Edward A. Bouchet Graduate Honor Society

Virginia Downing

PhD, Educational Policy Studies

Virginia Downing is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Educational Policy Studies with a doctoral minor in Qualitative Research Methodology in Education at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Downing currently is a Morgridge Center for Public Service Community-Engaged Scholarship Fellow. Downing’s research, teaching, and service are motivated to address: How do people, spaces, and policies lead to affirming and equitable schooling experiences for Black youth? Downing utilizes qualitative methodologies and critical theory to explore Black community engagement, community-school relationships, and the role of community-based spaces in education. Recent publications include Resisting racialized organizational practices: A case study of Black community-centered engagement published in Equity & Excellence in Education (2024), which utilized meeting ethnography to illuminate how Black community members engage within school board meetings. Additionally, Downing and two colleagues published a chapter titled Community-Based Education (2024) that argued for the importance of relationship building to sustain community power through the context of a youth-led activism organization. Through a year-long critical qualitative study that draws on ethnographic methods, her dissertation offers insights into Black community-school district relationships by exploring Black community member engagement. Her work expands ideas on the role of community stakeholders in education policy. Downing’s current research has been recognized by the National Academy of Education NAEd/Spencer Dissertation Fellowship (2024 Finalist and Alternate) and received funding through the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Education Policy Engagement Grant. 

Tracy C. Guan 

PhD, Counseling Psychology

Tracy C. Guan (she/her/hers) is a Hoipen Chinese American Counseling Psychology doctoral candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. From San Francisco, she earned her BA in Psychology and Social Behavior and Education Sciences at the University of California, Irvine, and her MS in Counseling at UW-Madison. Her scholarship advocates for the wellness of pan and ethnic-specific Asian American college students. Her dissertation focuses on critical incidents and gendered racism for East Asian American doctoral women in health psychology training programs. She is deeply committed to disrupting white supremacy pedagogy across multiple contexts of training (e.g., teaching, advising, supervision) and creating liberatory training environments. She has worked diligently to add to the dearth of literature on Asian Americans in higher education focusing on Asian American ethnic subgroups publishing in the Journal of Diversity in Higher Education and Asian American Journal of Psychology. She published one of the first quantitative studies for Chinese American undergraduate women who are the first generation born in the U.S. To recognize her study’s advancement to the field’s knowledge of people of color, race, ethnicity, and racism, Tracy was awarded the 2021 Outstanding Contribution to Scholarship on Race and Ethnicity Award Counseling Psychology Division 17: Section of Racial Ethnic Diversity from the American Psychological Association (APA). Most recently, Tracy was awarded the 2024 Student Pioneer Award from the APA’s Division 35 Section 5 (Asian Pacific American Women) to recognize her contributions and service to support the mission and growth of AAPI Feminists. 

Lisa Je 

PhD, Chemical & Biological Engineering 

Lisa (they/she) is the proud daughter of two immigrants living their American dream through Lisa’s education. As Lisa enters their final year in the Chemical & Biological Engineering Department at UW-Madison, they reflect on overcoming their previous obstacles. Despite lacking computational experience, they first joined Prof. Manos Mavrikakis’s group to study catalysis using computational calculations. However, it was only after they completed a master’s degree and left graduate school that they truly realized their passion for research. This drove them to co-author a Science paper (Science, 380, 70-76, 2023) based on their master’s work. With renewed determination, they successfully reapplied to the PhD program, was awarded the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, and now work with Prof. Reid Van Lehn and Prof. Victor Zavala. Their resilience in their PhD on computational materials has resulted in another publication (Current Opinion in Chemical Engineering, 36, 100796, 2022). Empowered by their unique PhD experience, they now strive to cultivate a research environment inclusive and welcoming for students of all identities. They do this by serving on the Chemical Engineering Graduate Student Association (ChEGS) and Graduate Engineering Research Scholars (GERS) in several roles over the past few years for outreach, mental health education, and recruiting to bring underrepresented undergraduate scholars across the nation to visit UW-Madison’s college of engineering. 

