20 scholars will pursue doctorate degrees at The Johns Hopkins University as part of a new $150 million initiative to address historic underrepresentation in science, technology, engineering and math fields. Of the 20, 11 will study in departments and programs within the Institute for Basic Biomedical Sciences.

Bassil Ramadan, Biomedical Engineering
Undergraduate institution: University of Arizona

Carlos Villapudua Gastelum, Biomedical Engineering
Undergraduate institution: University of La Verne

Cynthia Schofield, Neuroscience
Undergraduate institution: University of Massachusetts Boston

Darryl Joel Sop Tueam, Cellular and Molecular Medicine
Undergraduate institution: New Jersey City University

David Horsey, Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology
Undergraduate institution: University of Maryland Baltimore County

Ime Essien, Biomedical Engineering
Undergraduate institution: Morgan State University

Kodi Harris, Human Genetics and Molecular Biology
Undergraduate institution: Morehouse College

Orian Stapleton, Biomedical Engineering
Undergraduate institution: University of the Virgin Islands

Sierra Williams-McLeod, Cellular and Molecular Medicine
Undergraduate institution: Hampton University

Uche Onuchukwu, Human Genetics and Molecular Biology
Undergraduate institution: University of Maryland Eastern Shore

Victor Omoniyi, Cellular and Molecular Medicine
Undergraduate institutions: University of Maryland Baltimore County; Prince George's Community College

Read a story in the Hub to learn more about this group, which comes from across the country and beyond, and the initiative named after Vivien Thomas, a surgical assistant perhaps best known for his work to develop and refine a lifesaving surgical technique to treat "blue baby syndrome" at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in the 1940s.