Eight students from Caddo and Bossier Parish schools are part of the 2025-2026 Bobbie Cates Hicks Science and Medicine Academic Research Training (SMART) program. The students will work alongside investigators at LSU Health Shreveport (LSUHS) on various research studies.

BRF launched the SMART program in 1997 to provide a yearlong research experience for academically advanced high school seniors from Caddo, Bossier and DeSoto parishes. SMART students must have a career interest in medicine, biomedical research or biomedical engineering.

Students in this year’s class are:

· Lily Bodily, Caddo Parish Magnet High School

· Jackson Candler, C.E. Byrd High School

· Adya Darsi, Caddo Parish Magnet High School

· Austin Harkins, Airline High School

· Nathan Tatum, Caddo Parish Magnet High School

· Maya Trutschl, Caddo Parish Magnet High School

· Audrey Welch, C.E. Byrd High School

· Kevin Zhao, Caddo Parish Magnet High School

The 2025-2026 SMART class. Front row, left to right: Maya Trutschl, Lily Bodily, Adya Darsi and Audrey Welch. Back row, left to right: Nathan Tatum, Austin Harkins, Jackson Candler and Kevin Zhao

This year’s LSUHS mentors are:

· Cory Coehoorn, Ph.D., Program Director of Rehabilitation Science Program, Associate Professor of Rehabilitation Science and Family Medicine

· Omar Franco Coronel, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Feist-Weiller Cancer Center Research

· Norman R. Harris, Ph.D., Professor and Chair of Molecular and Cellular Physiology

· Gopi Kolluru, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Research, Department of Pathology and Translational Pathobiology

· Deepak Kumbhare, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Neurosurgery

· Christina Ledbetter, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow in Neurosurgery, Research Consultant in Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine

· Xinggui Shen, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Research in Pathology and Translational Pathobiology and Core Director, Analytical Redox Biology Sub Core, Center for Redox Biology and Cardiovascular Disease

· Giovanni Solitro, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery

Funding for the program comes from the generosity of donors, including the late Bobbie Cates Hicks, The Bruce J. Heim Foundation, The Community Foundation of North Louisiana’s Give for Good donors, The Community Foundation of North Louisiana’s William C. Woolf Fund, and The Magale Foundation.

The education of a future science and technology workforce is an important component of BRF’s mission to diversify and grow the region’s economy. Now in its 29th year, SMART has served 271 students in the region.

SMART is a partnership between BRF; LSU Health Shreveport; and the Caddo, Bossier and DeSoto Parish School Boards.