Dr. Zanna Maria Beharry is an Associate Professor of Chemistry at the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI), the only HBCU in the Caribbean. She completed her Ph.D. in Chemistry at the University of Georgia and a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of South Carolina. She was awarded a Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Department of Molecular Virology & Microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine. Her research interests include understanding the mechanisms that lead to the development and progression of prostate cancer, a disease that disproportionately affects African American men. She mentors UVI undergraduate students in prostate cancer research. She is also passionate about increasing the diversity of the biomedical research workforce. She previously co-directed a very successful community outreach program that encouraged middle school girls and female undergraduates to pursue science, technology, engineering, and math courses and careers through hands-on activities and mentoring. She now co-directs an academic program in biomedical laboratory science at UVI.