Two Graduate Students Selected for Inaugural Murphy Science Policy and Communication Fellowship

The Murphy Institute's Center for Public Policy Research has announced the inaugural Fellows in the Murphy Science Policy and Communications Program, a collaborative endeavor with the Tulane School of Science and Engineering (SSE) and Tulane School of Medicine (SOM). The selected fellows are Abdulhafeez Lukmon and José Irizarry Ayala, both talented graduate students at Tulane. 

Abdulhafeez Lukmon is a PhD student in Materials Physics and Engineering at Tulane's School of Science and Engineering. His research, under the guidance of Professor Matthew Escarra, is focused on developing a dynamically tunable optical device from nanostructures of phase change materials. Prior to Tulane, he completed his MSc in Materials Science and Engineering from Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, and received his BSc in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering from the University of Lagos, Nigeria. 

José Irizarry Ayala is a graduate student in Biomedical Science at Tulane Medical School and is working towards a PhD Biomedical Informatics. His research interests focus on combining genetic, social, and spatial determinants of health for chronic disease risk prevention and health disparities research. He received his B.S. in Biomedical Sciences from the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico and his M.S. in Biomedical Informatics from the Tulane University School of Medicine. 

The Science Policy and Communication Graduate Fellows Program is the first such initiative to launch under ASPECT: Advancing Science Policy, Ethics, and Communication @ Tulane. The program aims to enhance the understanding and practice of science and engineering policy, ethics and communication as they relate to political economy. 

Both fellows will benefit from the Science Policy and Communications Program, which provides them with the skills and knowledge to effectively communicate scientific findings to policymakers, the public, and other stakeholders. This program will empower them to become future leaders in science policy and advocacy.