Speakers
Workshop
Thinking about graduate school but unsure where to start? This interactive session provides a comprehensive roadmap for navigating the graduate school application process in today’s evolving academic landscape. From the initial stages of exploring programs and identifying the right fit to crafting a competitive application and making informed decisions about offers, participants will gain practical strategies and insider tips to succeed.
Dr. Amanda Marie James, PhD, is an equity‑centered higher education leader and translational scientist committed to advancing access, belonging, and meaningful opportunity across graduate education by redesigning systems, policies, and pathways that shape scholar success. She leads Advancing Excellence through Recruitment and Opportunities (AERO) at the James T Laney School of Graduate Studies of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, where she directs institution‑wide strategies that strengthen equitable recruitment pipelines, cultivate inclusive academic environments, and sustain the thriving and long‑term success of diverse scholars.
Dr. James earned her Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, and her PhD in Clinical Pharmacology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in Birmingham, Alabama, USA. Her scientific expertise spans pharmacology, method development, assay development, and translational research. Her current scholarship focuses on the abundance of coronary atherosclerotic isomiRs (isoforms of microRNA) and their association with clinically relevant outcomes, with particular attention to how these molecular signatures intersect with race, ethnicity, gender, HIV status, and co‑morbidities. This work reflects her commitment to integrating biomedical insight with equity‑driven scientific inquiry.
Her dual grounding in biomedical research and equity-centered institutional strategy informs a leadership approach that is both data-driven and community-rooted, allowing her to bridge scientific rigor with systems-level change. Across her career, she has blended research, strategic planning, and community‑anchored program development to build pathways for scholars from a wide range of racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Her deep experience within the culturally rich and globally connected Atlanta community strengthens her ability to support students in navigating complex academic, personal, and professional landscapes.
Dr. James contributes to national and international efforts advancing inclusive excellence, graduate education, and equitable student success. Grounded in her Cape Verdean heritage and guided by a community‑anchored leadership philosophy, she works to ensure equity is embedded in everyday academic practice. Her work continues to advance equity as a practice, a responsibility, and a collective commitment within higher education.
She grounds her approach in the words of civil rights leader Marian Wright Edelman: “Education is for improving the lives of others and for leaving your community and the world better than you found it.”