AWIS Officers

Committee Chairs

Rose is a recent transplant to sunny San Diego from the snowy Northeast. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Maine in Biology with a minor in Psychology. She went on to work for a few years as an animal care tech turned Lab technician at the Jackson Laboratory. In the fall of 2016, she started her graduate school career in the lab of Dr. John Salamone at the University of Connecticut where she received both her master’s and PhD studying the motivational aspects and pharmacological manipulation of a rodent model of binge like eating. She, her husband and their two cats Salem (guess what color he is...) and George, moved to San Diego in August for her postdoc position at the Scintillon Institute in the lab of Dr. Albert Chen studying neural circuits of food intake. She is a member of the Outreach, Corporate Sponsorship and A2I committees, along with one of the new Co-chairs of the Scholarship committee. She is an avid sewist, hiker and chocolate lover. Feel free to reach her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or on her LinkedIn profile https://www.linkedin.com/in/rose-presby-07021088/.

Eulalia Coutinho, PhD, is a scientist at Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, working on early stage drug discovery and new target development in endocrinology. Eulalia is a neuroendocrinologist by training and earned her PhD from SOKENDAI, Japan . She then went on to complete two postdoctoral fellowships one at the UC San Diego and the other at University of Otago, New Zealand.
Eulalia grew up in Mumbai, India and is the first person in her family to pursue science and get a doctorate degree. This along with her cultural experiences living in several countries drives her desire to mentor and support other young people in their STEM pursuit. She is also passionate about EDI, in particular organizing and participating in events for the LGBTQ community.

Christina Niemeyer, Ph.D. is Principal and Owner of i2 Grants Associates, a California-based team with years of experience identifying and securing grants for emerging companies and nonprofit organizations in the life sciences. From 2009-2012 she was Laboratory Director at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute. As Associate Director of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Salmedix, she played a critical role in developing the oncology drug Treanda. She completed postdoctoral research training at The Institute of Cancer Research, Surrey England and The Burnham Institute, La Jolla CA. Christina earned her Ph.D. at Baylor College of Medicine in Cell and Molecular Biology and her B.S. from Texas A&M University in Microbiology. She has been an active member of AWIS-SD for over 20 years; she has served on the WIST Committee for numerous years, as Treasurer (2014 and 2015), as a Board Member (2016 and 2017), as Mid-Career Coffee Club Coordinator and currently as Co-Chair of AWIS Leadership Network. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Lori Yang, PhD, is co-founder, CEO, and CSO of Lectenz Bio, a biotech company providing reagents and tools for glycoscience research.

She earned her BS in Chemistry from the University of Virginia and her PhD in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale University.

Lori has been a member of AWIS-SD since 2012. She served as co-chair of WIST 2017. She served on the AWIS-SD board as treasurer from 2016 to 2017. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Jill Slaboda, PhD is a Principal Investigator on the Clinical Research team at the Gary and Mary West Health Institute. Jill works closely with health system collaborators across the country to identify and prioritize applied research studies that can demonstrate innovative ways in which healthcare can be delivered to better enable successful aging. She has academic research experience in rehabilitation engineering working on identifying differences in postural responses in patients with stroke as a postdoctoral training at Temple University and identifying differences in treatment outcomes of chronic lower back pain patients as a graduate student at University of Pittsburgh. Jill holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree in bioengineering from the University of Pittsburgh. To email, click This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Satarupa Bhaduri, Ph.D. is a postdoctoral researcher at UC San Diego in the department of Biological Sciences. Satarupa grew up in the city of Kolkata, India where she began her journey by studying the effects of encapsulation of hemoglobin in nanoparticles during her master's in the University of Kolkata. She then moved to the US in 2013 to pursue her graduate studies to investigate the structure-function of different chloroplast membrane proteins in facilitating photosynthesis, at Purdue University, Indiana. She wanted to pursue her interest in the working of membrane proteins, albeit in different systems during her post-doctoral training at UC San Diego, where she moved to in 2019. Presently, Satarupa is studying the structural dynamics of membrane bound proteases present in the endoplasmic reticulum of human cells, and their mechanistic action in facilitation of protein quality control pathways.

