Picture a Scientist Film Viewing and Post-Screening Panel Discussion
Cornell University Picture-a-Scientist Panel Discussion
April 19th, 2021 3:30-5:00pm EST
Dr. Hector Aguilar-Carreno is an Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University. His previous position was Assistant Professor at the Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health at Washington State University. He received a B.S. degree in Biochemical Engineering from Instituto Tecnologico de Tepic, Mexico. He then immigrated to the USA and obtained a M.S. degree in Biology from the California State University, Los Angeles, and a PhD degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Southern California. He received post-doctoral training in Virology at the University of California, Los Angeles under the mentoring of Dr. Benhur Lee. His current research is on the modulation of viral entry, assembly, egress, and immune responses by the glycoproteins of emerging viruses, such as the deadly Nipah and Hendra Viruses, and has obtained RO1, R21, and R25 funding from NIAID, as well as funding from the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense. Dr. Aguilar-Carreno has extensive experience promoting the success of underrepresented minorities as mentor to undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral trainees, and has been an invited speaker to various minority programs at multiple research institutions nationwide. He chaired the Committee for Minority education of the American Society of Microbiology for three years, where he led a yearly 2-day URM-targeted Microbe Academy for Professional Development (formerly known as Capstone Institute). During his time at Washington State University, Dr. Aguilar-Carreno was the chair of the Immunology and Infectious Diseases graduate program, where he was responsible for significantly increasing the proportions of both recruitment and success of URM graduate students.
Lauren Branchini is the Deputy Title IX Coordinator and Assistant Director for Institutional Equity at Cornell. In her role, she leads the University’s response to and resolution of reported incidents of sexual and related misconduct, as well as protected-status harassment and discrimination. She has a law degree from Emory University and prior to her time at Cornell, she served as an Assistant District Attorney in the Special Victims Bureau in Brooklyn, NY.
Dr. Kelly Kryc is the Director of Ocean Policy at the New England Aquarium focused on transforming science into action that protects the blue planet. Dr. Kryc is an energy and environment policy professional who formerly held positions with the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, the U.S. State Department, The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the U.S. Department of the Interior. Prior to working in the public sector, she spent a decade working for the non-profit sector advancing science priorities in the United States and abroad. Her doctoral and post-doctoral research focused on understanding extreme climate variability in Antarctica during the past 10,000 years. Dr. Kryc is an adjunct faculty member of Georgetown University’s Science in Public Interest Program.
Christopher Lujan is the Associate Dean and Director of the LGBT Resource Center at Cornell. Christopher has a Bachelor’s degree in Human Services from California State University, Dominguez Hills, and a Master’s degree in Education Counseling, emphasizing family and school-based counseling from the University of La Verne, located in Southern California. Christopher was the LGBT Resource Coordinator at San Diego State University (SDSU) and has served as the Education Coordinator at the Los Angeles LGBT Center, where he supported LGBTQ+ homeless youth towards higher education aspirations. Christopher is also a Victim Advocates at Cornell, where he assists members of the Cornell community who are victims of harmful, threatening, or violent incidents.
Dr. Corrie Moreau is the Martha N. and John C. Moser Professor of Arthropod Biosystematics and Biodiversity at Cornell University in the Departments of Entomology and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology in Ithaca, New York, USA. She is also the Director and Curator of the Cornell University Insect Collection with over 7 million specimens. Dr. Moreau earned her Ph.D. in Evolutionary Biology from Harvard University and was a Miller Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley. Before this she completed her undergraduate and Master's degrees at San Francisco State University. Dr. Moreau was elected a Fellow of the Entomological Society of America in 2020, an AAAS Fellow in 2018, a Kavli Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences USA in 2016, a National Geographic Explorer in 2014, and highlighted as a Woman of Impact by the National Geographic Society in 2018. In addition she has two species named after her!
Dr. Moreau's research on the evolution and diversification of ants and their symbiotic bacteria couples field-based research with molecular and genomic tools to address the origin of species and how co-evolved systems benefit both partners. Also, she pursues questions on the role of biogeography, trait evolution, and symbiosis in shaping macroevolutionary processes to better understand broad-scale evolutionary patterns of life. In addition to her passion for scientific research, Dr. Moreau is also engaged with efforts to promote science communication and increase diversity in the sciences.
Dr. Marjolein C. H. van der Meulen is the James M. & Marsha McCormick Chair and Swanson Professor of Biomedical Engineering in the Nancy E. & Peter C. Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering and Sibley School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at Cornell University. She is also a Senior Scientist at the Hospital for Special Surgery. Her research in orthopaedic biomechanics focuses on musculoskeletal mechanobiology and bone biomechanics. She is interested in the modulation of musculoskeletal tissues by mechanical loading and in the determinants of skeletal structure and load-bearing function, both relevant to diseases such as osteoporosis and osteoarthritis.
Marjolein received her S.B. from MIT, and M.S. and Ph.D. from Stanford University, all in Mechanical Engineering. Before joining the faculty at Cornell, she worked as a biomedical engineer at the Rehabilitation R&D Center of the Department of Veterans Affairs, in Palo Alto, California. At Cornell she was a co-PI of the NSF-funded CU-ADVANCE Center to increase the recruitment, retention, and promotion into leadership of women in engineering and the sciences (2006-13). Prior to becoming chair, Marjolein served as Associate Dean for Research & Graduate Studies in the College of Engineering at Cornell (2012-2014).
Panel Moderated by Dr. Cynthia Leifer
Dr. Cynthia Leifer is a Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University. She received her Bachelor of Science from the University of Maryland College Park and her PhD from the Weill Graduate School of Medical Sciences at Cornell. While a postdoctoral fellow at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda Maryland, she began work on the intracellular localization and trafficking of receptors critical for innate immune responses. Her current research is on the regulation of innate immune receptors and inflammation. She has obtained R01, R21, R25 and R03 funding from the NIAID, as well as K22 funding from the NCI. Dr. Leifer has extensive experience mentoring early career faculty, both one-on-one and in groups. During her time at Cornell, she has developed a successful research program, been promoted to associate professor, taught extensively about immunology at many levels (from undergraduate to professional veterinary), and has developed a service portfolio geared towards mentoring and promoting the success of women and diverse faculty. She has attended Cornell’s Leadership Institute and Faculty Institute on Diversity, which address issues such as how unconscious bias can have an impact on classroom teaching, advising and evaluating students, and recruiting, hiring and mentoring new faculty. Within the College of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Leifer has chaired the committee for the status of faculty women, which has implemented professional development programs to promote the success of women at the CVM. Outside of Cornell, Dr. Leifer has chaired the membership committee of the Society for Leukocyte Biology. Dr. Leifer is also the co-host of the podcast Immune.
The film screening and panel discussion are sponsored by the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Office of Inclusion and Academic Excellence, HHMI-Cornell University Research Transfer (CURT) program, Cornell University-Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD), the Office of Faculty Development and Diversity, the Graduate School Office of Inclusion and Student Engagement, Program for Achieving Career Excellence and Cornell Rising Stars, the Center for Bright Beams, in collaboration with the Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, Department of Physics Women in Physics, Project Biodiversify, QGrads, and the Paleontological Research Institution. This event is also supported through funds from the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health.