Dorothy Lsoto 

PhD, Environment & Resources 

Dorothy Lsoto is a PhD candidate in Environment and Resources at the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, where she earned her MSc. Originally from Uganda, she holds a BA in Environmental Management from Makerere University, Kampala. Her research interests span air quality, health, equity, and renewable energy. Her dissertation supervised by Dr. Jonathan Patz examines air quality disparities resulting from persistent colonial-era racist city designs in Africa with a case study of Kampala. This work has led to a publication currently under review and has been featured in Ugandan media. Lsoto designed and teaches a senior capstone course titled “Air Quality and Equity in an African City” at the Nelson Institute under the supervision of Dr. Aleia McCord. She also contributed to Uganda’s first National Environment (Air Quality Standards) Regulations (2024) and the Kampala Clean Air Action Plan (2022). Committed to increasing diversity in higher education, Lsoto supervised by Dr. Erika Marín-Spiotta through the Mellon HEAL STEMM Working Group, has contributed to a chapter titled Interrogating the Academy: Critical Approaches to Engaged Pedagogy, Advising, and Mentorship and the ADVANCEGeo Partnership website, Empowering (geo)scientists to transform workplace climate, microaggressions. Lsoto volunteers with Geneva Campus Church at West High School in Madison, helping minority and low-income students with college applications, and mentors underrepresented high school students interested in STEMM. With a 5% acceptance rate, Ms. Lsoto is a 2024 UCAR Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Next Generation Fellow. She also received the 2024 Charlotte Zieve Scholarship at the Nelson Institute. 

Orion Risk 

PhD, Interdisciplinary Theatre Studies 

Orion Risk is a PhD candidate in Interdisciplinary Theatre Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison with a doctoral minor in Journalism and Mass Communication. His research, utilizing artistic and humanistic methods, delves into three key areas: (1) the connection between care and performance, (2) transgender theatre and performance, and (3) how media narrates creative protest. Their interdisciplinary dissertation transforms the concept of care from abstract to embodied action intertwined with neglect, aiming to influence performance practice, political thinking, and public action. Orion’s practice-based scholarship through the UW Center for the Humanities investigated virtual theatre and care among transgender people during the COVID-19 pandemic. An article for Performance Research investigates this research to uncover insights into care, vulnerability, and performance. A recent publication in Latin American Theatre Review showcases trans time in the Mexican political cabaret performance “La Prietty Guoman.” Orion’s advocacy for trans communities has been honored by the Pfund Foundation, UW’s GLBT Alumni Council, and the Center for Research on Center and Women. With over a decade of experience as an artist and arts administrator, Orion’s creative trajectory has been honored with the Lyman S.V. Judson and Ellen Mackechnie Judson Graduate Student Award in the Creative Arts. They hold dual MA degrees from the University of Wisconsin–Madison (Interdisciplinary Theatre Studies; Gender and Women’s Studies) and a BA in culture and performance from the University of Northern Iowa. Orion is a member of the UW Ethics of Care Initiative. 

Jimena González

PhD, Physics

Jimena González is a physics PhD candidate at the University of Wisconsin–Madison specializing in observational cosmology. Her research centers on searching and characterizing strong gravitational lenses in the Dark Energy Survey. These rare astronomical systems can appear as long curved arcs of light surrounding a galaxy. Strong gravitational lenses offer a unique probe for studying dark energy, the driving force behind the universe’s accelerating expansion and, consequently, a pivotal factor in determining its ultimate fate. During her graduate program, Jimena has received the Albert R. Erwin, Jr. & Casey Durandet Award and the Firminhac Fellowship from the Department of Physics. Additionally, she was honored with the 2023 Open Science Grid David Swanson Award for her outstanding implementation of High-Throughput Computing to advance her research. Jimena has contributed as a co-author to multiple publications within the field of strong gravitational lensing and has presented her work at various conferences. In addition to her academic achievements, Jimena has actively engaged in outreach programs. Notably, she was selected as a finalist at the 2021 UW–Madison Three Minute Thesis Competition and secured a winning entry in the 2023 Cool Science Image Contest. Her commitment to science communication extends to a contribution in a Cosmology chapter in the book AI for Physics. Jimena has also led a citizen science project that invites individuals from all around the world to inspect astronomical images to identify strong gravitational lenses. Jimena obtained her bachelor’s degree in physics at the Universidad de los Andes, where she was awarded the “Quiero Estudiar” scholarship.

