Makella Coudray is passionate about advocating for disadvantaged groups.
“I personally like to advocate for causes that society might overlook, and I try to do that through my work,” she says. “Therefore, my work focuses on marginalized populations such as sexual and gender minorities and racial and ethnic minorities.”
Coudray is originally from Trinidad and Tobago; however, her mother is Guyanese, and she lived in Grenada for four years. She identifies as a true “islander” and says her heart lies in the Caribbean. As someone from a multicultural background, she understands the social and systemic inequalities that minorities face.
Currently, Coudray is studying sexual health disparities among marginalized and disadvantaged populations. Specifically, she explores predictors of sexually transmitted infections, HIV prevention, and sexual and gender minority health by examining the intersection of behavioral and biological processes. Some of these predictors include access to health care, health literacy, gender identity, race, and social and cultural norms. She emphasizes that sexual health is not simply the absence of disease or dysfunction; rather, it requires a positive and respectful approach to sexuality and sexual relations, as well as the opportunity to have pleasant and safe sexual experiences, free of coercion, discrimination and violence.
Coudray is an HIV, Infectious Diseases and Global Health Applied Research Institute and Data Science for All, Empowerment, Correlation One Training Fellow. She aims to use her skills and experience to effectively execute her research project, Testing Risk and Prevention of Sexually Transmitted Infections Among Trans Women (STRIP-T).
Despite its importance in public health and epidemiology, Coudray says sexual health is often taboo, especially regarding minorities. She says this research plays a vital role in fighting stigma and raising awareness to help reduce health inequalities in our society.
Coudray earned a Bachelor of Science in biology and a Master of Public Health in epidemiology from St. Louis University. George, Grenada. She then came to the US to complete her Ph.D. in public health, epidemiology at Florida International University and graduated during the COVID-19 pandemic. To build a career for herself in academia and continue her research, she decided to pursue a postdoctoral position at UCF.
For Coudray, the most rewarding part of being a postdoctoral researcher is the opportunity to mentor students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
“As an international graduate student, I didn’t have many mentors who really understood the lived experience of an international student,” she says. “It is very rewarding to advocate for my international mentees and guide them through the added stress of being international in academia.”
She also says she enjoys being a role model for other black women in academia.
Coudray says she appreciates the guidance she received at UCF, crediting her mentor Eric Schrimshaw with being the catalyst for her success as a postdoc.
“Dr. Schrimshaw’s guidance as my department head, compassion as my mentor, and knowledge as a researcher have all been freely available to me during my time as a postdoc,” she says. “His adaptability and willingness helped make every challenge feel manageable. His support restored my faith in my abilities at a time when I was struggling to believe I could be successful in academia.”
While at UCF, Coudray has received various awards, including a K99/R00 grant submission from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities and the 24th International AIDS Conference Fellowship this year. She is also very involved in the community serving as a volunteer mentor for Cohort Sistas, a non-profit organization that supports black women and non-binary people pursuing research Ph.D.
After completing her postdoctoral appointment, Coudray intends to take an assistant professor position, hopefully at UCF. She says her future goal is to continue advocating for underrepresented individuals like herself and make her family proud.
