Dr. Abigail Thiel is a food scientist at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. As part of the Dairy Group, she researches projects looking into various types of alternatives to cow-made milk, including milk made by yeast. She is involved with both teaching and mentoring students in dairy classes and research projects in the food industry. Dr. Thiel is also a passionate science communicator and enjoys producing content for her YouTube channel and food science blog in her free time.

Dr. Abigail Thiel

Food Scientist

Dr. Danielle Twum is a cancer immunologist and currently works as an Associate Director of Medical Affairs at Regeneron. With a strong background in biotechnology, she has held various roles in industry such as medical science liaison at BluePrint Medicines and business development manager at Genoskin. When she’s not researching or liaising, Dr. Twum is dedicated to scientific communication, furthering the future of healthcare, and inspiring the next generation of scientists.

Dr. Danielle Twum

Cancer Immunologist

Jun Kato is a senior researcher at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) in Japan. He also serves as a technical advisor at Arch, a Japanese animation production company. Since April 2024, he has been a Visiting Scientist at Université Paris-Saclay. In his work, he conducts human-computer interaction research, which involves studying how technology can be used to support individuals’ creative pursuits such as programming, video authoring, storyboarding, and animation creation.

Dr. Jun Kato

Human-Computer Interaction Researcher

Dr. Christopher Gerbi is a Professor of Earth and Climate Sciences at the University of Maine, where his research focuses on rheology—how rocks and ice deform—and how geophysical methods record material properties. At UMaine, he is also the Associate Dean for Research in the College of Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture and affiliated with the Center for Research in STEM Education.

Dr. Christopher Gerbi

Geoscientist

Dr. Julie Mirpuri is a physician-scientist at UT-Southwestern. As a physician, she is a neonatologist, where she takes care of newborn babies either born premature or have other abnormalities in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). As a scientist, she runs her own laboratory, where she conducts research focused on neonatal microbiome development with a goal of developing novel therapies to improve the health of babies.

Dr. Julie Mirpuri

Neonatologist

Dr. Amy Elliott is a 3D printing scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory where she consults with manufacturers all across the US to ensure proper application of 3D printing technologies. Her research focuses on inkjet-based metal and ceramic 3D printing, in which she holds several patents. Outside of the lab, Amy spends time creating personal 3D printing projects and starring as a science personality to make STEM easier to understand and more accessible to the younger generation.

Dr. Amy Elliott

3D Printing Scientist

Cole Powers is a mechanical engineer turned entrepreneur. He is the co-founder and CEO of an ag-tech company called IntelliCulture, which offers an innovative farm management software that addresses three crucial issues in farming: labor availability, pest prevention, and machine safety.

Cole Powers

Engineer and Entrepreneur

Ada Hurst is a member of the Department of Management Sciences in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Waterloo. She primarily teaches in the management engineering program, an undergraduate program in the department. Her research focus and teaching are in the area of engineering design.

Dr. Ada Hurst

Management Engineer

Dr. Chris Naunton is a British Egyptologist, writer, and broadcaster. Rather than being affiliated with universities or museums, Dr. Naunton’s career derives from writing, media work, and teaching online. His work focuses on studying the history and development of Egyptology and archaeology in Egypt, as well as its presentation to the public.

Dr. Chris Naunton

Egyptologist

Amy Maslen-Miller is a Ph.D. student at the University of Auckland in New Zealand researching indigenous agriculture—specifically, the Samoan traditional diet. She is also behind the social media platform Samoan Scientist, founded as a way to share her STEM experiences as a Pacific Islander and to promote more diversity in the field.

Amy Maslen-Miller

PhD Student in Biology

Dr. George Ozoude is the medical director and leading orthopedic surgeon at Movement Orthopaedic Institute based in Houston, Texas. He specializes in sports medicine and athletic-related injuries.

Dr. George Ozoude

Orthopedic Surgeon

Originally from Japan, Taiga Onishi is currently in his first year at The University of Edinburgh studying veterinary medicine. He hopes to one day work as a vet and contribute to wildlife conservation.

Taiga Onishi

Vet Student

Lyla Atta is an MD/PhD candidate at Johns Hopkins University. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Biomedical Engineering at a lab that focuses on computational biology research. Her research is on developing mathematical tools that study how cells behave in response to disease and therapy.

Lyla Atta

MD/PhD Student in Biomedical Engineering

Diogo Guerra is a medical illustrator based in Lisbon, Portugal. Applying his background from veterinary medicine school, he creates visual materials used in medicine, ranging from textbook illustrations to surgical procedures to data visualization. An advocate for science communication, he hosts seminars and workshops, which help those in the scientific community better convey their research findings to others.