CJ Greer

PhD, Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis

Carl “CJ” Greer is a PhD candidate in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis with a doctoral minor in Qualitative Research Methodology in Education at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Leveraging critical qualitative approaches, Greer’s research explores three areas: (1) the relationship between community-based educational spaces and PreK-12 schooling institutions, (2) how youth display leadership and activism in and outside the classroom, and (3) Critical Race Theory in education. Greer is a University Council for Educational Administration Barbara L. Jackson Scholar, Institute for Research on Poverty Fellow, and Morgridge Center for Public Service Fellow. Through a year-long critical ethnographic case study approach that takes up his and Welton’s (forthcoming) extension of Critical Race Theory, coined Youth-Centric Critical Race Theory, his dissertation offers insights into the limited exploration of the greater Milwaukee area PreK-12 education landscape and Midwestern youth education activism. Recent publications include “Conjuring the Devil: Historicizing Attacks on Critical Race Theory and white saviorism,” which explores white supremacy’s perpetual attacks on Critical Race Theory and other equity-centered discourses, and “We in this thang together?: Black first-year doctoral students transitioning COVID and recreating community virtually”, which captures how Greer and two colleagues transitioned into graduate studies virtually during COVID-19 and publicized anti-Black racism. Originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Greer earned his bachelor of arts degree in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and a dual master’s of Educational Leadership and Policy and Social Work at the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor. Greer’s youth worker background inspired him to pursue becoming a community-focused tenure track professor.

Mayra Betancourt Ponce

MD-PhD, Cellular and Molecular Pathology

Mayra Betancourt Ponce is a sixth-year MD-PhD student at the University of Wisconsin–Madison who aims to become an academic physician-scientist bridging the fields of dermatology and cancer immunology. She received her bachelor’s degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus. As an undergraduate student, she participated in the National Institutes of Health-funded Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC) training program, through which she developed an interest in deciphering how biological pathways are disturbed during pathological processes. She explored this interest by successfully completing two summer research programs in laboratories studying cancer biology and presenting her work at various conferences, which motivated her to pursue cancer research. For her thesis project, she studies the effects of oxidative phosphorylation inhibition in solid tumor immunogenicity in Drs. Lisa Barroilhet and Manish Patankar’s laboratory. She obtained an R01 Diversity Supplement to support this research. She has presented her work at local, national, and international conferences, including the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting and the Stress Proteins in Growth, Development, and Disease Gordon Research Conference, and has two first-author manuscripts in preparation. She aims to contribute to the growing body of knowledge regarding combination strategies to improve the efficacy of cancer immunotherapies to provide better options for her patients as a dermatologist. She is committed to making academia more welcoming and inclusive to underrepresented populations, which she has begun doing as the president of the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center Trainee Network.

Ashley Scott

MD-PhD, Cellular and Molecular Biology

Ashley Scott is a MD-PhD trainee and a PhD candidate in Cellular and Molecular Biology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Ashley strives to understand key processes of cardiovascular disease to improve the health of patients who suffer from cardiovascular-related morbidities. She earned a bachelor of science in Biology from University of Maryland, Baltimore County, graduating cum laude in 2016. As an undergraduate researcher Ashley worked at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health on estrogen receptor mediated sex differences in myocarditis. This work resulted in two co-author publications. In her current dissertation work, Ashley works under the direction of Kristyn Masters to use tissue engineering techniques to model aortic valve disease. Ashley uses these systems that closely recapitulate aortic valve disease conditions to investigate key underpinnings of aortic valve disease progression, including the sexual dimorphic nature of this disease, wherein males have more calcification and females have more fibrosis. Her dissertation work has resulted in two publications thus far. Ashley is also passionate about facilitating inclusive scientific training environments and reducing bias mediated health disparities through curricula changes. In recognition of these efforts Ashley has received UW–Madison’s Outstanding Women of Color Award (2022), the Cellular and Molecular Biology Graduate Program’s inaugural Diversity and Equity Impact Award (2022), UW–Madison’s Bucky Award for Graduate Student Commitment to Engagement and Activism (2022), and the UW–Madison Medical Scientist Training Program Diversity and Equity Champion Award (2022, 2023).

