Dajaha Kenney, a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, became part of the TU community when her husband, whom she met in the service, started pursuing his kinesiology degree. With encouragement from him, a curiosity for the world of biology and the desire to be a good role model for their daughter, Kenney took a leap into the unknown and hasn’t looked back.

Finding the support systems

During her time in the military, Kenney was guided by structure and discipline. It taught her the meaning of sacrifice. She continues to implement what she learned as she balances the responsibilities of being a mother and wife while also meeting the demands that come from her research and academic life.

My first lab professor told me ‘I think you’re going places’ and ever since then she has supported me and talked me up in rooms I’m not in.

Dajaha Kenney

Kenney is driven by her desire to be an example for her daughter, and her family has been the largest support system throughout her academic journey. She also found the Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) program through Student Parent Services. Through the program, Kenney receives support to alleviate the financial burden of childcare and food access. She also was able to build relationships with other student parents and have other people to relate to and lean on for support.

TU’s Military and Veterans Center continues to provide support. The community helps students, just like Kenney, feel more connected to their peers and helps them overcome any feelings of self-doubt associated with being a non-traditional student. Navigating life as a student veteran comes with its own set of challenges, but the MVC has the answers students need.

As part of her academic journey, Kenney was fortunate to join the Hill-Lopes Scholars Program, becoming her community of women in STEM at TU and beyond. She met wonderful mentors who guided and challenged her academically, helping her shape her future as a biologist.

“My first lab professor told me ‘I think you’re going places’ and ever since then she has supported me and talked me up in rooms I’m not in,” said Kenney reflecting on one of her Hill-Lopes Program mentors.

Passion for biology

Initially interested in marine wildlife and marine biology, the passion for biology focused more specifically on cancer and genetics. Her interests lie in how genes work and how molecular mechanisms contribute to human health.

I want to pursue a path that will help others and add to the body of knowledge.

Dajaha Kenney

As a lover of research labs and conducting hands-on research, Kenney has had several opportunities.

She went to a national conference to present research on the fecal microbiome of captive polar bears, hoping to add to a body of knowledge that currently has few publications. To do her research, Kenney analyzed the bacterial DNA of 24 polar bear stool samples and, together with her research mentors, is currently working on that manuscript. Kenney hopes that this research will benefit conservation efforts of wild polar bears as well because they are vulnerable to the changing climate.

More recently, using colorectal cancer cells as a model, Kenney investigated whether extracts from cooked vs. raw sorghum flour, which is high in protein, had better cancer-preventing effects. The research was initially presented at the Undergraduate Research and Creative Inquiry Forum at TU. Kenney is conducting further studies on the cancer-preventing properties of sorghum products using human cells as well as animal models.

As a Master of Biology student in the Bridges-to-Doctorate Program, Kenney gets to continue researching what means the most to her and to rotate in research labs to get a feel for all the different types of research she can pursue within the cellular and molecular biology.