Jasmine Sheria Edwards, PhD, received her PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Miami School of Medicine in 2022. A Postdoctoral Research Associate, her research focuses on women’s health in pregnancy. Jasmine is currently based out of the laboratory of Kristina De Paris, which collaborates with UNC Global Women’s Health on The Zambian Preterm Birth Prevention Study to identify risk factors for adverse birth outcomes in African women. She works closely with the Zambia team to train personnel on laboratory protocols involving in vitro techniques to study biological factors in adverse birth outcomes. After her fellowship, Jasmine aims to continue conducting research on the early detection of high-risk in Black and African communities, and the development of therapeutic strategies to prevent adverse outcomes. She is passionate about mentoring STEM students from under-represented communities and is an active member of local outreach organizations such as WinSPIRE, PhorwarD and Black, and UNC’s BIPOC Postdoc Alliance.