Buckley, Cedric
Cedric Buckley
Dr. Cedric Buckley Launched his company, A Scientist’s Approach, in 2019 as a molecular virologist. It facilitates discourse and activities that deepen understanding of STEM-enriched curricula, exploring the societal intersections between STEM fundamentals, familial units, and leadership. He was the headmaster at Awakened Academy-Early Learning Center and formerly an associate professor of Biology at Jackson State University. Dr. Buckley is an educational entrepreneur with a passion for research and learning. He excels in exposing adult learners to the life sciences. Dr. Buckley is also a Hinds County Sheriff’s Office law enforcement officer. He believes in finding effective ways to model responsible citizenship within the communities he serves.
“Keep your eyes open for possibilities; don’t assume that they are the same ones you’ve always heard about.” - Cedric Buckley, 2006.
Buckley, C.O. and Murdoch, M. 2022. A Scientist’s Approach to Honest Parenting. Amazon Digital Services LLC.
Hughes, S.S., Buckley, C.O. and Neafsey, D.E., 2008. Complex selection on intron size in Cryptococcus neoformans. Molecular biology and evolution, 25(2), pp.247-253.
Svetic, R.E., MacCluer, C.R., Buckley, C.O., Smythe, K.L. and Jackson, J.H., 2004. A metabolic force for gene clustering. Bulletin of mathematical biology, 66(3), pp.559-581.
Buckley, C.O., Stephens, D., Herring, P.A. and Jackson, J.H., 2002. %(G+ C) Variation and Prediction by a Model of Bacterial Gene Transfer and Codon Adaptation. Omics: A Journal of Integrative Biology, 6(3), pp.259-272.
Buckley, C.O., 2000. A study of the effects of middle T and small T proteins on the induction of polyomavirus DNA replication. Michigan State University.
As a young child, Dr. Buckley was always interested in the natural sciences and excelled at biology in high school and college. A native of Jackson, Mississippi, Dr. Buckley attended Jackson State University as an undergraduate—a school that had a tremendous influence on his future career. While at Jackson State, Buckley participated in summer internships arranged through the College of Science, Engineering, and Technology to expose students to various research fields nationwide. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in 1992. Dr. Buckley participated in several Department of Energy internships at Los Alamos and Lawrence Berkeley National Labs. These internships allowed him to “see and engage in research firsthand.” He knew then that he wanted to pursue life science research as a career. “Jackson State set the stage for me to be exposed to these kinds of ideas,” Dr. Buckley says (2006).
After receiving his Bachelor’s degree in biology from Jackson State, Dr. Buckley wanted to move on to graduate school. A faculty member at Jackson State, Dr. Joseph Cameron, suggested Michigan State University (MSU). “As it turned out, Dr. Cameron was part of a program at MSU that would invite minorities to see the campus,” Dr. Buckley says (2006). Dr. Buckley visited the school as part of that program and filled out an application while he was there. He was accepted soon after. He completed his Ph.D. in microbiology and genetics in 2000.
After completing his Ph.D., Dr. Buckley stayed at Michigan State University for one year as a postdoctoral researcher. After completing his postdoctoral studies, he became an associate professor of Biology at Jackson State University. Dr. Buckley maintained a close relationship with Dr. Cameron, especially as a faculty member at Jackson State. “Dr. Cameron is still teaching in the biology department and is pleased to know that he introduced me to the school from which I obtained my Ph.D.,” Buckley says. “He’s still there to see me continue to grow as a researcher and teacher in the department I grew up in” (2006).
Dr. Buckley also served as Headmaster for Awakened Academy-Early Learning Center for over two years, from 2015 to 2017. He conceived and built a program model in this role by mapping the in-house curriculum to Mississippi Department of Education readiness standards for 1st-grade entry.
In 2019, he launched his company, A Scientist’s Approach, and started working as an adjunct faculty at Hinds Community College in Mississippi. As a molecular virologist in his company, he authored and published “Honest Parenting,” spurring the application of process thinking when raising children while helping families embrace a science-based parenting model with practical tools.