Jairo Villalona

PhD, Chemistry

Jairo Villalona is a PhD candidate in Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His research focuses on engineering enzymes through an iterative process called directed evolution for synthesizing non-canonical amino acids (ncAAs). The synthesis of ncAAs is a common challenge for producing new medicines, materials, and probes for bioactivity. Jairo received his bachelor of science in chemistry from Westfield State University. As an undergraduate student, he participated in the investigation of Lyme disease in western Massachusetts by monitoring the prevalence of B. burgdorferi, the causative bacteria found in deer tick populations. Jairo is a recipient of the American Chemical Society Bridge to the Doctorate Fellowship. This fellowship prepares students from underrepresented groups for a doctoral program through advanced coursework, mentoring, and research. A published case study involving the fellowship can be found in the Journal of Chemical Education, where Jairo is a co-author. His thesis research has resulted in the publication of his first-author work pertaining to the biocatalytic synthesis of α,β-diamino acids, an underexplored class of amino acids that can serve as unique building blocks for chemical biology and medicinal chemistry. In addition to his research, Jairo is committed to scientific outreach with the long-term goal of addressing societal problems as a scientific advisor in the public sector, such as the federal government.

Dr. Lisandra Flores-Aldama

Postdoctoral Fellow, Neuroscience

Lisandra Flores-Aldama is a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Neuroscience of the University of Wisconsin–Madison working in the laboratory of Dr. Gail Robertson. She earned her bachelor of science degree in biochemistry at Universidad de La Habana, graduating summa cum laude in 2011. As an undergraduate student, she worked at the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in Havana, Cuba, focusing on defining the molecular mechanism underlying the antitumoral effect of synthetic peptides by proteomics approaches, work that contributed to a publication. In 2014, Lisandra enrolled in a PhD in cell and molecular biology at the Universidad Austral de Chile. Guided by Dr. Sebastian Brauchi, her dissertation work contributed to understanding the evolutionary structural-functional correlation of the calcium-dependent inactivation of TRPV5-6 channels. She also collaborated in defining the transport mechanism of the human AE4 Cl-/HCO3- exchanger. She contributed as the first (co)-author of three articles and was awarded three scholarships and two grants as principal investigator. After graduating with her PhD summa cum laude, Lisandra joined Dr. Gail Robertson’s laboratory to pursue ion channel biophysics in cardiovascular research. Her postdoctoral work aims to uncover the biogenesis of hERG1 channels and the molecular mechanism underlying this channel gating at the plasma membrane. As a postdoc, Lisandra earned a slot on an institutional T32 grant. She co-founded Black in Biophysics and co-organized Black in Biophysics Week, an initiative aiming to highlight black biophysicists. She also volunteers at the Biophysical and General Physiologist Societies. Lisandra aims to become a successful scientist in biophysics and cardiovascular research.

Pilar Gauthier

PhD, Counseling Psychology

Pilar Gauthier is a PhD candidate in Counseling Psychology. Her Native American worldview and service to the community are evident in her research approach. She advocates for Indigenous ways of knowing and doing as legitimate sources of knowledge and scientific inquiry within academia. Pilar developed an epistemic framework and methodology that centers on her Menominee cultural values. In doing so, her research practices respect Menominee tribal sovereignty and linguistic and cultural intellectual property. Pilar’s research aims to improve psychological practice among underrepresented populations, including exploring racial and gendered experiences of Native and non-Native women across life roles, career readiness among BIPOC students, and decolonization within psychotherapeutic practice and education. Her dissertation proposes that the vocational lives of Native American women require an expansion of current Western/European vocational theories to capture the complex histories and nuanced social contexts these women experience as they engage in work while taking into consideration the history of racism, sexism, economic structures and exploitation implicated in Western research. She is also working on a collaboration project with the Native Justice Alliance to explore how Native people living in the Great Lakes region experience and heal from racial injustice. In addition, she collaborates with the Great Lakes Native American Elders Association and academic allies at the William S. Middleton Memorial Veteran’s Hospital to support culturally congruent care to elders and older adults experiencing end-of-life concerns, including dementia. Her research has been formally reviewed and endorsed by her tribe’s legislative body.

