Ebony I. Weems Biography

Dr. Ebony I. Weems is a molecular biologist and biomedical data scientist. She is interested in exploring the underlying biological mechanisms involved in the onset of health disparities and using cutting-edge technology such as deep learning to investigate how genetic variations and molecular pathways contribute to disparities. Dr. Weems is an Assistant Professor in the Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University Department of Biological Sciences.    

Dr. Weems is passionate about interdisciplinary collaboration and currently has ongoing projects with researchers at the University of Johannesburg (SA), Tuskegee University, Albany State University, and Meharry Medical College. 

She and her husband are the proud parents of three sons. Dr. Weems enjoys being active in her church, serving in her community, and making memories with her family. In addition, she is a big Georgia Bull Dogs football fan and an avid gardener.  

 

Research areas of interest

Dr. Weems’ lab is interested in understanding the intersections that exist between health disparities and levering computational tools to address these issues. More specifically, her research aims to understand the biological mechanisms involved in the onset of obesity and its comorbidities, identify the trends and patterns associated with health disparities including CKD and diabetes, and use predictive analytics and machine learning to model disease patterns and various populations of people. Dr. Weems is also interested in leveraging AI-driven solutions to analyze, understand, and mitigate inequalities and biases in health care and related disparities.  

 

Education

Ph.D., Biomedical Sciences, concentration Molecular Biology - Meharry Medical College 

MSBMDS, Biomedical Data Science - Meharry Medical College 

MAT, Secondary Education - Belmont University  

-State of Tennessee Board of Education-Professional License 2019-2025

M.S., Biology, concentration Microbiology - Alabama Agriculture and Mechanical University 

B.S., Biology - Valdosta State University 

 

Publications

Washington, J, Moss, E., Clay, O, Tadesse, W., and E. Weems, 2023. Impact of Food Deserts on Health Outcomes in Individuals with Metabolic Disorders. Submitted 

Weems, E.I., Dalrymple, L., Shillingford, N., and A. Cao.  2023, Neighborhood Disparities: Improving obesity health outcomes in African American women using predictive modeling. In Preparation  

Weems, E.I. Nguyen, L., and X. Wang. 2024, Functional Analysis of genes associated with a high glucose response in intestinal epithelial cells. In Preparation 

Weems, E.I. and T. Linney, 2024, From Source to Sip: Understanding the Global Effects of Water Quality, Hygiene, and Sanitation on Drinking Water. In Preparation 

Robnett, R., Ballen, CJ., Fagbodun, S., Lane, AK., McCoy, S., Robinson, L., Weems, E., Cotner, S., 2022. Are synchronous chats a silver lining of emergency remote instruction? Text-based chatting is disproportionately favored by women in an introductory biology course.  

Weems, E, de la Sancha, N, Zambrana-Torrelio, C, Ferraris, R.P., and L. J. Anderson., 2021. Centering Microbes in the Emerging Role of Integrative Biology in Understanding Environmental Change. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 2021; icab047, https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icab047 

Weems, E, Singha, UK, Smith, JT, and M. Chaudhuri., 2017. The divergent N-terminal domain of Tim17 is critical for its assembly in the TIM complex in Trypanosoma brucei. Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology. 218:4-15 

Weems, E, Singha, UK., Hamilton, V, Smith, JT., Waegmann, K., Mokaranjac, D, and M. Chaudhuri., 2015.  Functional complementation analysis revealed that the single PRAT-family protein of Trypanosoma brucei is a divergent homolog of Tim17 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Eukaryotic Cell. 14(3):286-296  

Okafor, O., Weems, E., and L. Williams., 2014. Effects of Gamma-Interferon on Intestinal Epithelial Cells Stimulated with Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium and Candida albicans. British Microbiology Research Journal 4(1): 50-62 

Hamilton, V., Singha, UK., Smith, J. T., Weems, E., and M. Chaudhuri., 2014. Trypanosome Alternative Oxidase Possesses Both an N-terminal and Internal Mitochondrial Targeting Signal. Eukaryotic Cell 

Singha UK., Hamilton V., Duncan MR., Weems E., Tripathi, MK., and M. Chaudhuri., 2012. A Novel Translocase of Mitochondrial Inner Membrane in Trypanosoma brucei. J. Biol. Chem. 287 (18):14480-93 

Johnson, JU, Weems, E, McDonald J., 2009 Leptin evaluation and cytogenetic profiled to elucidate factors affecting reproductive performance of the crème d’argent-an endangered rabbit breed. Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science.