Tsungai Jackson (she/her)

Tsungai Jackson is a dedicated STEM advocate originally from Harare, Zimbabwe, who immigrated to the United States in 2010. Her passion for science began in middle school, where she earned 3rd place in the Boston Science Fair in 8th grade. This early achievement sparked her interest in science, leading her to join the Boston Public Health Commission’s summer educational program, the Boston Area Health Education Center (BAHEC), for her first job. During this time, she was introduced to the world of public health and community initiatives, including internships with the Harvard School of Public Health and Tufts School of Dental Medicine. These experiences fueled her commitment to public service, and she later joined the Youth Advisory Board, where she helped develop and implement community initiatives in Boston to address issues such as police discrimination within underrepresented communities and mental health challenges in Boston Public Schools.

Through her work in public health and community engagement, Tsungai was introduced to life sciences and research, further sparking her interest in the field. In 2016, she joined the CURE program with Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Harvard Cancer Center, where she gained her first research experience in a gastrointestinal laboratory. This experience solidified her dedication to research, and she continued to seek out additional opportunities, connecting with organizations like Project Onramp, BottomLine, and Life Science Cares.

Tsungai graduated in 2021 from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and a minor in Psychology. Shortly after graduation, she joined Pfizer’s two-year R&D rotational program, where she expanded her skills beyond research into pharmaceutical business operations, project management, and patient advocacy. Throughout her career, Tsungai has remained committed to mentoring students from underrepresented backgrounds, providing them with exposure to life sciences and networking opportunities in the Boston and Cambridge areas.

“One of my favorite women in science is Dr. Li-Jun Ma, my former biochemistry professor at UMass Amherst. Dr. Ma’s pioneering research on plant-fungal interactions, using a Fusarium -Arabidopsis pathosystem for the development of optimized management strategies to control the Fusarium vascular wilt diseases which heavily affects banana plants. Her work and dedication has profoundly inspired my approach to research”.