Collection of Women in STEMM

Aiyanna is a Seeds of Success Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Fellow. She is a PhD student in Biomedical Engineering studying how to develop a model that mimics the human brain’s connective structure. She never misses a chance to encourage and inspire a love of STEM for all ages through different types of outreach and to speak about her own experience from childhood to higher education. When she is not in the lab, she is in the kitchen trying out new recipes for all kinds of delicious goodies.

Alice is a postdoctoral researcher in the Genetics department at Yale University. She trained in cell and molecular biology at the University of Bristol, UK, and now works in the field of developmental biology. Her research aims to understand how different cell types are made in the embryo, and she is hugely passionate about working with and supporting junior scientists.

Alyssa is a Master’s student at the Yale School of Public Health. She studied cell biology in college and is now studying to be an epidemiologist––someone who studies the patterns and causes of disease spreading in communities. She specifically works on developing vaccines for malaria which has led her to work in countries outside of the United States. Alyssa was born and raised in San Diego, California and in her free time she enjoys hiking, painting, and finding ways to communicate science through art!

Arianna is a fifth year PhD student at Yale, pursuing a doctorate in high energy physics. Her thesis work focuses on the Charge-Parity Symmetry properties of the Higgs Boson as measured with the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, Switzerland. That is, she studies the fundamental particles that make up the universe (such as the Higgs Boson), through a particle accelerator (the Large Hadron Collider) which accelerates and collides particles at velocities to the speed of light to study their properties. Arianna was born and raised in Guatemala, and loves dancing, playing volleyball, and doing pottery.

 

 

Chloe is an astronomy graduate student at Yale University. She studies the flow of gas in and out of galaxies and how stars like the Sun form from this gas, using observations from large telescopes around the world. Chloe was born and raised in California and loves baking, crocheting, and getting others excited about the vastness of the Universe.

Understanding the mysteries of the universe led Cristina to become a physicist. She began her journey in physics as an undergraduate student in Venezuela and continued during her PhD at The University of New Mexico, where she fell in love with optics and decided to instead work building powerful microscopes to understand how the brain works. Cristina started her own lab last year in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Yale University, where she integrates light shaping techniques and microscopy advancements to explore the central nervous system while pushing the boundaries on imaging depth, resolution, and speed.

Christy is a graduate student in the Molecular Cell Biology, Genetics and Development Track at Yale’s Biological and Biomedical Sciences PhD program. Since her undergraduate time, she has been passionate about diversity, equity and inclusion research and advocating at the university and community level. Christy was born and raised in Wisconsin, and loves cooking new recipes and exploring nature.

Originally from Puerto Rico, Erika earned a BS in Biotechnology and Chemistry from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, and then a PhD in Molecular and Cell Biology from UC Berkeley. She is now a Research Associate with the Yale Ciencia Initiative at Yale School of Medicine. In her free time, she enjoys camping, spending time with her cats, and trying new foods.

Eunice is a graduate student, focused on uncovering the elusive nature of dark matter, an unknown force in the universe. She is passionate about social justice and about making STEM accessible to everyone. She grew up in Massachusetts and identifies as an Afro-Latina, she enjoys listening to music, watching Netflix and exploring nature.

Gigi’s degrees are all from chemistry departments, but nowadays she is generally introduced as an imaging scientist, specifically an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) physicist. Gigi works in Yale’s School of Medicine (Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging) with a secondary appointment in Biomedical Engineering.  She has always worked on slightly exotic ideas, and exotic new ideas often go hand in hand with new hardware.  More recently, her expertise in novel hardware has led her to projects developing new smaller MRI scanners that might sit in a corner of your doctor’s office, rather than in dedicated wings of a hospital.  It’s exciting work!

Heather studies the cerebellum, a part of the brain responsible for motor movements, and how dysfunction of cells in this brain region can contribute to motor and cognitive disorders. The questions addressed in her lab are grounded in questions about how the brain normally works, but influenced by interactions and conversations with patients, their families, and their physicians. She has a PhD from University of North Texas Health Science Center and dual bachelor’s degrees in biochemistry and English literature from Louisiana State University. 

Jenna is a senior at Yale University majoring in biochemistry and biophysics. Outside of class, she works in the lab developing new vaccines to fight illnesses like COVID-19. She hopes to help more students get involved in research and explore their STEM interests. In her free time, Jenna enjoys reading, snowboarding, and going to the beach when she’s home in Hawaii.

Kate is a neuroscience PhD student at Yale University. Her interest in coding began in middle school when she joined the free Girls Who Code program at her local library. She now uses scientific programming and machine learning tools to study brain activity and animal behavior. More specifically, she researches the visual system in fruit flies and is collaborating with a biomechanical engineering lab to develop a novel method for measuring fruit fly walking forces. A South Florida native, Kate loves hiking, reading, and exploring new places.

Kira is a first-year PhD student in Computational Biology and Biomedical Informatics. Kira grew up in Germany before moving to the US for college to pursue her studies and research in Math and Biology. Outside of academics, Kira loves to play tennis, dance and hike.

