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Biography

Khukheper Awakoaiye is a biology (pre-med) student double minoring in chemistry and psychology, from Oakland, California. Awakoaiye’s career interest is to pursue an MD-Ph.D. surrounding neurodevelopmental disorders and become a research-physician. He chose to attend Howard because he feels he knows the school the best as a result of his two siblings attending Howard before him. So far, he has enjoyed his experience at Howard, meeting many people like him with incredible drive and high aspirations. Awakoaiye was drawn to STEM and specifically biology because of a neuroscience camp he attended focusing on neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. He was amazed at the complexity of the brain and how and why these diseases manifest. Outside of neuroscience, Awakoaiye aspires to investigate Congenital Insensitivity to Pain, a disease that prevents patients from feeling pain. He wants to work to develop a drug to block or hinder pain in chronic pain patients. Awakoaiye looks forward to earning his MD-Ph.D. so he can contribute to the medical field and make a meaningful impact.