Weaver Research Lab: https://weaverlab.science/

Lesley Weaver, Ph.D., Marion High School Class of 2004, is a molecular biologist, researcher, and faculty member at Indiana University. She is an active mentor who works to recruit, retain, and support underrepresented minorities in STEM-related fields.
Her curiosity about the biological mechanisms behind diseases began at a young age, when her family helped provide care for her aging great-grandmother, who was suffering with dementia. Weaver recalls wondering even at the age of 5 what was changing within her great-grandmother’s body to cause the memory loss and other symptoms.
That curiosity and a growing interest in science and research led her to AP courses at Marion High School and on to the Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, with the goal of earning a degree in astronomy and working for NASA. But in her first semester there, her grandmother's brothers both passed away from cancer and her great-grandmother's health deteriorated after 14 years with dementia. Weaver began wondering again how things go wrong with the body, and she realized that her passion was propelling her toward a biological research degree. After completing her freshman year, she transferred to Indiana University in Bloomington to be closer to home. There she was not only able to begin to explore biological research, but she also had the opportunity to participate in a National Institutes of Health-funded Initiative for Maximizing Student Diversity program, allowing her to work full-time in a lab and solidifying her career goals.
In 2008 she earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Indiana University. She continued at IU for graduate studies, and in 2014 earned her Ph.D. in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology. At the time she enrolled in graduate school, she was one of only two African-Americans in her department. She went on to be only the ninth underrepresented minority graduate student to earn a Ph.D. in the history of the IU Biology Department.
During graduate school she discovered a parallel passion: helping other minority students find their place in the scientific community. As a volunteer counselor for the Jim Holland Summer Science Research Programs at Indiana University, which allows minority high school students to experience research outside of the classroom, she taught students how to think like scientists and effectively communicate their research to a broad audience. She also participated in IU graduate recruit weekends, and then went on to mentor recruits to help them thrive within the IU graduate programs.
While at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, from 2014 to 2020 for her postdoctoral work, she started a similar outreach to minority students and other postdoctoral fellows, and was an inaugural member of The Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Diversity and Inclusion Committee. She has also participated in many panel discussions to help minority students on the path toward a career in science and research.
Weaver also continued to stay connected with Indiana University as an alumni mentor for the Center of Excellence for Women in Technology and Black Women in Tech.
She returned in 2020 to Indiana University as a faculty member and researcher. There, the Weaver Lab’s research focuses on the effects of diet, infection, and chemical compounds on the body, and how signaling between organs in response to physiological changes can influence fertility.
Weaver’s work has been published in many scientific journals, including the Journal of Developmental Biology, Current Biology, Bioarchitecture, and more.
Her current volunteer efforts include membership in the American Society for Cell Biology’s Committee for Postdocs and Students, an outreach committee to help make the public understand and become more aware of the importance of basic biological research. She is also a member of The Genetics Society of America, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Society for Developmental Biology.
Her awards include the National Institutes of Health’s Pathway to Independence Award in 2018 and the NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award, a Postdoctoral Fellowship Award, in 2016.