Kirstin is an Assistant Professor at Yale, where she studies how cells are able to modify DNA to turn genes on or off as the body needs them. In particular, she is interested in the physical properties and changes of the DNA inside cells (also known as chromatin) as cells divide and specialize when an embryo is developing. Kirstin is originally from Germany where she went to college and later graduate school. She just started her lab at Yale and is looking forward to mentoring college and graduate students and postdocs so they can make discoveries together!

Leslie is a PhD student in the department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at Yale University and a Seeds of Success Fellow. I study water treatment technologies, specifically, how we can use electricity to remove contaminants from drinking water. Leslie was born and raised along the border of Texas and Mexico and loves spending time with friends and family.

 

Lex is a second-year doctoral student in the Neuroscience department. She did biology for her undergraduate degree and is now interested in pursuing research more focused on the brain and development. When she is not in the lab doing research on the development of psychiatric diseases, she likes to read, paint, and go out with friends.

Luoyi is a graduate student in the Genetics department at Yale University. She studies glycosylated RNAs and their roles in the immune system. Luoyi was born and raised in China and enjoys traveling, photography, and mentoring students in science to spark their interest in research.

Oumayma (Maya) Agdali is a second-year PhD student in Yale’s Neuroscience Department. Her research focuses on understanding the neural mechanisms of consciousness using advanced brain stimulation techniques. She is currently working with researchers in Europe to study a new neuromodulation method that combines ideas from physics and engineering. Born in Morocco and raised in New York, Maya enjoys hiking, surfing, and baking sweet treats in her free time.

Natalia is a postdoctoral associate at Yale University. Her expertise is virology (so she studies viruses), in specific HIV, and works searching for a cure by using molecular biology techniques. Natalia was born and raised in Chile and when she’s not in the lab, she likes singing, playing videogames and spending time with her family.

Nia is a PhD candidate in chemistry at the Yale Energy Sciences Institute, where she focuses on developing energy-efficient catalysts that can convert water pollutants into useful products. In addition to her research, Nia is passionate about science outreach and mentorship. Originally from Florida, she has a love for music, science, and exploring new foods.

Polina is a PhD student in Chemical and Environmental Engineering at Yale, researching catalytic materials for advanced oxidation processes in water treatment. Growing up in Moscow before moving to the U.S., she developed a passion for environmental justice and sustainability. Through her work as a scientist and engineer, Polina hopes to develop innovative, inclusive solutions to environmental challenges that benefit both communities and ecosystems.

Dr. Rachel Perry is an Associate Professor of Cellular & Molecular Physiology and Medicine (Endocrinology) at Yale University. Her daughter correctly describes her as a metabolism scientist, which is a clearer way of saying that Dr. Perry leads a research lab that is interested in how the nutrients that we consume, and how our body uses them, affects how our body responds to conditions like obesity, infection, and cancer. Dr. Perry is passionate about mentorship and about finding ways to introduce new scientists to what she believes is the best job in the world!

Rosa is a 3rd year PhD student in the Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program. Currently she is working with Dr. Rachel Perry to investigate brain fatigue and metabolism. Rosa is from North Dakota and loves to be outside hiking, biking or climbing or inside with her cat, Glia.

Sara is an Associate Research Scientist at Yale University. She is a developmental cognitive neuroscientist and linguist, that is someone who studies how our brain develops and processes language in children. Sara was born and raised in Spain and enjoys photography, running and sharing her passion for languages and the brain.

Siddhi is a graduate student in Physics at Yale University. She trained as a mathematician with a focus on solving physics problems through computer science. Her research interests include quantum computing, mathematical modelling, and data analytics with a passion for supporting minorities into STEM fields. She enjoys puzzling, reading, and learning more about the world we live in.

Sifana is a Ph.D Candidate at Yale University’s Psychology Department. She is a developmental psychologist, a scientist who studies how children think about and interact with the social world around them, and is passionate about mentoring students—in and out of the lab. Sifana grew up moving between Bangladesh and the US and loves traveling and crafting of all kinds.

Yan grew up in China and went to college in Hong Kong. She came to the US to do her doctorate at the University of Pittsburgh. As a student and postdoc she developed new imaging techniques to study how information is transmitted from one cell to another in the brain and how this allows memories to form. One of her biggest honors was winning a fellowship to attend a  meeting with Nobel Prize winners! Yan has been working in biotech for the past 8 years, first at Novartis and now at Alexion/Astrazeneca, leading teams to develop drugs for neurodegenerative diseases. Outside work, Yan enjoys photography and has traveled extensively around the world. 

Yanitza, born and raised in Puerto Rico and a third-year PhD student in Cellular and Molecular Biology at Yale, researches obesity’s impact on fertility through metabolic physiology. She is passionate about women’s health and healthcare advocacy. Yanitza combines scientific excellence with outreach, fostering community and advancing understanding of ovarian function and cancer.