Aicha Quamine

PhD, Cellular and Molecular Biology

Aicha Quamine is a PhD candidate in Cellular and Molecular Biology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her research focuses on combining cancer biology and immunology approaches to develop a multimodal immunotherapy by enhancing innate immune effector cells called Natural Killer (NK) cells for the treatment of relapsed or refractory neuroblastoma. Aicha received her bachelor of science degree in pharmaceutical sciences with a specialization in medicinal and biological chemistry from Cleveland State University. As an undergraduate student she joined the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program where she participated in phytochemical drug synthesis and small molecule inhibitor optimization which led to co-author status on two peer-reviewed papers. Aicha is a recipient of the Science and Medicine Graduate Research Scholars (SciMED-GRS) fellowship, the National Science Foundation (NSF) funded Wisconsin Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (WiscAMP) Fellowship, and the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP). Her thesis research has resulted in four additional co-authorships and a first-author review on enhancing NK cell-based immunotherapy. In addition to her research, Aicha is dedicated to scientific outreach and communication with the long-term goal of broadly increasing scientific literacy and making STEM accessible to her community at all ages, backgrounds, and education levels.

Adati Tarfa

PhD, Health Services Research in Pharmacy

Adati Tarfa is a pharmacist and Health Services Research in Pharmacy PhD candidate at the University of Wisconsin–Madison (UW–Madison) School of Pharmacy. She earned a doctorate in pharmacy from Drake University with academic and leadership honors. Adati’s research integrates health equity, substance use disorder (SUD), medication adherence, and digital health into examining the care of people living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). She was selected by the Office of Minority Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as a research Health Equity Fellow. Her research addressing the national priority of ending the HIV epidemic using interdisciplinary perspectives of pharmacists and social workers has been published in key pharmacy journals. Adati is mentored by Dr. Olayinka Shiyanbola, a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Disparities Research Scholar, on the design and implementation of a culturally tailored peer support intervention – the Peers Supporting Health Literacy, Self-Efficacy, Self-Advocacy, and Adherence (Peers LEAD) program – to improve medication adherence among African Americans. Using her training in medication adherence support, Adati’s dissertation is exploring medication adherence among people with HIV and SUD using a computer-mediated discourse analysis of participants using the Addiction Comprehensive Health Enhancement Support System (A-CHESS) mobile health application. In addition to her research, Adati is passionate about mental health. She regularly facilitates National Alliances of Mental Health (NAMI) support groups and was awarded the NAMI Dane County 2022 Award of Excellence. Adati also received the UW–Madison Graduate Women in Science Award for her research, academic, and leadership excellence.

Paris Wicker

PhD, Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis

Paris Wicker is a PhD candidate in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis with a doctoral minor in sociology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Using multi and mixed methods, her research explores three areas: (1) the connection between education and well-being, (2) The role of racism and anti-racism within higher education policy and practice, and (3) relational frameworks for organizational change. She is a Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellow and incoming Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy at The State University of New York at Buffalo. Her dissertation is a social network analysis of well-being for Black and Indigenous college students, with the aim to elevate well-being and relationships as primary components of student success, and to uncover how institutions of higher education aid or impede the well-being of their constituents. Recent publications include “Well-being consciousness and college access borderlands,” which explores how college access program staff used well-being practices to prepare Black and Indigenous students for higher education, and “A Critical Policy Review of Well-Being and Equity Policy at Historically Black, Tribal, and Predominately White Colleges and Universities.” Before the doctoral journey, Paris had 10 years of experience as a practitioner within college admissions and student affairs, facilitating student success and building relationships and supportive campus climates. Paris holds a bachelor of arts degree in vocal music and French and Francophone studies from Lawrence University, a master of science in education in professional counseling from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, and is originally from Chicago, Illinois.

