you don’t have to suffer in silence. Graduate school is stressful, but you can seek out help."
While on the road to getting her Ph.D., Jengelley got to work with Dr. Teresa Zimmers through the School of Medicine and has gained hands-on research experience through Dr. Zimmers’ mentorship.
"My work focuses on pancreatic cancer perplexia," Jengelley said. "Perplexia is a disorder that affects nearly 80% of pancreatic cancer patients. It also impacts other diseases, but pancreatic cancer can really waste away a person – making them ineligible for chemotherapy, reducing their overall quality of life and making their disease progression worse. My research focuses on the inflammation side of it."
Outside of the lab, Jengelley prioritizes extracurriculars. Along with being a peer wellness mentor, she is the president of the Underrepresented Professional and Graduate Student Organization – a space that empowers underrepresented scholars to become the top professionals in the world. She also co-founded a diversity seminar series called BiochemChat, which connects postdoctoral scholars with current students to give them advice on managing research.
Being so involved on and off campus has not only eased the stress of gaining a Ph.D., but it has helped Jengelley find her purpose at IUPUI.
"The best part of being at IUPUI is that I was able to find a community and support system as I have been progressing in my Ph.D.," she said.
Jengelley is wrapping up her fifth year and plans to graduate in May with her Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology. She hopes to find a postdoctoral position in Indianapolis so she can conduct further research for the next year and build on what she’s accomplished in Dr. Zimmers’ lab.
"My immediate postdoctoral position will be to wrap up my thesis project and submit more publications based off of the work I am doing," she said. "I am still passionate about my work and I have worked so hard on it that I want to see it through."
No matter where her career path my lead, Jengelley will continue to be a pioneer for women of color in STEM and work to find cures for pancreatic cancer.
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