Diogo Guerra

Medical Illustrator

Cynthia Johnson is a cosmetic chemist and the founder of Cindy J Cosmetic Labs LLC. Her company specializes in custom formulation resources and services, including manufacturing, packaging, and consultation for small business owners and beauty brands who are starting hair care or skin care lines. Inspired to help others feel confident in their hair and skin, she hopes to help expand the accessibility of the cosmetic chemistry industry.

Cynthia Johnson

Cosmetic Chemist and Entrepreneur

Dr. Cameron McIntyre is a professor of biomedical engineering at Duke University. He studies deep brain stimulation (DBS), a neurosurgical procedure during which implanted electrodes assist brain activity. Connecting elements of neuroscience, entrepreneurship, and innovation, Dr. McIntyre works to develop novel DBS devices for clinical treatment of neurological disorders.

Dr. Cameron McIntyre

Biomedical Engineer

Sabrina Thompson is an aerospace engineer at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center with an education in atmospheric physics as well. As a flight and dynamics engineer, Thompson designs orbits and trajectories for space missions. She also develops technologies for spacecraft and small satellites and has been patented. With her love for art, she built GIRL IN SPACE CLUB, a platform for young and creative minds in STEM.

Sabrina Thompson

Aerospace Engineer

Camilo Rebelo is an award-winning architect. After completing his studies at the Porto School of Architecture in Portugal, Rebelo went on to teach at many institutions worldwide. His hundreds of projects explore the connected relationship between urban architecture and protected natural landscapes.

Camilo Rebelo

Architect

Dr. Nadine Caron is a general surgeon, researcher, and professor at the University of British Columbia. A mother and outdoor-enthusiast, Dr. Caron is also the first female First Nations general surgeon in Canada. Her current work centers around advocating for Indigenous populations and addressing inequity in healthcare.

Dr. Nadine Caron

General Surgeon

Dr. Alice Cocoros is a physicist in the Space Exploration Sector at the John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. She obtained her Ph.D. in particle physics researching elementary particles at CERN, and her current work involves systems design engineering for instruments used in NASA missions such as the Dragonfly mission.

Dr. Alice Cocoros

Physicist

Sam Wen is an engineer and entrepreneur turned investor. After studying electrical engineering in college, he co-founded Block (formerly known as Square), where he built apps, hardware, and infrastructure to empower commerce. Today, he is a venture partner at Green Visor Capital, a venture capital firm that invests in financial technology companies at early stages.

Sam Wen

Dr. Ani Manichaikul is an associate professor in the Center for Public Health Genomics at the University of Virginia. She uses her training in biostatistics to identify regions of the genome and certain DNA variants that would predispose people to disease risk. In particular, Dr. Manichaikul works to improve genetic risk prediction models for people of diverse ancestry.

Dr. Ani Manichaikul

Statistical Geneticist

Dr. Jason Ernst is an Associate Professor of Biological Chemistry, Computer Science, and Computational Medicine at UCLA. His research group’s interdisciplinary work focuses on using computational methods for understanding the human genome and interpreting epigenomic data.

Dr. Jason Ernst

Computational Biologist

Dr. Colleen Wilson-Hodge is an astrophysicist at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. She is the principal investigator of the Fermi Gamma Ray Burst Monitor, an instrument that detects gamma ray bursts, which are powerful explosions in the universe.

Dr. Colleen Wilson-Hodge

Astrophysicist

Dr. Maria Makarova is the Founder and President of Mentoralia, a nonprofit organization in Mexico that teaches girls how to code and design mobile apps. She also runs a local chapter of Technovation Girls, an international program for young girls to apply computer science to solving social issues.

Dr. Maria Makarova

Program Director

Deanna Hood is an Aussie electrical engineer whose work focuses on humanitarian applications of engineering and robotics, with projects spanning accessibility, education and healthcare. She currently collaborates with surgeons on the Ligō “skin-printing robot,” an application of 3D bioprinting in a medical device that will be used to treat burns patients.

Deanna Hood

Electrical Engineer

Dr. Lauren Jozwiak is a planetary volcanologist at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) studying lava and magma interactions of various planets in the solar system. Dr. Jozwiak is a co-investigator of the VERITAS mission, where she will use radar to study volcanism on Venus.

Dr. Lauren Jozwiak

Planetary Volcanologist

Kyle Retterer is the Chief Technology Officer at GeneDx, a genetic diagnostics company. Retterer has been with GeneDx for 11 years and has helped build the technological platform that enables geneticists to go from sequencing individual genes to performing whole genome sequencing.

Kyle Retterer

Chief Technologist

Susan Boyne is a pilot for United Airlines with 25+ years of flying experience. Boyne graduated from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and currently flies the Boeing 787. She mainly pilots international flights and visits major cities such as Tokyo, Frankfurt, and Rome.