Kennia Coronado

Kennia Coronado is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her research interests lie broadly at the intersections of race and ethnicity, political behavior, and political communication. In her dissertation, she investigates the processes and mechanisms under which Latinxs are mobilized to participate in U.S. elections—even when many are ineligible to vote. Coronado’s research interests are motivated by observations she made as a former immigrant rights organizer and as a former Spanish-language radio host. In addition to research, she mentors underrepresented students in on-campus research programs intended to help students obtain experience and guide those interested in graduate programs. Coronado was first introduced to the idea of pursuing a PhD in political science through the Ralph Bunche summer program at Duke University. While an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, she was also selected as a McNair scholar. These experiences cemented her commitment to mentor underrepresented students and create more welcoming college environments. Kennia is committed to equity on campus and off campus. She actively participates in ways to better support underrepresented students in her department and the classroom. Coronado received a campus-wide Early Excellence in Teaching Award for her teaching in the “Politics of Multi-cultural Societies” course in the Spring of 2020. She is an active member of her community and sits on boards and committees that advocate for the equity of BIPOC communities across diverse issues.

Kendra Greendeer

Kendra Greendeer is a PhD Candidate in Art History at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and working on her dissertation “Rematriating Indigeneity in Contemporary Native American Arts” which looks closely at the impact of contemporary Indigenous American women artists and place-making practices in their art. Greendeer’s research is informed by her Indigenous ancestry, Ho-Chunk and Red Cliff Band Ojibwe, and considers the role of Indigenous women makers and their art practice as decolonial acts in the reengagement of Indigenous people to land in the United States and Canada. Her research is focused on three contemporary Native women artists that live and work in the United States and Canada.

Her publications include “The Land Remembers Native Histories” which analyzes the markers and monuments of the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus, and “Ho-Chunk Bandelier Bag” which is an essay focused on a Ho-Chunk-made beaded bandelier bag from the Fenimore Art Museum.

Linda Park

Linda Park is a Postdoctoral Research Associate with the Implementation Science and Engineering Lab in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health (DFMCH) at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. Linda received her PhD (UW–Madison) in the School of Human Ecology, Human Development and Family Studies with two minors—Research Methods in Cultural Studies and Social Welfare. She has two Master of Science degrees—Social Work and Business (UW–Madison). She received her BA in Psychology with a minor in Sociology from The College of William and Mary. She is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) Scholar and a NIMHD Health Disparities Research Institute participant. Linda conducts interdisciplinary research with her mentor, Dr. Andrew Quanbeck (PhD Engineering/DFMCH faculty) on projects implementing mobile health technologies into healthcare settings. As a postdoc and project manager, Linda focuses on ensuring a mobile health app focusing on alcohol and wellness could be a useful tool for those in the BIPOC community as well as the majority White population in Wisconsin. But Linda’s passion for health equity drives her own research focusing on health disparities and cultural determinants of health for immigrant and refugee families. She recently completed a pilot study exploring challenges for older Hmong patients with limited English proficiency and Type 2 Diabetes, while identifying their caregivers’ support needs. Linda is currently working on a grant to adapt an evidence-based mobile health app to educate Hmong caregivers about diabetes so they can better support the older Hmong patient.

Bo Peng

Bo Peng is a current sixth year MD/PhD student at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and ultimately aims to become an academic physician-scientist in the field of neurosurgery and a principal investigator in translational neuroscience research. She has extensive molecular biology research experience beginning as an undergraduate researcher at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), where she spent three consecutive summers identifying a novel conserved protein epitope on the surface of Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes. Her work was presented at multiple conferences. Concurrently at the Department of Neuroscience at Duke University, she built a mechanistic foundation in neuronal development and differentiation using Drosophila as a model organism. Her work there resulted in a co-authored publication and a senior thesis where she received High Honors in the Department of Biology. As a post-baccalaureate fellow at the NIH, she spearheaded a project investigating the molecular pathway of multidrug-resistant malaria. She presented her findings at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) virology seminar. These formative experiences solidified her desire to pursue a MD/PhD degree where she is using her clinical training to guide research, and vice versa. As a third-year graduate student in Dr. Darcie Moore’s laboratory, her thesis project focuses on understanding novel post-transcriptional regulation mechanisms during mammalian neural stem cell (NSC) quiescence exit, a key step in replenishing neurons in aging and neurological diseases. Her work has resulted in a published co-authored article, and two first author publications in preparation. She has also presented her work at internal seminars and national conferences as talks, invited talks, and posters.

