Zainab Aamir
President
Zainab is a 2nd year Ph.D. in Computer Science, focusing on system and software security. Zainab is originally from Pakistan. She enjoys cooking and always tries (read struggling) to learn how to cook all the dishes that she loves to eat. Zainab is also a dog person and always misses her doggos (Cookie and Oreo) back home too.
Cynthia Converso
Vice President
Cynthia is a Ph.D. student in Molecular and Cellular Biology, working in Dr. Luk’s Biochemistry Lab. She is interested in understanding how DNA sequence plays a role in relaying which genes should be actively read or silenced. While working in the Luk lab, she developed an ex vivo chromatin remodeling assay to investigate the in vivo targeting mechanism of histone variant H2A.Z, in bakers yeast. Cynthia has a special interest in increasing female representation in STEM fields and has been the Vice President of GWISE since the Fall of 2020. To this end, she has made a science communication Instagram named @cindythemadscientist. Cynthia enjoys free time with her Australian Cattle dog, crocheting, running, and reading. *Join our book club to read with Cynthia*.
Natalie Mosqueda
Secretary
Natalie is a 2nd year Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Biology under the guidance of Dr. Chris Brownlee. She is interested in understanding the first steps of primary ciliogenesis and the role that plasma membrane importin alpha has in this process. Natalie is originally from California and enjoys going to the beach, watching Formula 1, and spending time with friends and family.
Jiayang Yan
Treasurer
Jiayang is a Ph.D. student in Physics. Her project focuses on getting a collider-quality accelerated electron beam using a method called beam-induced ionization injection (BIII), in which the accelerated beam is ionized by the space charge field of the drive beam and then trapped and accelerated at the back of the plasma bubble. She likes traveling and has recently started to learn to ski.
Renee (Ruiyan) Liu
Event Coordinator
Renee is a Ph.D. student in Electrical and Computer Engineering. She is part of the Optoelectronics group.
Eunice Kim
WISE Mentorship Coordinator
Eunice Kim is a third-year student in the Molecular and Cellular Biology (MCB) Ph.D. program. She is doing her dissertation research in Dr. Takemaru’s lab, which studies the molecular mechanisms and pathways that govern the process of cilia formation. She enjoys hiking and writing short stories in her free time.
Shruti Iyer
WISE Mentorship Coordinator
Shruti is currently a Ph.D. Candidate in the McCombie Lab at the Cold Spring Harbor Genome Center, where she uses Long-Read Sequencing technologies to gain insight into complex human diseases like cancer and neuropsychiatric disorders. Shruti is also a United Technologies STEM U mentor as part of the Global STEM Alliance by the New York Academy of Sciences. She loves to travel, writes short stories and poetry, enjoys the theatre, and is a major foodie! Shruti is returning to her role as GWiSE’s mentorship coordinator with WISE from last year.
Yasharah Raza
WISE Mentorship Coordinator
Yasharah Raza is a Ph.D. candidate in Molecular & Cellular Pharmacology. She conducts her research at The Lipid Cancer Lab in Stony Brook Medicine’s Cancer Center, and studies Acute Myeloid Leukemia, with a focus on discovering new therapeutic targets and strategies. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience, as well as a Master’s Degree in Physiology and Biophysics from Stony Brook University. She is the President and Editor-in-Chief at Stony Brook University’s Pharmacology Science Communication Society, as well as the President of the New York chapter of a national non-profit organization, Muslim Women’s Professional Network (MWPN-NY). Yasharah is passionate about mentorship and has served as a mentor for women in STEM across multiple organizations, including ATHENA by Women in STEM and WiSE. She hopes that her work and service garners a lasting legacy of empowerment.
Stephanie Taboada
External Affairs Coordinator
Stephanie Taboada is a Chemical Engineering Ph.D. Candidate at Stony Brook University. She is also pursuing two advanced graduate certificates in science communication and science policy. She recently published her first academic paper, which assesses the resources available for producing renewable natural gas (RNG) in New York State (NYS). RNG is a bridge fuel to clean energy because it can easily substitute fossil natural gas in the existing gas grid and its applications, resulting in a 6% emission reduction for NYS. Her goal is to synthesize and optimize a nanocatalyst to produce RNG. In her spare time, Stephanie incentivizes underrepresented groups to study STEM by blogging about lessons learned during her Ph.D. She advertises her blog posts on social media (@latina_phding). She also enjoys swimming, hiking, and spending time with family and friends.
Fumi Honda
External Affairs Coordinator
Sayantani Sikder
External Affairs Coordinator
Sayantani Sikder is a Chemical Engineering Ph.D. candidate at Stony Brook University. She is working in Brookhaven National Laboratory at the Center for Functional Nanomaterials with Dr. Anibal Boscoboinik’s group. She is extensively invested in the environment & energy and is working to understand the mechanism of various small harmful molecules on transition metals. Along with it, she is also helping Dr. Devinder Mahajan’s group at Stony Brook University in understanding the evolution of hydrogen pipelines’ degradation from various industries. She has a bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology as well as a master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the National Institute of Technology, India. She is also associated with the Mattoo Center for India Studies of Stony Brook University and helps them with different Indian Languages. Sayantani is a passionate Indian Classical Dancer and enjoys her free time cooking, dancing, traveling as well as hanging out with family & friends. Sayantani is returning to her role as GWiSE’s External Affairs Coordinator from last year.
Caitlin Hetherington
Tech Coordinator
Caitlin is currently a Chemistry Ph.D. researcher at Stony Brook University. She is originally from the United Kingdom but she grew up in France with her two younger sisters. Her research involves applying computational tools to simulate light-driven processes in nanomaterials. In her free time, Caitlin enjoys doing yoga, spending time with her friends, and watching a good TV show.
Miaomiao He
Website and Blog Administrator
Miaomiao is a Ph.D. Candidate in Biochemistry and Structural Biology program. As a member of the Wollmuth lab, she studies the gating mechanism in ionotropic glutamate receptors. Miaomiao is originally from China and enjoys playing badminton, and hiking/traveling. You can find her on Twitter @MMiaoHE.
Shreyoshi Chakraborti
Blogging Team Member
Shreyoshi is a fourth-year Ph.D. student in Biochemistry and Structural Biology. She studies the biochemical aspects of cholesterol catabolism by Tb bacteria and finding out novel targets to inhibit virulence and infection of Mtb. Shreyoshi writes the Scientist of the Month (SOTM) posts for the blog.
Veena Krish
Blogging Team Member
Veena is a Ph.D. student in Computer Science. She studies the security of machine learning systems, especially those applied to emerging medical technologies. One of her favorite things to do on LI is to spend hours browsing Book Revue in Huntington.
Past Executive Boards
2021-2022 Executive Board
2020-2021 Executive Board
2019-2020 Executive Board
Graduate Women in Science and Engineering @ SBU 