W.I.S.E.

Latest News

Want to attend our seminars and join the online platform for directly contacting students studying your desired field? Scroll down to find relevant information to each of our events and representers. We invite you to learn more about our efforts and help spread the word about our important cause. 

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Seminar #1: Dr. Sandipa Gautam

July 23, 4-4:30pm

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Sandipa Gautam is an Area Citrus IPM Advisor for the University of California Cooperative Extension Program and is stationed at the Lindcove Research. Her research and extension program studies strategies for integrated pest management (IPM) to manage arthropod pests in the San Joaquin Valley of California citrus. The current focus of her program is studying field ecology, screening pesticide efficacies for key citrus pests, testing pests for pesticide resistance and resistance management strategies, and developing postharvest control methods for pests of export concern.

Prior to the current position, Dr. Gautam worked as an Assistant Research Entomologist with the Department of Entomology, UC Riverside for five years. Dr. Gautam earned her M.S. and Ph.D. in Entomology from the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology at Oklahoma State University. Her graduate and post-doc studies focused on managing pests in stored food crops. Some exciting projects she worked on were population ecology of pests, exploring why some insects are easier to manage than others, testing methods to manage pests, and some more. Gautam has received several awards including the “Graduate Research Excellence Award” for her M.S. thesis and Ph.D. dissertation by Oklahoma State University. Gautam received a national award from the President of Nepal for her outstanding performance in B.S. Agriculture in 2007.

Sandipa is a proud mom and raising two kids, Sam Gautam (11 years) and Srija (7 years) while juggling her work responsibilities. Sandipa loves the outdoors, spending time with family when she is not working.

W.I.S.E. Ambassador: Asha Green

Asha Green is a current D2 at the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC. She is a graduate of Howard University where she majored in psychology and minored in biology and chemistry. She is the first ever African-American woman to serve as class president at Ostrow. As an NHSC recipient, her dental education is fully funded and she will go on to serve health shortage areas and low income communities post grad. She is very passionate about service, mentorship and empowerment. 

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Directly contact her with questions about her field through:

https://forms.gle/NN8Bz76yohC6THGo7

Seminar #2: Dr. Megan L. McCain

August 22, 4:30-5pm

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Megan L. McCain, PhD, is the Chonette Early Career Chair and Associate Professor and Associate Chair in the Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Southern California. She also holds a courtesy appointment in the Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine. Her research group, the Laboratory for Living Systems Engineering, integrates tunable biomaterials, microfabrication techniques, and human cells to engineer “Organ on a Chip” models of healthy and diseased tissues, with a focus on cardiac, skeletal, and uterine muscle tissues. Megan is a recipient of a Scientist Development Grant from the American Heart Association and a CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation. She has also been recognized as a Young Innovator of Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering by the Biomedical Engineering Society. She received her PhD and postdoctoral training in Engineering Sciences from Harvard University and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering.  

W.I.S.E. Ambassador: Isabel Garewal

BSN, Psych Nurse

Achievements:

Attaining a Bachelor’s of Nursing Science with a Minor in Psychology on Dean’s List, over 500 hours at various Psych Hospitals and PACU (as an Extern), Previous Philanthropy Chairman AOII NAU 

Favorite Quote: “A strong women looks a challenge in the eye and gives it a wink” - Gina Carey 

Working in the medical profession has always been a dream, one I am finally living! My greatest piece of advice to women pursuing STEM is to expect obstacles and detours but know you can overcome anything thrown your way. 

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Directly contact her with questions about her field through:

https://forms.gle/NN8Bz76yohC6THGo7

Seminar #3: Sharon Yavrom

February 1, 4:30-5pm

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BS Biology from San Jose State University, Ph.D. Molecular Pathology from the University of Southern California.  She spent 4 years in between undergraduate and graduate work at NASA working on rodent projects that flew in space to test the physiological response of zero gravity on biological tissues including pregnant rats in space.  She has worked in research labs at UCSD, Harvard and MIT as a bench scientist. Currently, her main focus is in adoptive T-cell therapy, oncolytic viruses and cancer vaccines for the treatment of advanced non-hodgkins lymphoma and solid tumors like lung, gastric, melanoma, head & neck etc.  She has  spent the last 11 years of my career in small start-up biotechs ranging in size from 7 to 80 people, but have worked at large companies as well such as Amgen and Bristol Myers Squibb “BMS”.