Whitney Stevens-Sostre

Whitney A. Stevens-Sostre is a PhD Candidate in the Neuroscience Training Program at the University of Wisconsin–Madison working in the laboratory of Dr. Gail Robertson. Whitney earned her BS in Biology from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, where she participated in the National Institutes for Health (NIH)-funded Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement (RISE-2-BEST) and Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC) training programs. After graduating, she worked as a research technician at the University of Chicago through the NIH-funded Post-Baccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP), where she developed her passion for ion channel research. Whitney’s dissertation work aims to elucidate the molecular mechanisms by which the intracellular domains of KCNH voltage-gated potassium channels modulate gating to control excitability in neurons and cardiomyocytes. Her dissertation research has led to two publications thus far. Whitney is a Science and Medicine Graduate Research Scholars (SciMed GRS) Fellow and a Yale Ciencia Academy Fellow. As a graduate student, she earned slots on two institutional T32 grants. In addition, Whitney founded Black In Biophysics and co-organized #BlackInBiophysicsWeek, an international social media initiative that highlighted and celebrated Black scholars in biophysics and related fields. She recently received the prestigious NIH Blueprint Diversity Specialized Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Advancement in Neuroscience (D-SPAN) Award (F99/K00). Her professional goal is to become a tenured professor at a major research institution who studies channelopathies primarily affecting the nervous system, while also being a mentor and active advocate for underrepresented minorities in STEM fields.

Kristal Gant

PhD, Endocrinology and Reproductive Physiology

Kristal L. Gant is an Associate GEM Fellow, a former TEAM Science Scholar and a PhD candidate in Endocrinology and Reproductive Physiology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She conducts interdisciplinary research with Dr. Manish S. Patankar in the Obstetrics and Gynecology department and Dr. Paul J. Campagnola in the Biomedical Engineering department, exploring collagen reorganization during High Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer (HGSOC) progression. Her dissertation aims to elucidate overall tumor biology and extracellular matrix (ECM) alterations in gynecological disease. Gant earned her bachelor’s degree in Biology and a Chemistry minor from Elizabeth City State University (ECSU). While at ECSU, Gant was introduced to graduate-level research as a Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) Scholar. Following graduation and denied acceptance into more than eight graduate programs, she was accepted into the NIH/NIGMS-funded Post-Baccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP) at the University of Missouri-Columbia and used the experience to catapult her on her STEM trajectory. She continues to pursue her passion of educating, motivating, and supporting students and is involved with several outreach activities geared towards STEM advocacy and minority participation in STEM. Following an interaction with undergraduate students of the WISCamp EXCEL Program, Gant founded STEMming PhorwarD, LLC, a supportive network and podcast that focuses on encouraging underrepresented minority students to pursue advanced degrees in STEM and providing them with advice and insight on the graduate school experience. Gant has dedicated her career to discovering new advancements in gynecological cancers and inspiring higher education for all students.

Katherine Mueller

PhD, Cellular and Molecular Biology

Katie Mueller is a PhD candidate in the Cellular and Molecular Biology program at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her research focuses on developing next-generation cell and gene therapies across broad applications, including brain cancer and retinal disease. She developed a strategy to efficiently generate therapeutic immune cells that are trained to recognize and kill cancer cells. Katie is also interested in creating tools to track and model the behavior of these gene edited cells, to better understand and predict the ways that they behave inside the human body. She played a leadership role with the NSF Engineering Research Center for Cell Manufacturing Technologies, including a year as Student Leadership Council Chair, serving over 100 trainees across the institution. Katie holds a traineeship with the NIH Biotechnology Training Program and is an NSF Graduate Research Fellow. Katie is a passionate advocate for an intersectional understanding of mental health concerns in academia. She co-founded an organization focused on peer support and skill building to address social and environmental challenges in grad school. Through this group, she designed a climate survey for her institute in partnership with the LEAD Center, and she has co-developed over 20 case studies tackling topics ranging from racism and sexism in STEM labs to mentor/mentee relationships. She is a committed mentor to a dozen mentees ranging from high school research interns to junior graduate students, with a particular focus on supporting her fellow queer scientists. She plans to defend a DELTA certificate in teaching and learning this spring.

