2021 Hill-Robinson Lecture

“The Shoulders on Whom We Stand” 

Hill-Robinson Lecture 

On Thursday, September 16, 2021, a day before the 29th Annual UMBC McNair Scholars Research Conference, Michael Hunt introduced the Hill-Robinson Lecture. Hunt shared the impact that Dr. Cynthia M. Hill, Former UMBC Associate Provost & Founding UMBC McNair Director, and Dr. Thomas Robinson, Assistant Professor of Africana Studies & McNair Research Methods Faculty, has made on the McNair community. Hunt used this time to emphasize the importance of remembering “the shoulders on whom we stand”. 

Introducing Dr. Antoine D. Taylor 

During the Hill-Robinson lecture, Dr. Antoine D. Taylor (REM 17), Clinical Psychologist and Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), shared his presentation with the title, “The Relation Between Discrimination and Cognitive Function: Moderating and Mediating Factors”. To learn more about Dr. Antoine D. Taylor, click here. 

During his presentation, he shares his research about chronic stress and how discrimination is a chronic stressor that links to many negative brain health outcomes. His presentation does an amazing job arguing and illustrating how this type of stressor disproportionally affects African-Americans. He starts off by talking about the background and reasoning for his study, which was how dementia affects African-Americans at disproportionate rates, and how this could be a result of “race related discrepancies”. Dr. Taylor goes into detail about his findings and concludes with summarizing his results by providing critical next steps of “understanding the complexity of these factors”. These dementia factors are crucial to understand given the fact that many these factors in Dr. Taylor’s presentation play a huge role in African-American health. 

Overall, Dr. Taylor’s presentation was insightful and was a great way to kick-off the research conference, as it gave the scholars a visual representation of what the poster and oral presentations would be like on Saturday. Dr. Taylor reminded us that we should “never forget our dopeness” as we all are destined for great things ahead.