JoAnn Trejo, PhD, MBA
A Scientific Journey: Serendipity, Success and Cell Signaling Description: This session will focus on the scientific career path of Dr. JoAnn Trejo. She will elaborate on the importance of mentoring, motivation, resilience, and some luck for achieving success in science and as a faculty member, mentor and biomedical researcher. Bio: JoAnn Trejo, PhD, MBA is…
Knatokie Ford, PhD
Futures ALCHEMY™: Transforming Disruption into a Portal of Possibility A framework to empower the next generation of scientists to thrive in uncertain times Description: We are living through a period of profound and accelerating disruption, which doesn’t just shift the world around us — it reshapes how we imagine our own futures. In this inspiring…
Justin “Mr. Fascinate” Shaifer
Bio: Recently named Forbes 30 under 30, Justin “Mr. Fascinate” Shaifer is the Science and Technology thought leader, STEM educator, investor and keynote speaker on a mission to empower the world with innovation. At Fascinate Media, he serves as both executive producer and on-camera talent, creating inspiring content about innovation, AI & STEM literacy, and…
Squire Booker, PhD
The Rise of Antibiotics and Antibiotic Resistance Description: The discovery of antibiotics revolutionized medicine, significantly reducing morbidity and mortality from bacterial infections. However, the mismanagement and overreliance on antibiotics have inadvertently led to the emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria, which pose a critical threat to human health, rendering once-treatable infections challenging to manage and potentially fatal….
Lydia Contreras. PhD
Description: Air pollution, such as particulate matter (PM) involves complex mixtures. As of recent, air pollution health effects have been linked to several diseases that largely affect the global population. Despite increasing association of air pollution to higher rates of mortality and hospitalizations via epidemiological studies, mechanistic understanding of how air pollution mixtures affect health…
Stefano Bertuzzi, PhD, MPH
Stefano Bertuzzi, Ph.D., MPH, is the Chief Executive Officer of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM). Bertuzzi has wide experience in science policy and scholarly publishing. Prior to joining as the CEO of ASM, Bertuzzi was the Executive Director at the American Society for Cell Biology for 3 years and was a senior scientific executive…
Nathalie Fuentes, PhD
Dr. Nathalie Fuentes is a Senior Scientist in Biopharmaceutical Development at AstraZeneca, holding a Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences and a Postdoctoral Fellowship from Penn State University and the National Institutes of Health, respectively. In her current role, Dr. Fuentes supports the development and commercialization of novel drug modalities, quality risk management, and biopharmaceutical and clinical…
Markia Smith, PhD
Markia Smith, PhD (she/her), is a Senior Expert I Data Scientist at Novartis Biomedical Research. She earned her PhD in Pathobiology and Translational Science from UNC-Chapel Hill, focusing on cancer genomics and health disparities. Dr. Smith co-founded Black In Genetics, advocating for workforce diversity. Her work integrates omics data and clinical variables to identify biomarkers…
Luis Martínez, PhD
Dr. Martínez is a Sr. Associate at Capital Factory, the center of gravity for entrepreneurship in Texas. He serves as a startup mentor with a variety of Texas organizations and globally with MassChallenge and Techstars. He is the former Director of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Trinity University. He facilitated the launch of…