When not in the lab, Satarupa loves running, reading fiction, gardening and exploring beaches and trails in and around San Diego. She is the co-chair of the career advancement committee of the AWIS San Diego chapter, which she joined in 2020.

To email, click This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Kayal Madhivanan is a Postdoctoral Researcher working at UC San Diego. She earned her PhD in Biological Sciences from Purdue University. Her research focuses on understanding the mechanism of neurodegenerative diseases utilizing neurons from mice and C. elegans. She became a member of the Corporate Sponsorship Committee in 2019, after an enriching experience at the WIST conference organized by AWIS. She is passionate about engaging and creating more opportunities for women in science. In addition to volunteering with AWIS, she loves to bake and travel. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Jean Spence earned a Ph.D. from the University of Utah in microbial genetics. Subsequently, she did several (too many) 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 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.

To email Jean, click This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

My name is Jamillah Murtadha. I am a graduate researcher in the Christina Jamieson laboratory in the Urology Department at the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego(UCSD). My hometown is in Augusta, West Virginia. I graduated from UCSD with a Bachelor of Science in General Biology. I am currently in the BS/MS program at UCSD to obtain my Master of Science in General Biology with a Specialization in Cancer Biology. I always strive to acquire knowledge outside my field in order to become a well-rounded scientist. Click This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to email her.

Suzana is a researcher at UC San Diego with interests in investigating host-microbe interactions, especially under the context of developing novel therapeutics. Currently, her favorite pathogen is adherent-invasive E. coli. She received both her B.S. and M.S. from UC San Diego and is going back to graduate school in Fall 2023 to pursue her doctoral degree. She has been a member of AWIS San Diego since 2021 and began as a committee member in Public Relations. Currently she is the Chair of Public Relations and hopes to increase chapter visibility and grow community engagement while promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM. In her free time, you’ll find Suzana either hanging out with her cat Black Bean or overspending on dining and shoes.

To contact the Public Relations committee chair, click This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Michelle Muldong is a Senior Research Associate at Silverback Therapeutics

Michelle obtained her B.S. from the University of California San Diego with a degree in General Biology. She has been involved in AWIS since September 2019 and is passionate about teaching the next generation about STEM.

Outside of lab Michelle enjoys hot yoga, hiking, snowboarding, iced coffee & hanging out with her French bulldog/Boston Terrier mix pup- Stitch!

 To contact the Scholarship committee chair, click This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

I am a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, San Diego conducting research in Dr. JoAnn Trejo’s laboratory. I have been acquiring knowledge about GPCR signaling in endothelial inflammatory signaling. My career goal is to become a research professor and conduct innovative and high-quality research while mentoring the next generation of scientists in an academic environment. My professional development as a scientist and teacher started in graduate school, where I had the opportunity to mentor students from diverse backgrounds and ages while driving forward my research. I volunteered as a science educator for Ocean Discovery Institute, a non-profit that utilizes science to empower young people from underserved urban communities to transform their lives, their communities, and our world as scientists and conservation leaders. I redesigned and developed the science curriculum for Sanford Burnham Prebys Cancer Center Continuing Umbrella of Research Experience (CURE) in partnership with the Preuss School of UCSD. This program is a six-week science enrichment and laboratory training camp for rising senior high school students, who come from low-income households, strive to become the first in their families to graduate from college and are interested in the biomedical field. I have also mentored and collaborated with undergraduate and graduate students and served as a teaching assistant for general biology laboratory to non-science major undergraduates. I am currently a fellow in the San Diego Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Award (IRACDA) and will continue my research and teaching training through pedagogy, development of critical academic skills, and mentored teaching experiences at San Diego State University and San Diego City College, local minority-serving institutions. My experience as a first generation Mexican American female scientist fuels my passion for science outreach, diversity, inclusivity, and equity. To contact the Scholarship committee chair, click This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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.

Jennifer is a graduate student at UCSD in the Biological Sciences program. She studies the molecular signaling pathways involved in internal brain states using a zebrafish model system. She is a San Diego native who received her B.A. at Wesleyan University and then returned to California to work as a research technician at UCSF and then UCSD. She is happy to be back in sunny San Diego where she enjoys snorkeling, hiking, and trying to learn how to surf. Click here to contact via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.