Renske Dyedov, Ph.D.

Communications Manager, Molecular Engineering & Sciences Institute, University of Washington

Dr. Renske Dyedov manages communications for two research institutes at the University of Washington. Previously, she was a program management and communications consultant for clients including the Washington State Academy of Sciences, and Engineers and Scientists Acting Locally. Prior to that, she ran a leadership development program for graduate students hosted by the American Association for the Advancement of Science and was a Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the National Academies. She holds a PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Pennsylvania and a BS in Chemical Biology from the University of California, Berkeley.

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Director of Communications & Science Outreach, CienciaPR
Associate Director of Diversity & Communication Training, iBiology

Dr. Mónica I. Feliú-Mójer is an award-winning science communicator, strategist, trainer and video producer using community-building, culturally relevant communication and storytelling to make science more equitable and inclusive. She works with the non-profits Ciencia Puerto Rico (CienciaPR) and iBiology, and serves on several advisory committees for organizations including SACNAS, #InclusiveSciComm, and Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education, among others. She earned a PhD in Neurobiology from Harvard University and a BS in Human Biology from the University of Puerto Rico in Bayamón.

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Maryrose Franko, Ph.D.

Executive Director, Health Research Alliance 

Dr. Maryrose Franko sets strategic priorities and develops tools and programs to advance the goals of members of the Health Research Alliance (HRA). Dr. Franko previously worked in program management at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), including running graduate programs at the Janelia Research Campus and developing the Making the Right Moves guide. Dr. Franko was a founding board member of the HRA and initiated its early career-focused working group. She received a PhD in Molecular Genetics from the University of Southern California and a BS in Biology from John Carroll University.

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Postdoctoral Affairs Specialist, Van Andel Research Institute

Dr. Erica Gobrogge leads professional development for postdoctoral fellows at Van Andel Institute. Previously, Dr. Gobrogge was the Education and Professional Development Manager at the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Dr. Gobrogge also has served in multiple capacities with various science education and professional development projects at the local and national level. She earned a PhD in Molecular Microbiology at Washington University in St. Louis and a BA in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Hendrix College.

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Professor, Higher Education, Student Affairs, and International Education Policy Program
Associate Dean, Graduate Studies and Faculty Affairs, College of Education
University of Maryland

Dr. Kimberly Griffin is a Professor in the Higher Education, Student Affairs, and International Education Policy Program at the University of Maryland, and Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Faculty Affairs in the College of Education. Her scholarship focuses on diversity within the Black community; mentoring and professional development; and equity and inclusion in graduate and faculty communities.  She currently serves as the editor for The Journal of Diversity in Higher Education.

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Professor, Higher Education
University of Alabama

Dr. Karri Holley is Professor of Higher Education at The University of Alabama. Her research interests include interdisciplinarity, graduate and professional education, organizational change in higher education, and qualitative inquiry. She currently serves as editor for Studies in Graduate and Postdoctoral Education.

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Sonia Hall, Ph.D.

President & CEO, BioKansas

Dr. Sonia Hall focuses on building the bioscience ecosystem in her role at BioKansas. Previously, Dr. Hall was Director of Engagement and Development at the Genetics Society of America and conducted postdoctoral research and training in academic administration at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Dr. Hall has volunteered her time on the board of Future of Research. She earned a PhD in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and a BS in Biology at the University of Kansas.

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Professor of Microbiology, Director, Graduate Biomedical Sciences Immunology Theme,
Director, Undergraduate Immunology Program,
Associate Director, Medical Scientist Training Program,
University of Alabama, Birmingham

Dr. Louis Justement is a faculty member who is heavily involved in ensuring training and career opportunities for early career scientists. Dr. Justement is Vice President for Science Policy, Chair, Training and Career Opportunities Subcommittee, and President-Elect of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) and serves on the Society for Leukocyte Biology (SLB) Professional Development Committee. He holds a PhD and MS in Microbiology from the Ohio State University, and a BA in Microbiology from Miami University in Ohio.

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Victoria McGovern, Ph.D.

Senior Program Officer, Burroughs Wellcome Fund

Dr. Victoria McGovern runs the Career Guidance for Trainees program and the Infectious Disease and Population Health portfolios in her role at the Burroughs Wellcome Fund. Dr. McGovern has served in many roles supporting scientific workforce development through organizations including the National Postdoctoral Association, American Society for Microbiology, and Genetics Society of America, and has written articles for Science Careers and the Carpe Careers blog. She earned a PhD in Biochemistry at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and BS degrees in Biology and English Literature at Washington University.

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Science Program Administration, The Rita Allen Foundation

Dr. Barbara Natalizio supports early-career biomedical scholars through her role at the Rita Allen Foundation. Dr. Natalizio is also the Chair of the Board of Directors and Interim Executive Director of the National Postdoctoral Association, Co-Chair for the 2021 Cultivating Ensembles conference, and serves as Vice President for Finance for the Association for Women in Science DC Metropolitan Chapter. Previously, Dr. Natalizio was a Program Officer with the Board on Higher Education and Workforce at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and worked in the Division of Graduate Education at the National Science Foundation, as a AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow. She earned her bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and history from Montclair State University and her Ph.D. in molecular genetics and microbiology from Duke University.

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Director, Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research
Principal Investigator, National Research Mentoring Network Coordination Center
Senior Scientist, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Dr. Christine Pfund's work focuses on interventions to better prepare current and future faculty to be effective teachers and research mentors. She authored curricula for the research mentor training series, Entering Mentoring, and mentee curriculum Entering Research, and co-authored studies documenting the effectiveness of these approaches. Over several years, she has led adaptation of these curricula for use in specific disciplines across STEMM fields. She directs the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER), which has developed a suite of train-the-trainer workshops and evaluation tools for use in disseminating mentor training nationally, and PI of the National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN) Coordination Center. She serves on numerous advisory boards in graduate education, as well as on the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine consensus study on the science of effective mentoring. 

Associate Dean of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies,
Frederick C. Neidhardt Collegiate Professor of Microbiology & Immunology,
University of Michigan Medical School

Dr. O’Riordan oversees graduate and postdoctoral training at the University of Michigan Medical School. Dr. O’Riordan joined the faculty at the University of Michigan in 2003 and previously was Associate Director of the Cellular Biotechnology Training Program. Dr. O’Riordan is a National Academy of Sciences Kavli Fellow. She received a PhD in immunology from the University of California, San Francisco, an MA in Molecular Biology from Princeton University, and a BS in Biology from the University of Washington.

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Shoba Subramanian, Ph.D.

Director of Curriculum and Educational Initiatives, University of Michigan Medical School Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies

Dr. Shoba Subramanian directs the career and professional development team and leads curriculum and mentoring initiatives at the University of Michigan (UM) Medical School. Previously, Dr. Subramanian was the Assistant Department Head for Graduate Affairs at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), where she directly advised and taught hundreds of students, and received awards for educational innovation. She reformed the curriculum for CMU’s interdisciplinary MS in Computational Biology program, and helped found a new BS program in Biological Sciences at CMU-Qatar. Dr. Subramanian holds a PhD in Biological Sciences from CMU, and an MSc in Molecular Biology from the University of Madras.

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