Tarsha Herelle

PhD, Educational Policy Studies

Tarsha Herelle is a PhD candidate in the Department of Educational Policy Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her interdisciplinary scholarship is situated at the intersection of educational policy, Black Studies, gender studies, and sociology of education. As a qualitative scholar of education and the Black diaspora, her research is centered around two questions: First, how do politics of belonging, racism, and other large-scale structures of inequality inform educational policy and shape the daily experiences of marginalized groups in academic spaces? Secondly, how do marginalized groups, particularly Black women, navigate and resist oppressive and exclusionary practices across educational contexts? Her dissertation analyzes how women across the Black diaspora experience diversity and inclusion policies and the spaces of resistance they create to contest exclusionary practices in academia in the United States and Brazil. She is committed to producing critical research that foregrounds Black women’s experiences across educational contexts. To this end, her article, “To protect and to prepare: Black mothers’ school-selection decision-making processes,” currently under review with Race, Ethnicity, and Education, examines how Black mothers’ positionality and past experiences with racism inform their school selection decision-making processes. Tarsha is a recipient of the Phi Kappa Phi Zillman Research Award, Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship, and the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Center for Research on Gender and Women’s Mary Washburn Willets Award.

Edrees Rashan

PhD, Biochemistry

Edrees Rashan is a PhD candidate in the Integrated Program in Biochemistry (IPiB) at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His research focus is to understand the biological functions of poorly characterized mitochondrial proteins and how their activities influence intermediary metabolism at a mechanistic level. As a collaborative scientist, Edrees has contributed to discoveries of how alternative splicing controls liver maturation and regeneration as well as the development of mass spectrometry methodology that measures lipids and proteins simultaneously. Edrees’ long-term goal is to become a professor and lead a research program to investigate how diet and genetics affects the progression and treatment diseases like cancer. Since arriving at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Edrees has been actively involved in increasing equity and inclusion for underrepresented minority scholars. As a SciMed GRS Peer Mentor, Edrees works with first-year trainees and helps with their acclimation to graduate school. Edrees also serves as an IPiB representative at the National Conferences for Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science and the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students. As part of his involvement with an ad hoc student diversity committee, he helped establish travel awards that support members of his academic community to attend and participate at annual diversity conferences to empower young scholars from minority backgrounds. In spring of 2020, Edrees served as a volunteer for the New York Biomedical Technician Rapid Response Team, a coalition of scientists with a goal to provide accessible COVID-19 testing to low-income neighborhoods in New York.

Sofia Romero Ferrufino

PhD, Microbiology

Sofia is a PhD candidate in the Microbiology Doctoral Training Program at the University of Wisconsin–Madison with a focus in molecular virology. She is also a first-generation college graduate from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Sofia’s dissertation focuses on understanding the subcellular trafficking dynamics of hepatitis B virus (HBV) Core protein during replication and packaging of viral genome; using a combination of single-molecule detection systems as well as live, and fixed cell techniques. Applying the Sherer’s lab microscopy skills, Sofia’s work has revealed novel findings for how the subcellular distribution of HBV Core protein is regulated during replication. In addition to science, Sofia is equally passionate for advocating for and increasing diversity in science. At UCSC, Sofia worked with the Society for Advancement of Chican@s and Native Americans in Science to help foster a community for underrepresented students in STEM. Sofia brings that same motivation to the University of Wisconsin–Madison through teaching and advocacy. Sofia is motivated to increase the accessibility of science to marginalized students by creating community through peer-mentorship and advocating for better support networks within her program. Moreover, Sofia welcomes opportunities to share her scholarship with her community by participating as a science fair judge for high school students, leading science Saturday science events at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and teaching virology to middle and high school students in Madison for the annual Virology Olympiad in Wisconsin. As a developing scientist, Sofia aims to continue advocating for underrepresented students in science and to improve science-to-public engagement.