Announcements
Summer 2019 Newsletter Volume 27 Issue 3
This issue of the Newsletter is available in PDF.
For previous newsletters, click here.
Dear AWIS-SD Members and Friends,
I hope everyone is having a great summer so far. Save the date! We are hosting our Women in Science and Technology conference (WIST) on October 19, 2019. If you are interested in helping plan this conference, we could still use some volunteers; please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. WIST is a one-day symposium that focuses on career and personal development. There will be a prominent keynote speaker and lots of peer networking. The conference will include workshops, roundtables, and seminars for individuals at all stages of their careers in both academia and industry.
AWIS-SD is offering two $1000 scholarships for credit towards UCSD Extension classes. Applications are due August 18, 2019. Please see awissd.org homepage for details on the scholarships.
If you are interested in looking into leadership roles or learning more about what we do, please consider joining a committee. We are always looking for new co-chairs and committee members for our committees, including Strategy Sessions, Public Relations, and Events. Please visit awissd.org for more information.
Best wishes,
Courtney
Courtney Benson
President, AWIS-SD
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by Ray Seraydarian
On Monday, June 3, 2019, AWIS San Diego chapter enjoyed a happy hour at craft beer purveyors New English Brewing in Sorrento Valley. This casual social event was sponsored by Synthego, a California genome engineering company, whose local rep is Rita Rozmarynowycz. Synthego graciously provided salads and sushi rolls from Ahi Sushi of UTC. About 15 people enjoyed food, beverages, and lively conversation in a private room.
We thank members of the Events Committee, especially Tiffany Chow, Adina Gerson-Gurwitz, Ruth Kabeche, and Valeria Viscardi for their work in making the arrangements for this successful event.
Strategy Sessions: How to achieve financial health
by Myan Do
The Strategy Sessions committee hosted Jennifer “JJ” Jank on June 6, 2019, for a workshop on learning basic finance for every-day life. JJ is a Certified Financial Planner™ and a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® professional. For more information on JJ and the services she offers, visit:
JJ focuses on women and their financial needs, and her goal is to empower women through financial education, including unforeseen situations such as divorce financial analysis. Below are some highlights from her talk. If you would like access to JJ’s presentation, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
- Different people have different financial goals, whether it is early retirement, buying a home, or taking a vacation every so often. As a result, there is no one-size-fits-all financial plan.
- JJ recommends going to a professional financial planner to give you a “road map” of how to achieve your financial goals. For example, determining the amount and the number of years you need to earn/ save in order to retire at a certain age.
- JJ also recommends finding financial planners from the Garrett Planning Network (garrettplanningnetwork.com).
- A good basic budgeting strategy is the 50/30/20 rule; allocating your after-tax income for spending 50% on needs, 30% on wants, and 20% to savings.
- Invest your money for retirement! Put the maximum amount of money into your employer-provided retirement plan, then as much as you are able into IRA, Roth IRA, and taxable brokerage accounts.
- If you are interested in long-term, aggressive investments (10+ years), consider stocks like index funds and exchange-traded funds (ETF).
- JJ recommends creating a trust to protect your assets and having the trust drawn up by an estate planner.
Annual Family Event at Cool Creations
by Corine Lau
This year’s AWIS San Diego annual family event took place on July 27, 2019, at Cool Creations, a paint-your-own pottery cafe. About 20 AWIS-SD members, family, and friends gathered at this quaint studio. Our host Kicki gave a brief introduction on how to handle and paint our pottery pieces. We each picked out a ‘greenware’, an unpainted white clay piece. There was a variety of mugs, bowls, plates, statues, and piggy banks to choose from. Then, we selected the colors we wanted from a wall of painted sample tiles displayed with >50 different colors, each with a unique number matching the paint bottles.
We all had different ideas on how to decorate our pieces. While some used tracing paper to draw out the design first, and some used stencils and stamps, others just let their imagination run wild and free handed various patterns and drawings. While we were painting away, AWIS SD members networked and exchanged professional experiences. AWIS-SD also provided snacks and drinks to fuel our creative energy.
We had to wait a week for the painted pieces to be fired in the kiln and glaze added. This process is what makes these ceramic pieces come to life with vibrant colors and shiny finishing. Let’s give a big shout out to Adina Gerson-Gurwitz, Valeria Viscardi, and Ray Seraydarian of the Events Committee for organizing this cool and fun event for all ages to enjoy on a hot summer day!
Meet Juliati Rahajeng: A Smooth Transition From Academia to Industry
by Pat Rarus
Transitioning from academia to industry can be challenging because the work environment is quite different between these two worlds, with other priorities, expectations and cultures. Perhaps most importantly, in academia, one might work on a project for many years with deadlines that can be extended. In industry, on the other hand, projects come with hard deadlines that workers must meet. Despite this cultural change, Juliati Rahajeng, Ph.D., is thriving as a clinical strategy scientist at Cato Research in San Diego, an international contract research organization (CRO). Rahajeng is delighted with the number of projects that she works on, the opportunity to work from home when unexpected situations arise, and the chances for advancement. She credits AWIS-SD with her smooth transition. Here is how she did it.
In her fourth year as a post-doc research fellow at UCSD, Rahajeng was working in a lab that specialized in endocytic trafficking pathways; specifically, a focus on the EHD protein family and their interacting partners. Although she was happy with her work, Rahajeng began wondering if her ultimate career choice would be a faculty position– something she had assumed for years. Her former postdoc colleague (they worked in the same lab) introduced her to AWIS-SD and encouraged her to hone her writing skills. “That’s when I decided to volunteer for the AWIS-SD Newsletter Committee,” Rahajeng recalled with a grin. Volunteering and networking at AWIS-SD led to yet another pivotal opportunity: “The same former postdoc colleague told me about SDRAN (San Diego Regulatory Affairs Network). Well, I attended a SDRAN monthly meeting and learned about summer classes that would teach me about the regulatory world."
Rahajeng learned her lessons well and quickly, too. She joined SDRAN and eventually took 12 classes –two hours each – about various facets of U.S. regulatory affairs. “The classes were reasonably priced and well worth my time and effort,” she explained. Although Rahajeng learned a lot about drug development/regulatory affairs by attending these classes, she still did not have any real work experience in the field.” Fortunately, Cato Research was looking for an entry-level scientist and was willing to train the right person. That opportunity provided Rahajeng with a first-class ticket for her transition to industry. “I got promoted to Clinical Strategy Scientist position after one year working for Cato Research,” said Rahajeng proudly. Now, after a little more than two years, she is growing in her new career with each new milestone. “I’m dealing with different therapeutic indications, and I’m learning so much,” she said enthusiastically.
In her spare time, Rahajeng works out at the gym, spends time with her friends, and plays with her cats. If AWIS members are thinking about transitioning from academia to industry, she is most welcome to advise them how to make the change.
p.s. Rahajeng just passed her US Regulatory Affairs Certification (RAC) exam. Congratulations, Juliati Rahajeng, PhD, RAC!
Meet the 2019 AWIS-SD Scholars
The AWIS-San Diego Scholarship Program, now in its 19th year, strives to encourage and reward outstanding women pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields at San Diego colleges and universities.
On April 6th, 2019, the Scholarship Committee met for several hours to choose the 2019 Scholars. Out of 67 outstanding applications, the committee selected five for the $1000 award and seven for Honorable Mentions and one-year San Diego chapter membership.
Congratulations to these remarkable students!
2019 Awardee
Kim Kelley, MiraCosta College
Kim Kelly is a second year student at MiraCosta College and will be transferring to UCI or UCSD this fall. Her major is Human Biology and she wants to become an Optometrist after earning her B.S. She is currently interning at an optometry clinic in Carlsbad and enjoys working with patients as an optometrist technician. At school she is a Student Ambassador and is also a member of the Chemistry Club and Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. She also enjoys music and is a piano teacher, an organist, and volunteers for her church's choir.
Desirae Mellor, UCSD
Desirae Mellor attended California State University San Marcos where she earned a B.S. in Biochemistry. She is currently working towards a PhD in Biochemistry at the University of California San Diego where she studies fatty acid biosynthesis in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Desirae is a military spouse whose husband is currently serving as a United States Marine stationed on Camp Pendleton. She has two children, ages 4 and 7. She is currently also involved in local outreach programs. This year she led the development of a Science Olympiad program for the middle school students in her neighborhood on base. She hopes to obtain an academic position after earning her PhD and conduct research in the field of drug discovery.
Barbara Perez, Mesa College
Barbara Sade Perez Escareno has always been enchanted by how living things work, but her absolute delight is learning about genetics. She developed a major interest in genetic disorders through her exposure to the hardships of cystic fibrosis, by following the journey of various social media influencers battling the disorder, and by taking a human heredity honors class in community college that allowed her to develop a research paper on hemophilia and a presentation on the CRISPR-Cas9 technique. She believes that what you do with knowledge is what matters; one is not supposed to simply absorb information, but instead work towards its expansion and application, which is why she decided to pursue a career in bioengineering and plans on obtaining a PhD that will allow her to perform research on genetic disorders. Currently she is a STEM tutor at her community college, from which she will transfer this fall, who strives to be a mentor to the students that she helps through tutoring, especially to Hispanic women in STEM.
Sofia Sanchez, USD
Born and raised in San Diego, California, Sofia Sanchez currently attends the University of San Diego where she is studying mathematics and Spanish. Passionate about exploring ways in which she can help students who struggle with math overcome their fears and struggles, Sofia is also obtaining her single-subject teaching credential. In general, Sofia is interested in working with historically underrepresented communities to help foster change and growth, and to shift this misconceived mindset many seem to have on these communities with respect to the STEM subjects. Upon becoming a teacher, Sofia is looking forward to being a changemaker and innovative math teacher in secondary educational mathematics.
My Tran, SDSU
My Tran received her Bachelor's Degrees in Speech, Language and Hearing Science & Psychology from San Diego State University in May 2019. She is an aspiring physician-scientist and plans to pursue a joint MD/PhD degree following her undergraduate education. She hopes to continue her research work in elucidating the underlying mechanisms of various neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., Alzheimer's and Parkinson’s diseases), while simultaneously working in the medical field to directly help and support these patients.
Honorable Mentions
Anamika Agrawal, UCSD
Anamika Agrawal is a 3rd year PhD student in Physics at the University of California, San Diego. Her research in the Koslover group at UCSD focuses on using physical and computational models to study how brain cells regulate their metabolism to ensure their proper functioning. Along with the Pekkurnaz group at UCSD Neurobiology, her work discovered the physical limits and relevance of glucose-dependent mitochondrial motility in metabolic regulation in a neuron. In the future, she hopes to make use of her training in Physics and Quantitative Biology in developing methods and techniques for the study of neurological disorders. Apart from her research pursuits, she has also been involved in outreach activities like the Tech Trek program and the Young Physicists Program to make Physics accessible to all.
Cecilia Barnhill, USD
Cecilia Barnhill is a junior at the University of San Diego. She is earning a B.S in Computer Science and a B.A. in Music. She holds a 3.94 GPA and is a member of the Honors program. She works at Cubic Transportation Systems and volunteers teaching children and engaging with the unsheltered. Cecilia is the President of the Engineering Exchange for Social Justice and Eta Kappa Nu, and holds leadership positions in Mortar Board, Global Engineering Brigades, Mu Phi Epsilon, and Theta Tau. She was selected as a member of Cohort II of the Industry Scholars as well as the 2018 Knapp Scholars. Cecilia wants to combine humanitarian work and computer science to create technology that benefits the world.
Jeongin Choi, San Diego City College
Jeongin Choi was born and raised in South Korea where she lived until she turned twenty-one. Thereafter, she moved to San Diego in 2016 for her college studies. In her youth, she had a passionate curiosity about the natural phenomena in the world around her. Her interest in science intensified as she grew older. In 2017, she enrolled into San Diego City College as a biology major. The coursework alone was challenging, but on top of that she was learning in a second language. However, she was undeterred and the language barrier would not stop her from pursuing her passion and dream. Jeongin's effort and enthusiasm led to participation in various activities including the IRACDA SURF Program at UCSD and volunteering at the UCSD hospital and college. She loves learning and experiencing various activities, and is excited about her future career in the biological sciences!
Claudia Palomino La-torre, UCSD
Claudia Palomino is an undergraduate at UCSD majoring in Biochemistry and Cell Biology. Four years ago, she moved from Chile to the U.S. to start her research career. Currently, she works in Dr. Skowronska-Krawczyk’s laboratory at UCSD studying the molecular mechanisms of age-related diseases by using the eye as a model system. During her two years working in Dr. Skowronska-Krawczyk’s lab, she has worked on several projects and contributed to research papers and a grant proposal. Palomino assisted a postdoc in studying the potential use of nanoparticles as gene therapy in eye diseases. As a Genentech scholar, Palomino conducted her research project studying the therapeutic effects of novel drugs to treat primary open-angle glaucoma. She presented her research findings at the Summer Research Conference 2018 at UCSD. Her goal is to conduct research and collaborate with scientists to develop treatments for patients with neurodegenerative and age-related diseases.
Hannah Rutledge, UCSD
Hannah Rutledge received her BS in chemistry from Rice University and is currently a graduate student at the University of California, San Diego where she is working toward a PhD in chemistry. She studies bioinorganic chemistry and is conducting research in Dr. Tezcan’s lab on the complex enzyme nitrogenase. In addition to performing experiments in the lab, she also enjoys mentoring undergraduate students in chemistry and guiding them on their own independent research projects.
Aurian Seleh, UCSD
Aurian Saleh is a first generation Masters student at UCSD with a degree in Biochemistry and Cell Biology. Her current research focuses on the contribution of transposable elements to the developing brain. She plans on pursuing a dual MD-PhD degree to become a future physician-scientist, helping to bridge the gap between medicine and science research. In her free time, she enjoys playing ultimate frisbee and practicing yoga.
Sabrina Younan, SDSU
Sabrina Younan specializes in semiconductor surface morphology and catalysis of two-dimensional materials in photoelectrochemical water splitting. Currently a master’s student in Dr. Jing Gu’s research group at San Diego State University, next fall she will begin her PhD studies in San Diego State University’s Joint PhD program with the University of California, San Diego. As her passions lie within renewable energy conversion and storage, her PhD thesis will dissect the role electrocatalysts play in biomass degradation and hydrogen energy storage. Upon completion of her PhD and post-doctoral fellowship, Sabrina intends to establish a company focused on developing cost-effective methods of hydrogen generation and administer free educational programs to public schools to provide hands-on experience researching renewable energy topics to society’s youth. Ultimately, Sabrina’s goals are to contribute to global scientific intelligence, furnish economical methods of clean energy production for societal gain, and develop free educational programs in clean energy generation for our future generations.
Second Annual SoCal Science Writing Symposium
by Jean Spence
On May 18, 2019, I attended the second Annual SoCal Science Writing Symposium on the University of Southern California campus. For an organization that began in 2018, I was extremely impressed with the quality of the program and with the attendees.
The meeting began with USC Dornsife Divisional Dean Stephen Bradforth and USC Viterbi Director of Research Initiatives Mahta Moghaddam welcoming us and thanking science writers for their role in bringing scientific discoveries to the public. This was followed by the plenary session on Science Videos featuring four dynamic panelists: Dr. Derek Muller, Jess Phoenix, Megan Chao and Kyle McLary. Muller set up a YouTube Channel called Veritasium which has over six million viewers. His advice for creating a viral video was to find the intersection between the ordinary and the bizarre. His example was his video of a falling Slinky. Most of us have played with a Slinky but slow motion video of a falling Slinky shows that the bottom magically hovers in space until the falling top catches up with it. Phoenix studies volcanoes and she said that she has to walk the fine line between relaying the excitement, beauty of an exploding volcano, and the terror of the devastation and potential loss of life that could accompany this type of natural disaster. Chao works as a documentary producer and she had many useful hints for being successful in this field. McLary, a PhD candidate in the USC Department of Chemistry, created a niche for himself by cofounding Bridge Art and Science Alliance which connects scientists with artists who help to animate their discoveries.
Following the plenary session, there were sessions on Investigative Journalism, Climate Change, and Data Journalism. For participants who wanted to enhance their careers, there was a session on Science Reporting Fellowships and a Freelancer-Editor Meet ‘n’ Greet. The editors at the Meet ’n’ Greet were from UCLA Health, Link TV and KCET, Radiant Health Magazine, Trojan Family Magazine, Mercury Magazine, and last but not least, Playboy! There was also a choice of USC lab tours with research interests including socially assistive robotics (Maja Mataric’s lab), cancer (Peter Kuhn’s lab), and devices to fight diseases (Andrea Armani’s lab).
The modest cost of the meeting ($35) included breakfast, lunch and happy hour. The food was exceptional, an additional perk. Although I was looking forward to learning about squid research at the Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies, the optional Sunday trip to Catalina was canceled due to inclement weather.
A similar local organization, the San Diego Science Writers Association, can be found at https://sandswa.org/. In addition to networking opportunities, they host interesting events like a Palomar Observatory tour on July 20, and an upcoming Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon at Salk on September 7.
- Juliati Rahajeng, AWIS-SD Secretary, published her first-author article in Developmental Cell.
Title: Efficient Golgi Forward Trafficking Requires GOLPH3-Driven, PI4P-Dependent Membrane Curvature. Dev Cell. 2019 Jun 7. pii: S1534-5807(19)30451-4. doi: 10.1016/j.devcel.2019.05.038. [Epub ahead of print] - Radhika Gopal, WIST venue liaison and Corporate Sponsorship committee member, has successfully transitioned from Technical Application Specialist II to Associate Product Manager for cell biology within Thermo Fisher Scientific.
by Alyson Smith
- As part of the Salk Institute’s Harnessing Plants Initiative, researchers have discovered a gene that controls root growth in Arabidopsis thaliana, a plant used in genetics research. By mutating this gene, researchers produced plants with roots that grow two times deeper. This discovery will aid efforts to engineer resilient crops that sequester atmospheric carbon in their roots.
- The National Institutes of Health have awarded $129 million over seven years to an international HIV vaccine collaboration directed by Dennis Burton of Scripps Research. The project aims to develop a multi-stage vaccine that would direct the immune system to make broadly neutralizing antibodies that target multiple HIV strains and prevent HIV infection.
- Victoria, a southern white rhino at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, has given birth to a healthy calf, the first southern white rhino conceived by artificial insemination. Victoria and the five other female rhinos at the park could become surrogate mothers for northern white rhino embryos and save this species from extinction.
- The Simons Foundation has gifted $20 million to UCSD to build and operate an astrophysics observatory in Chile. The observatory, directed by UCSD astrophysicist Brian Keating, will include four telescopes and will aim to detect radiation emitted after the big bang and answer questions about the origin of the universe. The observatory will begin operating in the fall of 2022.
- Rob Edwards of SDSU led a collaboration that found a unique type of bacteria-killing virus in sewage systems around the world. The virus targets Bacteroidetes, a genus of gut bacteria with roles in Crohn’s disease, obesity, and diabetes. Edwards plans to develop strategies using this virus to manipulate the human microbiome and treat these diseases.
- Researchers at General Atomics have developed a new nuclear fusion strategy termed the Super-H Mode. Super-H Mode heats plasma (confined ionized particles) to temperatures hotter than the core of the sun. It can increase fusion energy output up to four-fold over previous strategies, making it an important step towards commercial nuclear fusion power plants.
- A team of researchers at SDSU has developed a fast and accurate DNA sequencing method termed genome skipping. Paired with MinION, a handheld sequencing device, genome skipping can be used by researchers and wildlife officials to quickly identify species in the field.
- Stemson Therapeutics, a startup founded by Alexey Terskikh at Sanford Burnham Prebys, has received a multi-million dollar investment to develop treatments for baldness using human induced pluripotent stem cells. Stemson aims to create a biodegradable implant that will direct stem cells to produce the multiple cell types humans need to grow hair.
Women in Science and Technology (WIST) conference 2019
Saturday, October 19th, 2019
- A one-day symposium focusing on career and personal development, as well as peer networking
- Inspiring, prominent keynote speaker and informative workshops, round-tables, and seminars for STEM professionals at all career stages
- An excellent opportunity to network, develop new skills, and explore career opportunities
with 200 attendees from the scientific community
For more information or to volunteer for the WIST 2019 planning committee, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Check our website for conference registration including early bird specials!
See more AWIS-SD events here.
Ray Seraydarian earned his BS and M. Eng. degrees in Engineering Physics from Cornell University, and has spent his entire professional career in San Diego working in visible spectroscopy and areas closely involved with nuclear fusion research at General Atomics (GA) and UCSD. He is currently employed by UCLA at GA working on a microwave instrument for the large ITER fusion experiment being built by an international consortium in southern France. Outside of work, Ray enjoys theater, movies, bicycling, downhill skiing, and small boat sailing. Ray is a long standing AWIS-SD member, and he currently serves as a co-chair of the Events Committee.
Myan Do is pursuing her PhD in Biomedical Sciences at UC San Diego, specializing in Wnt signaling in cancer and stem cell biology. She joined AWIS and the Strategy Sessions committee in 2017, and became co-chair of Strategy Sessions in 2018. Outside of th elab, she enjoys boxing, hiking, traveling, and trying new restaurants.
Corine Lau received her Ph.D. in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and her B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Washington, Seattle. She pursued her post-doctoral training at the University of California, San Diego. She is currently a clinical oncology lead at Human Longevity Inc. Corine has been involved with AWIS-SD since 2006, and held various AWIS-SD leadership roles including Treasurer, Board member, and Website Committee co-chair. She currently serves as Newsletter co-chair and WIST planning committee.
Pat Rarus is a long-term contributor of the Newsletter committee. As the owner-founder of Marcom Consulting Group, Pat has assisted clients with marketing communications projects. The goal: increase visibility, market share and ultimately sales for profit-making companies. Increase visibility and donors for non-profits. Pat specializes in writing and editing a wide variety of online and print marketing materials: Website copy, including SE0, press releases, blogs, social media, biographies, marketing plans, speeches, ad/brochure copy, taglines/slogans, PowerPoint presentations and much more.
Jean Spence earned a Ph.D. from the University of Utah in microbial genetics. Subsequently, she did several postdoctoral fellowships at M.I.T., Harvard Medical School, UCSD and the University of Rochester. She pursued her interest in systems biology by developing a novel platform and publishing 3 manuscripts and a book chapter as communicating author. She has been a reviewer for the AWIS-SD newsletter since 2014 and became a co-chair this year. She was also a co-chair of the former Back to Work group in AWIS-SD.
AWIS-SD Newsletter Committee
Co-chairs: Alyson Smith, Jean Spence, and Corine Lau
Members: Pat Rarus, Juliati Rahajeng, Emily Bentley, and Swathi Hullugundi
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Spring 2019 Newsletter Volume 27 Issue 2
This issue of the Newsletter is available in PDF.
For previous newsletters, click here.
Dear AWIS-SD Members and Friends,
Congratulations AWIS-SD! We received the AWIS National Star Award for 2018, as well as the Shooting Star Award for member recruitment. This is an honor recognized by National AWIS as one of six AWIS chapters to receive the new Shooting Star Award.
Summer is just around the corner! As the semester and fiscal year winds down, I encourage you to think about joining an AWIS-SD committee. We are looking for new members as well as leaders for our committees. Some of these committees include the Events Committee that hosts happy hours, networking and social events for AWIS-SD, Strategy Sessions Committee that organizes career building workshops, and Public Relations Committee that promotes our online presence, creates new AWIS-SD promotional goodies, and communicates with members and non-members. We have various other committees, so if you are interested, please go to www.awissd.org to browse the committees under “About Us.”
One of the largest events that we organize is our WIST conference, which will happen this Fall. This will be a great opportunity for career development and for engaging with incredible mentors in STEM. We are still looking for volunteers to join the various WIST committees. Feel free to email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or WIST 2019 chair Robyn Wygal at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.
We have already had numerous great events this year. I would like to especially thank and congratulate our Outreach Committee for organizing so many fantastic events in the spring. The amazing work that our Outreach Committee does in our community is what initially brought me to AWIS-SD and makes me proud to be a part of such a great organization. I would also like to thank our volunteers that enable AWIS-SD to run so smoothly. Without everyone on our Board, Committees, and our Corporate Sponsors, our organization would not thrive like it does. Thank you.
Sincerest wishes,
Courtney
Courtney Benson
President, AWIS-SD
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AWIS-SD participates at the 2019 San Diego Science and Engineering Festival Expo Day
by Chistina Grobin
An intrepid band of volunteers led by AWIS-SD Outreach Committee members Bridget Kohlnhofer and Chistina Grobin met at a rainy Petco Park on Saturday morning, March 2nd. The event organizers were quick to handle the off-loading and delivered all the OOBLECK materials to the booth. Copious amounts of cornstarch were soon flying as volunteers stirred and kneaded the growing goop. Sturdy banners that have served AWIS-SD well were hung in the booth and none the worse for the weather! The same could not be said for OOBLECK information sheets which melted in the rain. Our booth placement near the main stage and on a grassy slope was perfect for the mess we created and optimum for being “in the thick of things”.
Soon, EXPO Day participants streamed into the stadium area. Children were fascinated by the plastic dinosaurs trapped in the OOBLECK. Older kids took turns smacking the liquid into a hard solid, and learning about this peculiar property of OOBLECK. Parents smiled and squealed with their children’s delight. Some adults took on the challenge of being strong enough to keep the OOBLECK as a ball shape and then have it melt in their palms. Highlights of the day included a rousing rap about studying DNA from the main stage and lengthy conversations about studying science. Thank you so much to our volunteers: Katherine, Corine, Alyson, Kellie, Britney, Fahad, Vanessa, Danielle, Hitomi and Rosana. It was a great day for all!
2019 Greater San Diego Science & Engineering Fair Judging
by Alyson Smith
The 65th annual Greater San Diego Science & Engineering Fair (GSDSEF) was held on March 13, 2019, at the Balboa Park Activity Center. The main science fair judging took place in the morning. After lunch, local professional societies had the opportunity to award additional projects. As in past years, AWIS-SD recognized outstanding projects by female students. A team of 20 volunteer judges from diverse scientific backgrounds and professions (led by Alyson Smith, Pam Bhattacharya, and Maddy Yeh) judged projects for AWIS-SD.
This year, AWIS-SD volunteers interviewed and evaluated 50 female students in the Senior Division (9th-12th graders) and nearly 300 female students in the Junior Division (7th and 8th graders). New and returning judges alike noted high levels of creativity, enthusiasm, and quality of research from students of all backgrounds. This year’s projects aimed to answer interesting questions in Animal Sciences, Plant Sciences, Microbiology, Chemistry, and many other fields of science and engineering. Many judges reported learning something new from the student’s innovative research.
After two to three hours of interviews and deliberation, 10 winning projects (2 senior and 8 junior) were selected. Congratulations to Arushi Dogra and Emily Tianshi of the Senior Division and Soleil Matsumoto, Maura Roberts, Noorah Dhamim, Melia Crimaldi, Lilli Lawrenz, Victoria Ehsan, Roeszele Nieves Ellis, Priyanka Soe, and Kristen Noriega of the Junior Division. Thank you to the volunteers who gave their time, energy, and expertise to judge the large number of projects. Congratulations to all the 2019 GSDSEF AWIS-SD winners!
We hope to have even more volunteers to judge science fair projects next year. The more judges that participate, the more attention we can give to each student. Please help us spread the word about this opportunity to meet, mentor, and recognize the next generation of San Diego women in STEM!
by Ray Seraydarian
On Monday March 11th, AWIS-SD held our perennially popular Speed Mentoring event at National University on Torrey Pines Road, just a bit north of UCSD. Mentees sat at tables with a mentor to learn more about career-advancing topics in academia and industry such as clinical research, marketing, project leadership, regulatory affairs, and others. Attendees preregistered online, selecting their preferred mentoring topics, and the Events Committee matched them up in advance such that for any of the four, 15-minute sessions a reasonably small number of people were sitting with a mentor. After the last mentoring session, a light dinner was served, and mentors and mentees could freely network and talk one-on-one.
The Events Committee thank all our mentors: Laura Bordone (GNF), Simone Brandalise (Aerotek), Barbara Calabrese (UCSD), Suni L. Dungan (CTK Biotech), Stephanie Leyva (Clinical Operations), Kristina Manvelian (Nabriva Therapeutics), Yvonne Oden (BioSurplus), and Juliati Rahajeng (Cato Research). The author (RS) thanks the other three Events Committee members — Adina Gerson-Gurwitz, Ksenya Cohen-Katsenelson, and Valeria Viscardi, for their hard work identifying and recruiting the mentors, performing the pre-event mentor-mentee matching, and other arrangements for this successful event.
Paging the Ghostbusters-Logan Heights Branch Library
by Maddy Yeh
March 5, 2019, was marked by rain but that did not stop families from coming to Logan Heights Branch Library to learn about different topics of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math at the STEM in Your Backyard Event. Attendees filtered into a large room complete with tables with various demonstrations. AWIS-SD Outreach captivated the families with - you guessed it - Slime. This activity caught young peoples’ attention, and soon a crowd formed around the table. Excited faces and pleas were met with one of two reactions from parents: "go ahead" or "absolutely not"! One can hardly blame the parents whose children are begging to play with the messiest thing around. The women scientists dazzled families by helping the children make and understand this gooey phenomenon.
Thanks to AWIS-SD Outreach committee members Maddy and Kina who organized this events and volunteers Gema, Hitomi, Kendra, and Yessica, who helped make this event so much fun! When the crowds had cleared out, the goopy mess clinging to every surface left AWIS-SD with one question... Who you gonna call (to clean this up)?
Academia to Industry (A2I) coffee club – An evening with Stephanie Verbrugghe
by Qiong Song
In a heavily regulated industry, pharma companies, big or small, cannot overlook the importance of good practice guidelines (GxPs). On February 13, 2019, the A2I coffee club enjoyed an active learning session about GxP in the pharma industry with Stephanie Verbrugghe. In this coffee chat, club members gained insights into the pharmaceutical industry’s regulations, workflow, as well as insights about career possibilities available to an employee, entrepreneur and GxP Quality Assurance consultant.
Verbrugghe is a Belgian industrial pharmacist who moved to the US in 2017, founded her own company: Farbridge Pharma Consulting. Her company focuses on GxP quality assurance in the areas of manufacturing, distribution, pharmacovigilance, and clinical trials. She was able to leverage specific skills and exceptional knowledge learned through years of GxP experience in Europe to ease the US companies' access to the EU clinical trials and market (and vice versa).
In the US, GxPs were established by the US Food and Drug Administration, and have equivalents worldwide in an effort to ensure the safety of medical related products. The “x” stands for various aspects, such as GLP for Good Laboratory Practices, GMP for Good Manufactory Practices, GCP for Good Clinical Practices, GDP for Good Distribution Practices and GVP (or GPvP) for Good Pharmacovigilance Practices. GxPs are generally complex to interpret and difficult to put into practice, thus professionals experienced in GxPs are highly desirable. Despite their complexity, GxPs have a defined structure and can be broken down to several elements. Verbrugghe used a flip chart with hand-drawn diagrams, and explained in detail the main elements and workflow in the practice.
We all felt her passion in the life sciences and quality management sectors, and enjoyed her warm and engaging lecture. She said founding her own company was her dream and she is very happy to have fulfilled it. She also pointed out that networking is a key element to be known as an entrepreneur and a professional. A happy client is the best advertisement. Moreover, well established channels of communication with health authorities are essential in regulatory affairs. This echoes the idea that transferable skills (communication, project leadership) are valuable in the transition from academia to industry for our club members (who typically have Masters or PhDs), along with knowledge and technical skills.
Outreach at Expanding Your Horizons Conference
by Jessica Cassin
The AWIS-SD Outreach Committee organized an activity for the February 2019 Expanding Your Horizons (EYH) event. The EYH conference, which draws over 600 girls between 6th- 10th grades, offers an opportunity for them to take part in hands-on workshops to foster their enthusiasm for STEM and to meet women leaders in STEM. Over the course of the day we had three groups of around 15 sixth grade girls visit the AWIS workshop. We put together a “crime scene” activity in which the girls learned about fingerprinting, identified an unknown solid, and performed ink chromatography and DNA fingerprinting at each of four stations to determine who had committed a crime.
At each of the stations, volunteers demonstrated the science behind crime scene identification. At the solid analysis station, girls learned about the properties of solids and how to identify them by observing physical state, chemical structures, color, smell, pH and the unknown solid’s reaction with various liquids. The girls were fascinated to see that starch reacts with iodine to form a dark blue paste while baking soda and vinegar form a bubbly fizzy reaction.
At the DNA fingerprinting station, the girls had great success identifying subjects. The girls practiced using pipettes and loading DNA gels. During the fingerprint activity, girls learned about the shapes found in fingerprints (whorls, arches, loops). Finally, the girls used special paper to separate the component pigments in ink samples. In all three stations, the girls compared the sample found at the crime scene to the “suspect” samples and identified which “suspect” had left the sample.
In addition to a fun exposure to science, the girls also got the opportunity to interact with female scientists active in research. Any free moment was spent asking the volunteers what they did, why they liked science, and how the girls could continue in the field. The girls who participated in our workshop were very enthusiastic and curious. Their enthusiasm was matched by that of the fabulous group of women who volunteered their Saturday to mentor these girls! During the periods between workshops, the volunteers had the opportunity to share about their career, what it means to be a woman in science, and even offer technical advice to each other on experiments! The day was a success not just in terms of mentorship, but also for the volunteers who were able to meet and interact with other women who share their love for science and mentorship.
AWIS SD Outreach committee member Jessica Cassin was the point person for this event. Fellow AWIS members and members of the science community, Kristen Breit, Cristina Rodriguez, Mikella Nuzen, Kendra Hailey, and Veronica Gomez volunteered their time to lead the four workshops. We would also like to thank the AWIS community who rallied behind the event, filling a few last minute vacancies to make sure this event was a success!
PhD Career Connect Bootcamp by The Known Experience
by Angela Macia and Alison Huang
Overview of the event
On Saturday, February 2, 2019, The Known Experience held a PhD Connect Bootcamp for graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and advanced-degree graduates at Canyon Vista, UC San Diego. Joe Cribari, the founder of The Known Experience, hosted this event to help attendees develop the strategy to smoothly transition from an academic profession to an industry career. The half-day event included small group discussions led by industry professionals, covering three major topics including career exploration, development of self-competitive advantage, and creating a personal value pitch. Each topic was moderated by an industry expert. Participants received immediate feedback from the lead and had in-depth discussions with other attendees. During the discussion session and breakfast mixer, participants networked with industry professionals with diverse backgrounds, including a consultant, industry scientist, product manager and technical support manager from companies like McKinsey, Thermo Fisher, and Illumina.
Perspective from a Cancer Biology PhD Student
I found the program to be very well-structured and engaging. Joe led us through three major topics, and during each section, we were able to take time to brainstorm and self-reflect on our career desires. In addition, the handout we were given provided valuable instructions. During the discussion, I was able to further understand and validate my skill sets and abilities which are transferable to the biotech industry. More importantly, I learned to present these qualities in a more impressive way. Joe also provided tips on how to perform an effective informational interview and to clear the knowledge fog of a particular position. I have been wanting to work on this but did not know how to get started. The instructions of how to set up an informational interview and the question list Joe provided are very helpful to me. The opportunity to network and connect with so many industry professionals from diverse companies in one morning was also extremely beneficial. They were engaged in the discussion, genuinely shared their career navigation process, offered practical tips, and helped participants form actionable plans. I particularly benefited from talking to Matthew from Thermo Fisher and Stacy from Illumina. I have been interested in particular positions in these two specific companies and attempted to do research online by myself. However, nothing is more effective and critical than talking to the insiders directly. I gained more confidence to transition to industry. In particular, I am now equipped with more knowledge and tools after attending the PhD Connect Boot Camp.
Perspective from a Molecular Biology Postdoctoral Scholar
This PhD career boot camp was a dynamic and efficient way to learn about the most important topics on career transitioning. Joe provided us with a simplified guide where we would start by self-reflecting ideas to then communicating them with the rest of the group. With this method, we were not only getting great tools to thrive in each of the steps on the career transitioning journey, but also keeping everyone engaged, participative, and open to constructive assessment among peers. With this boot camp, I learned about my own motivation and goals, as well as other people’s objectives and passions. Additionally, networking and interacting with experts in their field, gave us the opportunity to know more about the where, the why and the how from their own perspectives. I was very satisfied with this training, and I would definitely recommend it to someone interested in transitioning from academia to industry.
by Dorota Skowronska-Krawczyk
The AWIS-San Diego Scholarship Program, now in its 19th year, strives to encourage and reward outstanding women pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields at San Diego colleges and universities.
On April 6th, 2019, the Scholarship Committee met for several hours to choose the 2019 Scholars. Out of 67 outstanding applications, the committee selected five for the $1000 award and seven for Honorable Mentions and one-year San Diego chapter membership.
Here is the list of the selected remarkable students:
2019 Awardee
- Kim Kelley, Mira Costa College
- Desirae Mellor, UCSD
- Barbara Perez, Mesa College
- Sofia Sanchez, USD
- My Tran, SDSU
Honorable Mentions
- Anamika Agrawal, UCSD
- Cecilia Barnhill, USD
- Jeongin Choi, San Diego City College
- Claudia Palomino La-torre, UCSD
- Hannah Rutledge, UCSD
- Aurian Seleh, UCSD
- Sabrina Younan, SDSU
Congratulations! Stay tuned for the next issue of newsletter for us to share their personal stories of accomplishments!
by Alyson Smith
- Jessica Meir, astronaut and assistant professor of anesthesia at Harvard Medical School, will spend six months on board the International Space Station starting in September. Meir, who earned a PhD studying comparative diving physiology at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, joins a long tradition of UCSD alumnae and female faculty to travel to space.
- Salk Institute emeritus professor Sydney Brenner died at age 92 on April 5th. In a decades-long career, Brenner helped to found modern molecular biology and genetics by cracking the genetic code, discovering messenger RNA, developing next-generation sequencing, and establishing the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as a model organism. Brenner joined Salk Institute in 1976 and also served on the faculty of Scripps Research.
- The TED Audacious Project has awarded the Salk Institute over $35 million to genetically engineer crops to absorb more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Salk plant biologist Joanne Chory will lead the initiative, which aims to create plants that can together remove up to 25 percent of human-produced carbon dioxide.
- To celebrate Pi day, San Diego Gas & Electric has pledged up to $314,159 to fund classroom projects in science, technology, engineering, and math in San Diego County K-12 public schools. The utility company will match funds raised by local teachers on DonorsChoose.org.
- Animal Planet has announced a new series that will introduce viewers to the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park, featuring individual animals and the keepers who care for them. The series will air later this year.
- UC San Diego and Caltech seismologists have developed new algorithms to identify low-magnitude earthquakes in southern California seismometer readings. They found that the region experienced ten times more earthquakes between 2008 and 2017 than previously thought. The scientists hope to use this new information to study fault activity and predict major earthquakes.
- Using data from NASA’s Kepler telescope, San Diego State University astronomers have discovered a third planet in the Kepler-47 solar system, 3,340 light-years from Earth. Kepler-47 is the only known system that has multiple planets orbiting two stars.
1) AWIS-SD Happy Hour
Date: Monday, June 03, 2019 05:45 PM - 08:00 PM
When: Monday June 3rd. 5:45-8pm
Where: New English Brewing (11545 Sorrento Valley Rd. Suite 305)
Free for AWIS SD members, $5 for non-members. Register at
https://www.awissd.org/index.php/all-events/events-calendar/382-happy-hour
2) STRATEGY SESSIONS: How to Manage Future Plans & Prepare for the Unexpected
Date: Thursday, June 06, 2019 06:00 PM
Venue: Hera Hub, 4010 Sorrento Valley Blvd, Suite 400, San Diego, CA 92121
Click on following link for more information and to register
3) Academia to Industry Coffee Club June Meeting
Date: Wednesday, June 05, 2019 05:00 PM
Venue: Bella Vista Social Club and Caffe
Click on following link for more information and to register
See more AWIS-SD events here.
Chistina Grobin was introduced to AWIS through the Back-to-Work Initiative and currently serves on the Outreach Committee. Chistina is an adjunct instructor of chemistry for Mesa College. She had a research career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill but is seeking new opportunities in California hiking country.
Alyson Smith recently earned her Ph.D. in cell biology from The Scripps Research Institute, studying the role of structural and motor proteins in maintaining the shape and durability of red blood cells in the lab of Velia Fowler. Prior to her graduate work, she earned a B.A. in molecular, cellular, and developmental biology from the University of California, Berkeley. Alyson is currently pursuing a career in biotech intellectual property law. An interest in science communication and outreach motivated Alyson to join AWIS-SD shortly after she began her Ph.D., and she is now an active member of the Outreach and Newsletter Committees. Outside of AWIS-SD, Alyson enjoys baking, reading, writing, and running.
Ray Seraydarian earned his BS and M. Eng. degrees in Engineering Physics from Cornell University, and has spent his entire professional career in San Diego working in visible spectroscopy and areas closely involved with nuclear fusion research at General Atomics (GA) and UCSD. He is currently employed by UCLA at GA working on a microwave instrument for the large ITER fusion experiment being built by an international consortium in southern France. Outside of work, Ray enjoys theater, movies, bicycling, downhill skiing, and small boat sailing. Ray is a long standing AWIS-SD member, and he currently serves as a co-chair of the Events Committee.
Yasan (Maddy) Yeh recently received her Ph.D. in Bioengineering from UC San Diego, where she applied nanotechnology to cancer therapy. She is currently working for a biotech startup, and is an active member of AWIS San Diego Outreach committee.
Qiong Song is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the School of Medicine, UCSD. Her research focuses on studying pathogenesis of a group of rare genetic diseases with 3D human stem cell culture. She received her PhD in Bioprocess Engineering from the State University of New York in 2015. Qiong loves learning and problem solving. She serves as one of the Academia 2 Industry co-chairs since 2018.
Jessica Cassin is a postdoctoral fellow at UCSD in the lab of Dr. Pamela Mellon. She received her Ph.D. in Human Genetics from the Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine. Her current research focuses on identifying novel genes in the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis in order to both discover new mechanisms of the pathway, as well as elucidate genetic causes of the disorder Isolated GnRH Deficiency. When she is not in the lab, she enjoys spending as much time outdoors enjoying the beauty around San Diego, hiking and kayaking. Jessica loves traveling but if she must be inside, she will be reading, cooking, or knitting.
Angela Macia is a postdoctoral researcher at UCSD working in Dr. Alysson Muotri’s laboratory. She received her Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Granada, Spain, in 2015. Angela has a strong background in transposable elements, and a broad range of experience in both human pluripotent and adult stem cells. Her research focuses on modeling neurological diseases, such as Autism Spectrum Disorders, investigating how transposons contribute to the disease by using patient-derived neurons and 3D organoids. She is passionate about how AWIS-SD creates opportunities for women and girls in STEM and she has been part of the Corporate Sponsorship committee since 2017. Besides volunteering for AWIS-SD, Angela enjoys traveling, reading and cooking.
Alison Yi-Jou Huang obtained her BS in Life Science at National Taiwan University, and currently she is a PhD candidate in Cancer Biology at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center. The focus of her doctoral research is studying how different mutations contribute to leukemia development using genomic tools and murine models. Outside of work, Alison is an amateur photographer and barista. Alison joined AWIS in early 2018 and is currently serving in Public Relations and Strategy Session Committee.
Dorota Skowronska-Krawczyk is a biochemist and molecular biologist. She received her MSc in Molecular Biology at the University of Warsaw, Poland, and PhD in Biochemistry at the University of Geneva, Switzerland. She is currently an Assistant Professor at University of California San Diego, Viterbi Family Department of Ophthalmology. Her primary research interest is to understand the molecular mechanisms of aging using eye as a model system, see http://dsklab.ucsd.edu. Dorota joined AWIS in 2017 and immediately got involved in activities of Scholarship Committee. She currently serves as the chair of the Scholarship committee.
Winter 2019 Newsletter Volume 27 Issue 1
This issue of the Newsletter is available in PDF.
For previous newsletters, click here.
Dear AWIS-SD Members and Friends,
Happy 2019! I hope everyone is off to a great start, personally and professionally. 2018 was a great year for AWIS-SD and 2019 will be even better!
We have a lot of great events planned this year. We will be hosting our 15th WIST conference in May. If you are interested in helping plan this conference, please email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. If you are interested in looking into leadership roles or building your soft skills, please consider joining a committee. We are looking for new co-chairs and committee members for our multitude of committees, including Strategy Sessions, Public Relations, and Events. If you are interested in learning more about our committees and what we do at AWIS-SD, please visit awissd.org.
I would like to thank all of our volunteers that run AWIS-SD. Our organization flourishes with our volunteers’ time and effort and our gracious corporate sponsors.
Warmest wishes,
Courtney
Courtney Benson
President, AWIS-SD
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
by Juliati Rahajeng
The annual AWIS-SD Open House was held at the lobby of the Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine on November 14, 2018. Over 120 AWIS-SD members and non-members registered and attended the event. Sandwiches, wraps, cheese platters, fruits, and non-alcoholic beverages were served.
Tables were set for AWIS-SD Committees, which included: Newsletter, Website, Corporate Sponsorship, Public Relations, Outreach, Scholarship, Events, Academia to Industry, Strategy Sessions, and AWIS-SD Leadership Network. Each committee was represented by its co-chairs, who enthusiastically explained the committee’s goals and activities, and how new members can contribute to the success of AWIS-SD’s programming. In addition to the committees’ tables, two of AWIS-SD’s Sponsors, UCSD Extension and Hera Hub, also hosted tables to welcome Open House attendees.
Over 20 silent auction items were collected to help raise funds for AWIS-SD activities, including AWIS-SD annual scholarships, outreach activities, professional development workshops, and networking events organized throughout the year. The silent auction items were donated by AWIS-SD members (Grace Nakayama, Kristina Henthorn, Dorothy Sears, Corine Lau, and Juliati Rahajeng) and local and national organizations/corporations (La Jolla Playhouse, Del Mar Photographics, Bristol Farms, In-N-Out Burger, Curves, The Stronghold, Hera Hub, Alvarado Skin Institute, Picaboo, and PRP Wine International). The silent auction brought in about $900, almost enough to award one AWIS-SD scholarship!
Before the conclusion of the event, AWIS-SD President Courtney Benson recognized longtime AWIS-SD members and outstanding volunteers. Awards were presented to the following:
• 30-year AWIS-SD member: Lynne Friedmann
• 25-year AWIS-SD member: Susan Forsburg
• 10-year AWIS-SD member: Yvonne Lee, Kristina Henthorn, Katherine Ruby, and Maki Kaneko
• 5-year AWIS-SD member: Paige Stout, Christine Esau, Christine Gonzalez, Radhika Gopal, Peggy Marino, and Georgina Salazar
• Rookie of the Year: Alina Luk and Valeria Viscardi
• Leadership Service: Varykina Thackray and Dorota Skowronska-Krawczyk
• Achievement in Outreach or Community Service: Alyson Smith
• Outstanding Volunteer: Dieanira Erudaitius, Adina Gerson, and Alison Huang
• Board Special Award: Juliati Rahajeng
• President’s Award: Robyn Wygal
The event was an absolute success thanks to the 2018 Open House Committee Chair and members: Christina C. Niemeyer, DeeAnn Visk, Kristin Bompiani-Myers, Chistina Grobin, Juliati Rahajeng, Ye Zhang, Kelly Kemp, Jennifer Hanson, Aubrey Haddach, and Deepa Hammaker, and AWIS-SD Sponsors: UCSD Extension, ThermoFisher Scientific, Hologic, Hera Hub, Celgene, Beckman Coulter Foundation, Vertex, Quidel, Qualcomm, General Atomics, Takeda, BioLegend, Innovio, and Lynne Friedmann.
AWIS-SD Outreach Event at Chem Expo 2018 – Identify a Mystery Liquid and Solid
by Anita Pottekat
San Diego celebrated National Chemistry week with Chem Expo on the beautiful campus of Miramar College on Saturday, October 27, 2018. The American Chemical Society (ACS) and many other local organizations like AWIS-SD came together to spread chemistry awareness with various on-stage demonstrations and hands-on activities for middle and high school students. The buzz and excitement around chemistry that filled the campus was truly reflective of this year’s theme: “Chemistry is out of this world.”
AWIS-SD enlisted the detective skills of youth and adults alike with our activity station focused on identifying a mystery liquid and solid. First, students were given three known solids or liquids and asked to note their physical appearance. The students tested the solids’ solubility in water and in vinegar, and performed an iodine test to check the starch content. For liquids, the students tested acidity using pH paper and reactivity with sodium bicarbonate. These tests were then carried out with the mystery solid or liquid to scientifically determine the identity of the unknown substance. These activities led to discussions on acid-base reactions, chemical versus physical properties, and how to record observations and draw conclusions.
To draw connections with real life experiences, the starch content in green versus ripe bananas was also determined using the iodine test. We discussed how the high starch content observed in green bananas is converted to sugar upon ripening. We also demonstrated how vinegar can be used to determine the carbonate content in chalk, a technique commonly used by geologists to determine composition of rocks. This chemical reaction also explains the effect of acid rain on rocks and monuments.
The color change of the pH paper and the bubbling of sodium bicarbonate with vinegar brought excitement not only in the high and middle schoolers, but also in the parents and young siblings accompanying them. The AWIS-SD booth was busy during the event with over 200 students visiting the booth. The organizers of the AWIS-SD booth, Anita Pottekat and Laure Kayser, are very thankful to all the volunteers without whom this event would not have been possible: Kristin Bompiani-Myers, Isabela Avila, Mariko Hattori, Robyn Wygal, Alina Luk, Danielle Burner, Catherine Etchechury, Leane Nguyen, Beril Polat, Shelby Stavretis, and Sam Karmia.
by Ksenya Cohen Katsenlson
On Wednesday November 28, 2018, the events committee organized a succulent planting event for the holidays. The event was sponsored by VWR, which covered the expenses of the entire event, and Hera Hub, which shared its lovely venue. Light snacks were served. The registration was limited to 20 people and the attendance was full. Out of the 20 participants, seven were non AWIS-SD members.
The succulent planting was led by Stacy Pham, Validation Project Manager & Regional Lead at Delta Project Management. Pham has been an essential volunteer with the Events Committee in the past few months helping with organizing and advertising. Pham gave detailed step-by-step instructions on how to plant the succulents, provided information on their care, and answered all questions.
The lovely succulent pots were decorated with holiday decorations provided by VWR. The participants sat around two large tables, which enabled plenty of interactions and networking opportunities. Thank you to all the members of Events Committee for taking part in organizing this successful event: Valeria Viscardi, Ksenya Cohen Katsenelson, Adina Gerson-Gurwitz, and Ray Seraydarian.
Academia to Industry (A2I) coffee club – An evening with Dr. Weiping Jiang
by Qiong Song
Dr. Weiping Jiang, the Vice President of Biomarker Discovery at BioLegend, along with his two junior colleagues from BioLegend, joined AWIS SD for an academia to industry coffee chat at Bella Vista café on November 7, 2018. Jiang shared with attendees his transition from academia to industry, the workflow in industrial biomarker discovery, and other experiences that are of interest to STEM students and postdocs who are looking to transition into industry.
Jiang’s transition from academia to industry started with a family decision. Twenty years ago, Jiang was a faculty member at Penn State College of Medicine teaching graduate/medical students and directing research on proteases, mucins, and carbonic anhydrases. His wife was offered a job from a biotech company near Minneapolis. She accepted the job with Dr. Jiang’s full support and the family planned to reunite after a year when Dr. Jiang found a new job in the area. Two weeks later, Dr. Jiang received an invitation for an interview at R&D Systems, a Minneapolis company with plans to develop products for protease research. After receiving an offer from the company, he decided to close his lab and helped his technician find a job. It took him one month to complete these activities before starting his 20-year journey in the biotech industry, first at R&D Systems and later at BioLegend where he focused on assay development.
Jiang shared the general workflow in a typical reagent company (e.g., Target Identification -> Development à Manufacturing -> Quality Control). Every year, Biolegend offers >1000 new products including proteins, antibodies and assay kits to research community. One key factor of working in the biotech industry is anticipating the needs of researchers, their main customers. Jiang follows >10 journals regularly (JBC, Nature, Science, BMC, etc.) and keeps close contact with experts by regular conversations and attending relevant conferences. His knowledge and intuitive decisions led his teams to launch >2,000 new products in the last 20 years.
Jiang also encouraged PhDs and Postdocs to look for jobs in industry since they are needed in many different areas such as product/business development, quality, marketing, sales and technical services and they can have fulfilling careers by helping advance science and medicine. He said, “Best leaders need to know enough science.” He encouraged attendees to contact him for further questions. From him, we can see a dedicated scientist, teacher, and leader working in the biotech industry.
Introducing AWIS-SD member spotlight! Learn about how AWIS-SD helped our committee members, board members, and members grow their professional and personal networks!
What does AWIS-SD mean to you? If you would like to be featured in our newsletter and social media, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
ANNIE RATHORE
Scientist, Microprotein Research
AWIS-SD Connection
I was the recipient of the 2017 AWIS-SD Scholarship Honorable Mention and was awarded membership to AWIS-SD. I have been a member since and actively involved in mentoring young girls for a successful career in STEM fields. AWIS-SD has been instrumental to me in providing a very supportive environment to network and to seek mentorship.
Professional Connection
As a Life Science Consultant at Deloitte Management Consulting, one of the top consulting firms globally, I'm advising top pharmaceutical companies on their R&D and Innovation Strategies. Prior to that, I completed my Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from UC San Diego and Salk Institute for Biological Studies at the age of 25. As a doctoral researcher, I published extensively on microproteins in top scientific journals and have been honored multiple awards such as Women in Science Award (Salk Institute). I hold a bachelor’s degree from Indian Institute of Technology, where I was also awarded the Khorana Scholarship by Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India.
Personal Connection
Apart from Science, I’m fond of good food and enjoy creating modern Indian recipes. Like most millennials, I’m also passionate about traveling. With 12 countries checked off, I’m looking to add more to the list this year.
LAURE KAYSER
Chemistry, Materials Science
AWIS-SD Connection
Outreach Committee Member
I became a member of AWIS in 2017 and I have since organized parts of the AWIS STEM Career Conference and Chem Expo at Miramar College. I love AWIS because I get to meet talented women from all STEM backgrounds!
Professional Connection
Post-doc in NanoEngineering
I joined UC San Diego in 2016 after my Ph.D. in polymer chemistry. My research focuses on developing stretchable materials for wearable electronics. I plan on pursuing my career in academia and advancing research in bioelectronics.
Personal Connection
When I am not playing with colorful chemicals, I enjoy biking, hiking, and gardening. And like a lot of other chemists, I spend my free time cooking, baking, and enjoying craft beers.
ADRIANA BANKSTON
Science Policy
AWIS-SD Connection
Former Co-Chair, AWIS-SD Public Relations
Founding President of the AWIS-Kentucky Affiliate
AWIS provided an opportunity for me to network with other women in STEM and build a local community.
Professional Connection
Policy & Advocacy Fellow, Society for Neuroscience (SfN)
I have successfully transitioned from academia into a science policy career. SfN members work to raise global support for investment in basic research & neuroscience discovery. I provide staff support for special and on-going projects within this context.
Personal Connection
I enjoy cuddling with my dogs and taking them for walks. I also love photography, baking, reading Dan Brown books, and watching movies with a clever plot that keeps me guessing.
by Aarti Narang
On October 12, 2018, Academia to Industry (A2I) club organized a tour of the Takeda facility in San Diego, which was attended by 20 people. The tour consisted of a brief introduction followed by an exposure of the Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics (DMPK) and compound management facilities. The tour ended with a panel discussion.
The introduction by Ruhi Kamran outlined the areas of focus for Takeda Global: immuno-oncology, gastroenterology (GI), and neuroscience. Takeda’s R&D site in San Diego is primarily focused on GI and neuroscience research, and serves as an interface for the dynamic San Diego and San Francisco biotechnology ecosystems. Ruhi explained the three phases of drug development and the amount of time each phase takes. This made the attendees appreciate the breadth of processes involved in drug development. For the tour of the facility, our group was divided into two groups. One group went to the DMPK facility first before going to the Compound Management facility, while the second group toured the Compound Management first.
The tour of the DMPK facility familiarized attendees with the steps of pharmacokinetic studies that take place in Takeda. The scientists assess the chemical properties of the compounds, through in vitro and in vivo safety studies, which are then used to determine the doses that will be administered to humans. These studies provide information regarding the stability and permeability of the drug. Various routes, concentration, and timing of drug administrations are tested in animals and metabolites of the parent compound are assessed using mass spectrometry. Higher doses of compounds are used to determine drug tolerability and toxicology. The half-life and distribution of the drug are critical to determine whether the compounds can proceed to next steps. The translational research and biomarker discovery unit at Takeda attempts to interpret these findings in the context of human disease. During Phase-1, a safe dose of the compound is determined by assessing its biodistribution and metabolism.
The compound management unit is where the samples are coded and stored. The unit also determines the structure of the drugs using state of the art X-ray crystallographic and robotic systems. In this unit, proteins are crystalized and 3D structures are analyzed to study the protein-protein interactions.
The last part of the tour was a panel discussion. The panel consists of Dr. Andrea Fanjul (GI Immunology), Dr. Sreeja Gopal (Early Biomarker discovery), Anne Kanta (Associate Scientist) and Dr. Beibei Cai Senior Scientist (Discovery Toxicology). The panelists provided a description of what their roles entail at Takeda. They also provided unique insights into their career paths and how they attained their current position.
AWIS Strategy Sessions – DECODING CAREER OPTIONS
by Sabrina Treadwell
We all have been at one point in our careers asking ourselves questions like: ’What am I going to do next?’ OR ‘How do I going to get to the next step?’ In the December 2018 Strategy Session, a panel of non-academic research professionals shared valuable tips on how to answer these and related questions.
Our panelists were Roanna Padre (Director of Product and Commercial Strategy at GenomeDx), Stephanie Pinkerton (Senior Scientist at Pfizer Centers for Therapeutic Innovation), Liz Wilson (Principal Scientist at Pfizer Centers for Therapeutic Innovation), Adriana Bankston (Policy & Advocacy Fellow, Society for Neuroscience), and Marisa L. Martino (Technical Sales Specialist at Thermo Fisher). Despite having different positions in various companies, everyone agreed that connections are key to their success. Connect with others by attending networking events or mobilizing existing contacts. Employ their experience and influence, be persistent and assertive while seeking the information and support you need to get ahead.
Another piece of great advice was to learn how to promote yourself, something that females tend to be less confident at. This became clear when the panel asked whether or not you should only apply for a job when you have eight out of ten of the desired skills. The answer is NO, the ideal candidate does not exist. Win them over with your technical skills as well as your transferable and interpersonal skills. In addition, interviews go both ways; if you do not get a good vibe from the people you met at the interview, ask yourself whether the culture would be a good fit for you.
The main take home message of this well-received session is: get out of your comfort zone, find your motivation, and find a boss that supports your career.
Inaugural PhD Career Connect Bootcamp by The Known Experience
by Shelby Stavretis and Yuesong Shi
On Saturday, December 1, 2018, The Known Experience held a STEM career bootcamp for graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and advanced-degree graduates at Canyon Vista, UC San Diego. The bootcamp’s Founder & Chief Career Strategist Joe Cribari developed this event to help attendees develop career-thinking acumen to make the transition out of academia. This half-day event was composed of small group discussions and career-related exercises led by professionals from the industry. Following a structured agenda, participants had the chance to receive immediate advice from industry professionals.
The day started with a breakfast mixer where participants had a chance to network with industry professionals, who transitioned out of academia and are currently working in various positions in STEM-related industries. The breakfast mixer was followed by individual reflection sessions. Small groups were formed in which participants worked together on exercises, such as how to overcome major career doubts. Jon, who is a scientist at Illumina, led the discussion of one group and provided thoughtful feedback. He also helped participants in tailoring their answers and raised useful points when they were asked for strategies on how to stand out during an interview process. After the first session, each group moved to a different table to join the next discussion exercise led by a different industry professional. One of the professionals, Marty, shared her experience in transitioning from academia to industry and described her typical work day at Illumina.
This bootcamp offered a great opportunity for participants to reflect on themselves and gain confidence when transitioning out of academia. By the end of the event, the participants were given tools to make their career aspirations a reality. The event also provided a chance to connect with fellow graduate students, PhD graduates, and postdocs.
After the event, Shelby was given the opportunity to interview the organizer, Joe Cribari.
Q: What inspired you to start The Known Experience bootcamps?
A: It was the dynamic and growing community of students, graduates and employers doing cutting-edge research on our Torrey Pines Research Mesa. I came to UC San Diego in 2007 and for over a decade had the distinct opportunity and pleasure supporting students-- especially PhD student researchers and scholars--in successfully transitioning to satisfying careers in diverse industries and professions. I also worked closely with them and their employers following graduation, as a director of employer and alumni relations. This experience uniquely qualified and positioned me to implement and develop an innovative strategy to better connect and nurture a valued ecosystem to help meet the talent and workforce development needs in San Diego.
Q: What do you hope participants gained from the bootcamp experience?
A: That more than ever students and scholars just like them have successful and satisfying careers in a diverse number of industries and professions. The industry professionals understand the many and various challenges current PhD students and postdoctoral scholars face, especially when looking beyond the traditional and often expected trajectory of an academic career. They appreciate your talent and value and are often thrilled to share their career knowledge and best practices, give a behind-the-scenes look into their work, and “open doors” to top employers in San Diego and beyond.
Q: What's your biggest piece of advice for PhDs making the transition into the workforce?
A: Start early in your PhD career, to make the unknown known in every aspect of your career preparation, search and transition. Plus, you don't have to do it alone. Like the professionals that take time out of their busy schedules to help facilitate our bootcamps, there are many more willing to share their experience and provide support. There's nothing more valuable than speaking with someone who is doing what you aspire to do in your career.
Q: What impact do you hope the The Known Experience provides for the PhD community in San Diego?
A: San Diego is a dynamic and growing innovation hub, especially in biotech, data science, and IT. The Known Experience’s mission is to help catalyze and nurture the large and talented PhD research community of students, scholars, professionals, and employers to offer a valued and sustainable ecosystem that leads the way in talent and workforce development. With the logistically close proximity of the entities making up this community, San Diego is uniquely positioned to continue to attract and, more importantly, retain some of the top student and research talent in the world.
Q: What events does The Known Experience have planned for 2019?
A: We plan to offer our Career Connect Bootcamp every 4-6 weeks. Our next one is scheduled for February 23rd, 2019. We are also looking to co-host, along with Bella Vista Social Club Cafe, at least two larger career and professionally-focused gatherings, which offer our bootcamp participants and other students and postdoctoral scholars on the Research Mesa the chance to connect with local professional peers from diverse industries and professions, employers, and other key workforce development “champions” and stakeholders.
We also plan to launch a podcast this spring, offering interesting and unique career-focused discussions with PhD professionals, startup founders, and employers in San Diego, and beyond!
by Alyson Smith
- A research team led by Kim Cooper of UC San Diego has developed a method to create gene drives in mice. This technology — first reported in insects by Ethan Bier and Valentino Gantz of UCSD in 2015 — uses CRISPR/Cas9 to accelerate the spread of selected gene(s) through populations of animals. The researchers hope to use gene drives to construct mouse models of complex, multigenic diseases, such as diabetes or cancer.
- A research team led by Yang Xu of UC San Diego has found that drugs promoting the function of p53, a tumor suppressor mutated in many cancers, can have unintended consequences. When the researchers restored p53 function in liver cancer cells, the cells began producing energy through oxygen-independent glycolysis. This could promote cancer growth in oxygen-poor tumors.
- The 35-day partial shutdown of the federal government, which ended on January 25th, slowed down San Diego science. It delayed payment of grants (including the salaries of some local scientists) and shut down agencies involved in public stock offerings. Although the shutdown has ended, it could have lasting effects on long-term projects such as international research expeditions from Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
- A research team led by UC San Diego scientists has developed a potential treatment for spinal cord injury. They implanted a 3D printed, biologically compatible implant filled with neural stem cells into completely severed rat spinal cords. The implant helped the stem cells mature into neurons and connect severed nerves while supporting the growth of blood vessels to nourish the new neurons. The treatment restored partial mobility to the rats’ lower limbs. The next step is to repeat this study in monkeys, with a long-term goal of human clinical trials.
- Scientists at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography have predicted that climate change will reduce the frequency of hot, dry Santa Ana winds in the coming decades by reducing the frequency of the high-pressure systems that create them. While not removing the risk of wildfires, these changes could affect the timing and severity of future California wildfire seasons.
- The Allen Institute, founded by late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, recently announced the creation of the Allen Institute for Immunology. This initiative will bring together researchers at UC San Diego and four other research centers to study networks of immune cells and signalling pathways in healthy volunteers and patients at risk for developing cancer or autoimmune diseases. The studies will track how the immune system changes over time, especially during disease progression.
- Former Salk Institute scientist Beverly Emerson settled her gender discrimination lawsuit against Salk in November. As with the lawsuits filed by current Salk scientists Katherine Jones and Vicki Lundblad, which were settled in August, the settlement terms were not made public. Emerson moved to Oregon Health Sciences University in late 2017 when her contract with Salk expired and was not renewed.
- A study led by Jerold Chun of the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute reported genetic recombination in the gene encoding the Alzheimer’s disease-related protein amyloid precursor protein (APP) in human neurons. Neurons from Alzheimer’s patients had increased genetic diversity in the APP gene, often leading to mutations already linked with Alzheimer’s. Chun and colleagues propose that using HIV drugs to inhibit reverse transcriptase, the enzyme that mediates this recombination, may treat or prevent Alzheimer’s.
1) Speed Mentoring Event
Date: Monday, March 11, 2019, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Venue: National University, 11255 North Torrey Pines Rd, La Jolla, 92037
Event details and registration:
http://www.awissd.org/index.php/all-events/events-calendar/358-speed-mentoring-event
2) OUTREACH - Participate as an AWIS SD Judge in the Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair 2019
Date: Wednesday, March 13, 2019, 11:30 AM - 2:30 PM
Venue: Balboa Park Activity Center
Event details and registration:
http://www.awissd.org/index.php/all-events/events-calendar/364-outreach-participate-as-an-awis-sd-judge-in-the-greater-san-diego-science-and-engineering-fair-2019
3) OUTREACH - Expanding Your Horizons Conference - Crime Science Workshop 2019
Calling for volunteers!
Date: Saturday, March 23, 2019 09:00 AM - 03:00 PM
Venue: University of San Diego
Event details and registration:
4) AWIS SD Scholarship deadline is March 28, 2019
More information:
http://www.awissd.org/index.php/all-events/events-calendar/369-AWIS%20SD%20Scholarships-2019
See more AWIS-SD events here.
Juliati Rahajeng received her PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Nebraska, Medical Center in 2011. She joined UCSD School of Medicine as a postdoctoral researcher one month after her graduation. Juliati has been a member of AWIS-SD for the past 3 years. She is currently the co-chairs for the Newsletter committee and the Academia 2 Industry Coffee Club. She is also an active member of the Scholarship committee and she was a member of the AWIS-SD Open House 2015 committee.
Anita Pottekat received her Ph.D in Biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and moved to San Diego to do her post-doctoral research at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI). She is currently working as a Scientist in the Array Content division at Illumina Inc. Her passion for teaching and promoting STEM in women brought her to AWIS and is currently serving on the outreach committee. Outside of work Anita enjoys dancing, travelling, gardening and spending time with her family.
Ksenya Cohen Katsenelson received her Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. To further enhance her research career, she relocated to San Diego for a postdoc at UCSD. She has a strong background in signal transduction pathways, and a broad range of experience in biochemistry and molecular and cell biology techniques. Outside the lab she loves hiking and boogie boarding with her husband and daughter, and enjoys social events with friends.
Qiong Song is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the School of Medicine, UCSD. Her research focuses on studying pathogenesis of a group of rare genetic diseases with 3D human stem cell culture. She received her PhD in Bioprocess Engineering from the State University of New York in 2015. Qiong loves learning and problem solving. She serves as one of the Academia 2 Industry co-chairs since 2018.
Sabrina Treadwell received her Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from the University of East Anglia and the Institute of Food Research in the UK in 2013. She joined UC San Diego as a postdoctoral researcher in 2014 to pursue her interest in Gastroenterology and Glycobiology. In early 2017, Sabrina transitioned into a new role as a project manager at UC San Diego leading an exploratory clinical research study. Sabrina joined AWIS-San Diego in 2015 and has since been an active member of the Strategy Sessions committee for which she currently serves as co-chair.
Aarti Narang is a Neuroimmunologist with an interest in promoting opportunities amongst women of all nationalities and color. Aarti did her PhD in Immunology from Medical University of South Carolina where she developed complement therapeutics for treatment of spinal cord injury paralysis that have been licensed to Alexion. She is now studying mechanisms of Neural regeneration to gain a better understanding and develop better therapeutics for people with neurodegenrative diseases. Along with her scientific career she has led several teams and is passionate about helping women connect and grow!
Shelby Stavretis received her Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and her B.S. in Chemistry from Butler University, Indianapolis. The focus of her doctoral research was investigating molecular material with neutron scattering. Outside of science, Shelby loves going on road trips and hikes with her dog.
Yuesong Shi is currently a Ph.D. student major in Materials Science & Engineering at UCSD. Her research is focused on developing engineering tools and design to interface with the biological system. With an interest in creative medical devices, she is hoping to bridge research with real-world problems.
Alyson Smith recently earned her Ph.D. in cell biology from The Scripps Research Institute, studying the role of structural and motor proteins in maintaining the shape and durability of red blood cells in the lab of Velia Fowler. Prior to her graduate work, she earned a B.A. in molecular, cellular, and developmental biology from the University of California, Berkeley. Alyson is currently pursuing a career in biotech intellectual property law. An interest in science communication and outreach motivated Alyson to join AWIS-SD shortly after she began her Ph.D., and she is now an active member of the Outreach and Newsletter Committees. Outside of AWIS-SD, Alyson enjoys baking, reading, writing, and running.
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