Dr. Ijeoma Kola (she/her) is the Founder and Executive Director of Cohort Sistas, a national nonprofit dedicated to fostering equitable pathways to advanced research doctorates. Under her leadership, Cohort Sistas has grown into a multi-program organization serving doctoral scholars nationwide through mentorship, application coaching, and career development.

She is also an Assistant Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame, where she teaches and writes on 20th and 21st-century medical and social constructions of race and disease in the United States. Prior to her academic and nonprofit careers, Kola spent over 15 years as a blogger and content creator, building an audience of more than 250,000 people across platforms through authentic storytelling in education, beauty, and lifestyle.

Born in Nigeria and raised in an immigrant household, Kola’s upbringing instilled in her a deep belief in the transformative power of education. She holds a BA in History and Science from Harvard University and an MA and PhD in Sociomedical Sciences, with a focus on the History and Ethics of Public Health, from Columbia University.