Regina Akhimie is originally from Montgomery, Alabama and spent her undergraduate years at Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University (Alabama A&M) in Huntsville, AL. When turning her sights towards graduate school, Ohio State’s large scale research operations are what caught her attention. It was important to Regina to find a school that had both vast amount of research opportunities and a collaborative environment. Ohio State happened to have both! She expands, “Ohio State has a lot of different types of chemistry that take place within the department. So if I need help in something that I don’t personally do in my lab I can seek out somebody that does do it and get advice.”

Since beginning her studies at Ohio State, Regina has been working in Professor Claudia Turro’s lab synthesizing Pt-group metal compounds that can be used for biological applications. More specifically, she is focusing on making dirhodium(II,II) complexes that have potential to be used as anticancer agents. Her work may be challenging at times but she has found people who have come to serve as role models. Within the department, Regina says Dr. Turro herself has been a source of inspiration due to her ability to succeed in multiple endeavors at the same time. Akhimie explains, “Not only does she manage a research group, but she is very active in 3 different professional organizations. She is Vice-Chair, a past President of the Inter-American Photochemical Society (IAPS), and the chair for the ACS division of Inorganic Chemistry.” Outside of the department, Regina says her undergrad chemistry advisor, Malinda Gilmore, has also been a source of inspiration with regards to her graduate school career. She encouraged Akhimie every step of the way when applying for internships and graduate school. She says, “Malinda Gilmore is still very active in my life now and always checks on me to see how I am doing and meets up with me anytime we happen to be at chemistry conferences.”

Even with mounds of information and support, sometimes graduate school can be challenging. When asked what has been the most important obstacle she has overcome, Regina emphasized time management and prioritization. She explains that this was the hardest factor for her when starting graduate school because of the need to balance teaching, researching, and life outside of the lab. She said, “I learned that I was at my best once I got my time management under control because I knew how to allot time and still multi-task when needed.” So what does she like to do with that free-time outside of the lab? Akhimie loves to fill it with cooking and baking. Lately, she been trying to improve her cake decorating skills. So far she has found that working with fondant has been the hardest endeavor yet because of its tendency to crack.

When she isn’t attempting new culinary techniques, Regina is busy with other projects in her free time. She had been involved in volunteer opportunities such as visiting elementary and middle schools here in Columbus to do a hands on activities with kids. Their group would do exciting science projects like teaching the kids to make their own working speaker box. Regina says it was a fun, interactive way to expose kids to STEM fields and get them interested in science. She describes it as way to open up conversations and get kids thinking about science early on so that more of them might go on to pursue higher level degrees.

Akhimie is also the current the president for the Ohio State chapter of the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE). NOBCChE is a non-profit professional organization that is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive scientific community by increasing the number of underrepresented people in fields related to science and engineering. Regina says her goal as president is to host events that are open to all within the department, which can range anywhere from professional development to research based seminars. She is also a member of a student programs committee which is planning for their national conference this year.

So what does Regina plan do to with all of this experience after graduate school? She explains that she would like to work in the industry for a while to gain further job experience and make connections. Ultimately, she would like to go back to teach at a historically black college and/or university (HBCU) like her undergrad institution Alabama A&M. Regina says, “I want to do this to pay it forward so that other people can hopefully have some of the amazing opportunities that I have had and will have.” We wish her all best in pursing her exciting future goals!