Meet the Inaugural Recipient of Our New Graduate School Scholarship for Advancing STEM

by Margaret Savoie

Imeri This year the Graduate School launched a new scholarship opportunity, the Advancing STEM Scholarship. This scholarship supports recruitment and retention of doctoral students whose background, achievements, and expertise demonstrate a commitment to contributing to the advancement of women in STEM, regardless of the recipient’s gender identity. The inaugural recipient is Hyllore Imeri, from Prishtina, Kosovo, who is a PhD student in pharmaceutical sciences with an emphasis in pharmacy administration.

“Since it is an inaugural scholarship, I feel honored and truly humbled to be the winner of the Advancing STEM Scholarship,” said Imeri. “The scholarship has motivated me to continue my research work and contribute to the advancement of women in STEM.”

What started as an interest in the process of a person becoming sick but healing because of the work of medication led Imeri to the world of pharmaceuticals. Imeri began her academic career at the University of Prishtina in Kosovo with a master of pharmacy degree. While working on her master’s thesis, she worked with Dr. Kreshnik Hoti of U. Prishtina and Dr. Shane Desselle of Touro University. These two inspired and encouraged Imeri to continue her education to the doctoral level.

Imeri said, “Considering the Pharmacy Administration program quality, faculty, and fellow PhD students – the decision to come to the University of Mississippi felt natural.”

“Hyllore works with me on all sorts of projects,” said Dr. Marie Barnard, associate professor of pharmacy administration. Some of the projects include: an NIH grant called STEMI (Science Teaching Excites Medical Interest) where students are encouraged to be interested in STEM fields, a National Science Foundation grant with Tougaloo College working with undergraduate students, and looking at encouraging success in early science classes, supported by another NIH grant called Project SCORE (Student Centered Outcomes Research Experience) which is a peer-mentoring opportunity for graduate students to work with the Boys & Girls Clubs in both Oxford and Jackson, Mississippi.

“This scholarship is great, and I am so excited for it because it is something we desperately need: more students to get into STEM,” said Barnard.

Barnard commented on the importance of women in STEM, “Hyllore is an awesome mentor for the pharmacy students. They come to her and ask her questions about deciding on getting a PhD. It’s important to have women in these roles to make us visible and lets students know they can come see us.”

Imeri’s hope for the future is to pursue an academic career. “I love learning and feel so motivated by the pursuit of knowledge, so academia would give me that chance to continuously do this through my research work; I also find teaching an exciting way to not only pass on knowledge, but also to inspire and motivate students to do their best while enjoying their work.”

To Imeri, the people in the pharmacy administration program make the program what it is. She said, “They are incredible researchers, and you get to admire their work, plus [they are] the best people to learn from and work with!”

The Graduate School is hopeful to be able to launch more scholarships to encourage students who are underrepresented in diverse disciplines to pursue their research and academic goals.

Give to the Advancing STEM scholarship fund and to help us support more graduate students who advance gender diversity in STEM (To contribute to this new scholarship, please visit our giving page and then select view other funds and type “Advancements in STEM” and select fund 06518).

Meet the Inaugural Recipient of Our New Graduate School Scholarship for Advancing STEM

Newsletter Fall/Winter 2021 Articles