Working with students has been the most rewarding part of Dr. Buckley’s career, followed closely by the research experience he continues to gain at places like the Broad Institute. “It’s enriching and valuable work,” he says. The most challenging part of his career has been his publication record and grantsmanship. Dr. Buckley says this is due primarily to the fact that he did not allow much time between his postdoc and current faculty position. “I probably would have more quickly established a record in those areas had I done a more extensive postdoc,” he says. “The average is three to five years, and mine was only one, so I’m still getting up to speed. I probably would be further along at this point had I ‘incubated’ a little longer, but I have always wanted to teach at my undergraduate institution. When the opportunity arose, I just could not resist the chance to return to my alma mater” (2006). Dr. Buckley has also contributed to several diversity programs. He currently serves as a research mentor with RISE, a program funded through the National Institute of Health that aims to increase the number of minorities pursuing research careers in the biomedical sciences.
When asked where his commitment to the biological sciences comes from, Dr. Buckley replied, “I see a lot of potential in the students I interact with.” Jackson State has an excellent track record of graduating African Americans with biological science degrees; a study published in the 2006 issue of Diverse: Issues in Higher Education (Borden and Brown) found that Jackson State is second nationally. “I’m in a great environment to have a positive impact by exposing more African Americans to a wider variety of options in the science,” he notes. “If I can do, say, or interact with students in a way that will expose them to potential careers that they have not thought of, that’s what keeps me motivated to stay in this area” (2006).
Dr. Buckley has had many other mentors who have helped advance his career. At Michigan State University, Dr. Julius Jackson in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics introduced Dr. Buckley to studies in genome evolution, which he has incorporated into his present research in evolutionary viral genomics. Dr. Buckley also studied viral DNA replication and was introduced to the world of viruses while working on his dissertation in the lab of his graduate advisor, Dr. Michele Fluck. “What I study now is a result of what I learned in both labs—I’ve combined the two experiences,” he notes (2006).
Two other individuals at Jackson State have also been particularly influential in Buckley’s developing career. Dr. Buckley has known the outgoing Dean of the College of Science, Engineering, and Technology, Dr. Abdul Mohamed since Dr. Buckley was an undergraduate in the college. “Dr. Mohamed was instrumental in preparing me for those summer internships and encouraged me to consider research once it was clear that I did not want to pursue a career in the health sciences,” Dr. Buckley says. Dr. Buckley also mentions Dr. Mark Hardy, current Dean of the College of Science, Engineering, and Technology and director of the JSU-RISE program, who was his undergraduate advisor and with whom Dr. Buckley did his early research. “These two individuals have watched me from undergraduate to graduate school and back to Jackson State as a member of the faculty,” Dr. Buckley says (2006).
Dr. Buckley has endless opportunities to mentor other minority students at Jackson State, a historically black university with a majority African-American student population. He mentors undergraduates and conducts research alongside them. “I am also developing professionally and learning to ask more focused research questions that will help improve my scholarship and grantsmanship,” he says (2006).
Dr. Buckley has a lot of advice for minorities interested in pursuing a career in the biological sciences. “Keep in touch with faculty that are doing research, and ask them about careers,” he advises. “Also, constantly ask yourself as you go through your coursework: ‘What do I like about the course I’m taking now? What do I not like?’ Begin to understand your own likes and dislikes, strengths and experiences so you can choose the career that you are best suited for” (2006).
“Do a lot of up-front research in terms of what careers exist,” Buckley continues, “because those that exist now and those that are coming online in the near future do not look, feel, or sound like what many students have recognized as being ‘traditional life science careers.’ Many students may miss out on novel careers in which they would flourish because they are not aware of their existence— bioscience is moving at such a rapid pace. It’s a challenge to keep up with where things are going and the types of things that are out there. Keep your eyes open for possibilities; don’t assume that they are the same ones that you’ve always heard about” (2006).
Broad Institute. 2023. Cedric O. Buckley. Retrieved June 23, 2023 from https://www.broadinstitute.org/visiting-faculty-program/cedric-buckley.
Buckley, Cedric. n.d. Home [https://www.linkedin.com/in/cedricbuckley/]. LinkedIn. Retrieved June 23, 2023 from https://www.linkedin.com/in/cedricbuckley/
Interview conducted by Multicultural Environmental Leadership Development Initiative staff. 2016. University of Michigan – School of Natural Resources and Environment. Ann Arbor, MI.
Taylor, Dorceta (Ed.). 2006. The Paths We Thread: Profiles of the Careers of Minority Environmental Professionals: II. Minority Environmental Leadership Development Initiative, University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment.