AWIS Officers

Committee Chairs

Norazizah Shafee, Ph.D. is a scientist at UC San Diego and a Professor of Cell and Molecular Biology at the University Putra Malaysia. Nora began her journey in the study of cells and their signal transduction pathways during her undergraduate work at the University of Arizona. She then continued her graduate studies to investigate the mechanism of cellular responses to viral infections at the University of Malaya. Intrigued by the way certain cells self-destruct upon sensing potential virus attack, she decided to investigate why these cellular responses were de-regulated in some cancer cells. She pursued this interest during her post-doctoral training at UC Irvine, where she helped develop a mouse model of breast cancer and provided initial evidence of cancer stem cells as a potential cause of chemoresistance. This training was funded by the American Association for Cancer Research and the Avon Foundation. Combining her background in anti-viral responses and cancer cell biology, Nora is currently focused on characterizing cellular responses towards oncolytic virus infections.

In-between her scientific explorations and community service adventures, Nora loves exploring the beauty of nature through hiking and traveling with her family. Nora joined AWIS and became a co-chair of the Academia-2-Industry committee in January 2019.

Courtney Benson, Ph.D. earned her B.S. and M.S. at SDSU in cell and molecular biology, and her Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University at Buffalo. Courtney is currently working at BlueNalu, Inc. as a scientist and is excited to help generate a sustainable food product that will be of value to humans and for our oceans. When Courtney joined AWIS San Diego in October of 2017, she immediately joined the Outreach Committee and then joined the AWIS San Diego Board as a Member at Large. Courtney Benson, Ph.D. earned her B.S. and M.S. at SDSU in cell and molecular biology, and her Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University at Buffalo. Courtney is currently working at BlueNalu, Inc. as a scientist and is excited to help generate a sustainable food product that will be of value to humans and for our oceans. When Courtney joined AWIS San Diego in October of 2017, she immediately joined the Outreach Committee and then joined the AWIS San Diego Board as a Member at Large. She then served as the President of AWIS-SD from February 2018 through January 2020. Courtney is currently the Past President and co-chair of the new committee, Career Advancement (Early to Mid-Career). To email, click This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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Angela Macia is a Postdoctoral Researcher at UCSD working in Dr. Alysson Muotri 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. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Xiwei Shan is a postdoctoral researcher. She received her Ph.D. in developmental biology at Stony Brook University, N.Y. before moving across the country to join Alysson Muotri’s lab at UC San Diego. In her research, Xiwei is particularly interested in “how the brain is built” and what the mechanisms are behind brain disorders during brain development such as autism. Currently, Xiwei is using a 3D cell culture system derived from stem cells to model autistic brains and to develop potential treatments using gene therapy. Xiwei joint the corporate sponsorship committee at AWIS in 2019 to support women’s advancement of education and career in STEM fields. In her leisure time, Xiwei loves digital drawing, cooking, meditating, and taking random online classes just because. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Originally from a small city in Upstate New York, Ray Seraydarian earned 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 or some other area 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 social activities with local Cornell alumni. He has a season’s subscription to the San Diego Symphony, he enjoys going to live theater a few times a year, and the occasional movie. In the past he’s enjoyed bicycling, downhill skiing, and small boat sailing, and he hopes to get back to some of those in the future.

Ray has been a member of AWIS-SD since the mid-1980s, though struggles with the renewal process may have allowed his membership to lapse for a year once or twice in that time. Ray currently serves as a co-chair of the Events Committee.

Kim's bio will be available soon.

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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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Jean's bio will be available soon.

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Bridget Kohlnhofer, Ph.D. is a Neuroscience Postdoctoral Fellow at Janssen, a Pharmaceutical Company of Johnson & Johnson. Bridget utilizes human genetics and induced pluripotent stem cells to uncover new biology related to neuropsychiatric disorders. Bridget holds a BS in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Wisconsin- La Crosse, a PhD in Cell Biology from the Medical College of Wisconsin, and was a postdoc at UCSD in the department of Cell and Molecular Medicine.

Since joining AWIS in 2016, Bridget has been on the Outreach Committee. In her free time, she enjoys yoga, gardening, cooking, and going to Del Mar Dog Beach with her pup Eddie! Click This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to email her.

Michelle's bio will be available soon. Click This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to email her.

Robyn Wygal, joined AWIS San Diego in 2011. She is the current Public Relations Chair and Outreach Community Engagement Chair and works to highlight and expand our AWIS San Diego network. She has also held positions such as the AWIS SD Outreach Co-Chair and STEM Career Conference Co-Director. In her professional career Robyn is a research data analyst with a BS in biology and a minor degree in business and 10 + years of experience managing projects and data communication with multi-level & multi-departmental interfaces and collaborations. She brings both a scientific & business mindset to the discovery and communication of data insight in attaining strategic outcomes. Her passions include the intersection of data science, research, genomics, and healthcare, and she enjoys the challenge of communicating insight through the lens of human perception, behavior, and connection. Fundamentally, she is a biologist, captivated by discovery and novel data play. Her scientific research interests (and challenges) include understanding and interpreting the diverse layers of genetic and epigenetic influence on regulatory networks in the context of immunity, chronic disease, and cancer progression through bioinformatics and data visualization. When not exploring the latest data tools and techniques, or reading publications by amazing STEM innovators, she can be found running, hiking, or biking all over San Diego.

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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. She published a number of publications in high impact factor journals and her research is currently funded by several foundations’ grants and NIH. You can read more about her work at http://dsklab.ucsd.edu

Dorota joined AWIS in 2017 and immediately got involved in activities of Scholarship Committee. She served as a co-chair and currently as a chair of the Scholarship committee since 2018. To contact Dorota, click This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to email her.

Alex is a postdoc at UCSD in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine studying host-viral interactions during Zika Virus and Human Cytomegalovirus infections.

Alex obtained a B.S. in Biology from Purdue University and a Ph.D. from the UCSD Biology Department studying the interplay between Cytomegalovirus and the host cell cycle. Outside of the lab, Alex enjoys photography, running, and all things sci-fi.

Alex became a member of AWIS in 2014 and has been a co-chair since 2015 and also served on the WIST 2015 Committee. Click here to contact via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.