Susan Boyne

Commercial Pilot

Born in Mexico, Dr. Osvaldo Gutierrez came to the United States initially as an undocumented immigrant. He received his BS and MS degrees at UCLA and studied his PhD at UC Davis. He went on to acquire a postdoc position at the University of Pennsylvania, and became an assistant professor of Chemistry at the University of Maryland. His research group utilizes both computational and experimental chemistry to design systems and chemical methods to accelerate the development of new medicines. He is now moving to Texas A&M University.

Dr. Osvaldo Gutierrez

Chemist

Dr. Jennifer Perusini is the founder and CEO of Neurovation Labs, a New York-based biotech startup. Neurovation Labs was born out of Dr. Perusini’s research, where she and her team discovered a brain biomarker that can be targeted to both diagnose and treat post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), revolutionizing mental health care.

Dr. Jennifer Perusini

Neuroscientist and Entrepreneur

Dr. Yana Zorina is a neurobiologist and Senior Research Scientist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), where she helps test a collection of chemical compounds for various cellular responses using biochemical and image-based assays. Working in cell biology, she is often exposed to microscopy techniques and the beautifully complex structures that make up the mammalian brain. Also as the artist behind “NeuroBead”, she draws from her neuroscience knowledge to transform confocal microscopy images into precise 3D beadwork that encourages a wider audience to appreciate the beauty of scientific research.

Dr. Yana Zorina

Neurobiologist and Artist

Diana Iracheta is a first-generation Mexican immigrant who is currently a manufacturing and mechanical engineer. As a strong advocate for women and minorities in STEM, she founded “Latina Engineer”, an organization where she shares personal anecdotes and other empowering content to encourage students that anyone is capable of becoming an engineer.

Diana Iracheta

Mechanical Engineer

Dr. Aaron Andalman is a computational neuroscientist turned entrepreneur who has a deep understanding of both biological and artificial neural networks. He is currently the Chief Science Officer and co-founder at Cognitiv, a company that helps marketers place ads using artificial intelligence algorithms.

Dr. Aaron Andalman

Computational Neuroscientist

Danni Washington is a TV personality and science communicator who is also the first African American woman to host her own science TV show, 

. As an avid ocean advocate, she co-founded Big Blue & You, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting marine conservation through arts and media, encouraging the next generation to take care of our oceans.

Danni Washington

Science Communicator

Dr. Nicole Hindman is a diagnostic academic radiologist at New York University specializing in abdominal imaging. Working in the academia and clinical setting, Dr. Hindman gives talks at national meetings, publishes papers, and works with residents as well as medical students to solve clinical puzzles. Watch + read her interview to learn more about what it takes to practice radiology and about the medical field in general.

Dr. Nicole Hindman

Radiologist

Dr. Cinda Scott is a marine biologist who currently works in Bocas Del Toro, Panama. There, she leads a study abroad program at the School for Field Studies, taking her students out snorkeling among mangroves and hiking through rainforests to conduct hands-on studies. Dr. Scott devotes much of her career to marine conservation as well as to building equity in the ocean sciences.

Dr. Cinda Scott

Marine Biologist

Dr. Samit Dasgupta’s passion for number theory blossomed when he was just 12 years old. He has pursued mathematics ever since, going on to place fourth in the 1995 Westinghouse Science Talent Search as a high school senior with a project on Schinzel’s Hypothesis. Today, he studies algebraic number theory at Duke University. Check out his interview to learn about what it is like to be a math professor, sharing the beauty of mathematics with the next generation of bright minds.

Dr. Samit Dasgupta

Mathematician

As the first African-American woman to receive an undergraduate degree in meteorology from Iowa State University, Dr. Kandis Boyd is a huge weather enthusiast. Overseeing the Weather Program Office at NOAA, she integrates social sciences into the technical sciences to produce timely and accurate forecasts.

Dr. Kandis Boyd

Meteorologist

Considered one of the world’s foremost experts on African lions, Dr. Packer is a Professor of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior at the University of Minnesota. In 1986, He established the world’s first research center dedicated to the study of lions. Tune in to find out what makes the powerful yet vulnerable lion such a fascinating species to study.

Dr. Craig Packer

Behavioral Ecologist

Dr. Korie Grayson recently received her Ph.D. in biomedical engineering and is now a postdoc research fellow at the University of Michigan. Check out her interview to learn about her science story and her advocacy journey for minorities in STEM!

Dr. Korie Grayson

Beth Weinstein is an Observatory Manager at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Read her interview below to learn about her experience working on the Earth Science satellite mission PACE and how her career has evolved over her 19 years at NASA.

Beth Weinstein

Observatory Manager

Shuai is a software engineer at one of the world’s largest video game developers, Blizzard Entertainment. Watch the video and keep reading below to hear about Shuai’s experience in the video game industry working on many aspects of game development.

Shuai Liu

Software Engineer

Dr. Kate Tully is an Associate Professor of Agroecology at the University of Maryland, College Park. Check out the video + read her interview below to learn about how one experience abroad in Costa Rica led her into the exciting field of agroecology!

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