Inspiring the Next Generation of Scientists, One Lab Drawer at a Time
What started as a childhood passion for science for Dr. Alecia Gabriel has led to a career of encouraging that same passion in the lives of youth in her home town of Detroit, MI and beyond through the Motor City STEAM Foundation and The Lab Drawer, a monthly prescription box filled with STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics) activities for ages 10-14.
Dr. Alecia Gabriel earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry from Xavier University of Louisiana and decided to attend LSU for her PhD in Chemistry because she knew some people who were in the program who attended Xavier, and they spoke highly of the program. She was also fortunate to receive the Huel D. Perkins Graduate Fellowship, which she knew would really help her focus on her studies.
While at LSU, her research focused on the study of porphyrins and how they can be used for more accurate in-vivo imaging for colon and breast cancer. Her goal was to target a specific receptor, epidermal growth factor receptor, which was found to be over-expressed on cancer cells.
What was your most memorable LSU experience?
I had many great memories at LSU. One of them was obtaining the top presentation award for the department. I also remember spending a lot of time with my colleagues in the department studying or taking extra time in the lab.
What or who inspired you to pursue science?
Ever since I was a child, I was always interested in science. However, I come from a family of music teachers, so I also had an interest in music. Even in spite of that, my family encouraged me to study science because I was so interested in it. In high school, at Cass Technical High School in Detroit, I took an Honors Chemistry class and the teacher was amazing. It made me really decide that I wanted to be a scientist.
What made you want to pursue a PhD?
While at Xavier University of Louisiana, I conducted research in a lab as part of the Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) Program. I gained a lot of confidence working in the lab, so I thought that I would eventually enjoy working in industry as a chemist.
Who were some of your mentors or role models and how did they impact your science journey?
My PhD advisor, Dr. Graça Vicente, and dissertation committee member, Dr. Isiah Warner were my two biggest influences while at LSU. They both were very encouraging throughout my studies. I think their encouragement helped me realize that I could be successful in industry or in teaching.
What’s the coolest, craziest, weirdest, or most dangerous thing you’ve done in the name of your science?
While I was conducting research abroad in Ghana, I decided that I wanted to study a plant, Bridelia ferruginea, which is used to treat diabetes and hypertension. My work was centered around using various chemistry techniques to isolate compounds from this plant and determine the potential mechanisms of why this plant is used to treat those conditions. This plant, however, is only found in certain rural areas in Ghana. Therefore, I had to take a taxi, far away from the university from where I worked in order to access the plant. Upon trying to return to the university, our group was stopped at a checkpoint where we were interrogated. These issues at the checkpoint definitely had me second guessing why I decided to work with this plant. Nonetheless, we made it back safely.
If you could tell your younger self one thing, what would it be?
Allow yourself to make mistakes. Give yourself some grace. Failures only exist for you to learn.
What is your job title today and what are your responsibilities in this (of these) job(s)
I am currently Vice President of Operations for ENCONAcademy, an automotive industry-based training and consulting company. As VP of Operations, I am responsible for building and maintaining customer relationships (both on the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and Tier 1-2 suppliers side) and managing daily operations for training events and consulting projects. Although it may seem much of what I do is not related to chemistry, it is highly technical, as I work with engineers to ensure they have the knowledge required to safely build vehicles. I also am a STEM/STEAM entrepreneur. I am a Co-Founder of Motor City STEAM Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to making STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) education more accessible to Metro Detroit youth. In conjunction with this, I am also a Co-Founder of The Lab Drawer, an Ed-Tech monthly subscription box of STEM and STEAM experiments curated for youth aged 10-14.
What do you think is the coolest thing about your work / research?
The coolest thing about my work is that I do something new every day. I can’t tell you where I have one day that’s the same. I teach people and I learn new technologies. I’m constantly innovating.
What do you enjoy most about your field?
One thing about being a scientist in general is that there are so many avenues to use the technical knowledge you learn. I really enjoy teaching and training adults and youth in very complex topics, but breaking those concepts down for them to understand. As a STEM entrepreneur, I’ve been able to create a lane for myself and be innovative, creating new STEM/STEAM projects for young people every month to hopefully change their minds on becoming a scientist.
What was a turning point or defining moment in your work as a scientist?
The turning point for me happened when I moved back to Detroit after graduate school. I was always being asked to speak at churches or other community organizations to young people to let them know that they could be a scientist like me. Consistently, though, I would notice that the youth I spoke to had some gaps in knowledge that I couldn’t remember having at their age, particularly in middle and high school levels. This really troubled me. This is the reason why Motor City STEAM Foundation was started, then The Lab Drawer.
Motor City STEAM Foundation was actually the first idea. We thought that by starting Motor City STEAM that we would be able to go to these same places and engage students. However, as scientists know, materials for experiments can be quite expensive. We quickly realized that we needed to raise money and, therefore, we created our product/monthly subscription box, The Lab Drawer.
What question or challenge were you setting out to address when you started this work?
Ultimately, our goal is to increase the number of ethnically underrepresented students pursuing careers in STEM fields, while integrating Art in the experience. In addition, many school districts in the US are not hiring qualified, certified teachers. This leads to parents having to look for alternative options for their children to excel in STEM education.
Why is your work important to you?
This is important because our world revolves around science and technology. We see that if black and brown people are not at the decision table, we are left out of the equation. For example, research shows that automatic hand soap dispensers and automatic hand washing faucets were not designed with people with darker skin in mind. We are here to build a community of learners who go on to pursue STEM fields so that these types of disparities are adequately addressed across various STEM fields.
What kind of response have you gotten to your work / research?
The work we’re doing in Detroit and across the country has allowed us to work with community organizations and universities, but also be recognized by General Motors (GMAAN) with an Excellence in STEAM award, which we received in 2020. In the midst of the pandemic, we also gained a lot of attention because we were able to provide STEM/STEAM programming to K-12 students for summer camps. We have also been highlighted in various media outlets for our efforts.
How does your work (or could your work) affect the lives of everyday citizens?
By exposing youth to STEM/STEAM, we impact their trajectories. We help them to understand that they can solve big problems that impact their families and the rest of the world.
What is next for you / The Lab Drawer / MOTOR City STEAM?
We've partnered with some large organizations to help them bring STEAM to their summer camp programming. We are shipping our products internationally and providing virtual lab instruction to youth. We project that we will get almost 4,000 Lab Drawer boxes to students across the globe. We are also in the midst of fundraising for an initial seed round. We are implementing some interactive technology to really get students engaged in the Lab Drawer box.
In your area of work, you’ve had to be very flexible and creative. Can you share with us a moment or moments when you have had to improvise or McGuyer your way to achieve the goal?
One of our first activities as Motor City STEAM was working with a group of young ladies. We had a great experiment planned for them, building an ecosystem using soil, fish, water, etc. During the session, the fish started to die, which was pretty disheartening for them. However, we actually used this time for them to use their creativity through performing arts (scripting, dancing) to tell the story of what could have caused the issue. It worked out well and the participants not only left with more scientific knowledge, but also a realization that they can be scientists as well as creatives.
Within your career, what have been some of the best lessons learned?
Communication is key. If a situation does not feel right in the workplace, it needs to be made known.