Meet the Team
Andrew Mattson
he/him
Andrew is a 2nd year PhD student in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Johns Hopkins University. His research focuses on quantum technologies for dark matter detection and life science/medical applications. He is a Science Diplomacy Coordinator of the Johns Hopkins Science Policy and Diplomacy Group.
Alex Rich
Alex Rich is a Neuroscience PhD candidate at Yale University, where she studies how we learn and make decisions about food. Outside of the lab, she serves as Vice Chair for the Graduate Research and Development (GRAD) Coalition, the student arm of the GRAD Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives. Alex is passionate about evidence-based change, creating a sustained culture of communication and advocacy work amongst scientists, and procuring boxes for her cat Fig Newton.
Amanda Finn
I’m a PhD student in Nutrition Sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Trabajo por el bienestar de nuestra comunidad.
Anna Rader Groves
she/her
Anna is a neuroscience PhD candidate at Georgia State University, where she studies adolescent development in mice and schizophrenia risk factors that emerge during adolescence. She founded the GSU Neuroscience Institute’s Service-Neuroscience-Policy (SNP) graduate student organization and volunteers with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Anna is broadly interested in translating research into effective practice at the clinical and policy level, specifically through the inclusion of lived experiences. Anna also loves to hike and is a hula hoop champion (although, in full transparency, no one has challenged her on this in nearly a decade).
Antonia Kowalewski
she/her
Antonia is a PhD candidate at Harvard Medical School and Co-President of the Harvard Griffin GSAS Science Policy Group. She studies large genetic mutations and chromosomal abnormalities in cancer. Her policy interests include expanding graduate student engagement in science policy and advocacy, and coordinating sustainability initiatives across biomedical research institutions.
Ashley Eng
she/her
Ashley is a 2nd year Microbiology PhD student at UC Berkeley studying bacteria in soils surrounding plant roots. She is passionate about community organizing, science communication, and educational equity. In her free time, she enjoys rock climbing, baking, and reading.
Becca Blyn
Becca is a Ph.D. candidate in the Pathobiology Ph.D. program at the University of Washington. She studies the immune response to malaria vaccines, with the big picture goal of identifying new ways to monitor and improve vaccine efficacy. Beyond the lab, she is also a member of the UW Engage Board of Directors and the co-Legislative Liaison for the UW Science and Policy Committee. Her policy passions include science communication and multiple areas of health policy/public health, including pandemic preparedness and vaccine implementation. In her free time, Becca is an avid reader, euphonium player, and parent to two cats.
Brandon León
he/him
Brandon Emanuel León is a PhD candidate at the University of Miami. He studies cancer-astrocyte interactions in glioblastoma. After graduating, he aims to work in science policy with the goals of making STEM education and activities more inclusive and improving support for scientists to continue making impactful discoveries. Outside of work, he enjoys soccer, kickboxing, and cooking Peruvian and Italian cuisine.
Brendon Davis
he/him
Brendon is a 5th year PhD candidate in the Cellular, Molecular, and Developmental Biology and Biophysics (CMDB) Program at Johns Hopkins University. He studies the role of DNA replication and epigenetics in determining stem cell fate. Brendon is passionate about the representation of expert voices in policymaking, and he is the President of the Johns Hopkins Science Policy and Diplomacy Group (SPDG). He plans to continue with a science policy career after graduation. Beyond his professional life, Brendon enjoys traveling, powerlifting, reading, attending comedy shows, and playing board games.
Bryce Wedig
Bryce is a 4th year PhD candidate in the Department of Physics at Washington University in St. Louis. He studies small-scale dark matter in distant galaxies using space telescopes. He is a co-president of WashU’s science policy group ProSPER and works on the SNAP website.
Casey Chan
she/her
Casey Chan is a PhD candidate at Stanford University in the Department of Chemistry. Casey studies the coevolution of plants and insects using the essential enzyme acetylcholinesterase and plant inhibitors of this enzyme as a case study. She enjoys science communication and is involved in science journalism publications and policy groups on campus and beyond. Casey plans to continue exploring science communication and policy throughout her PhD, and is excited to be part of SNAP!
Dimitris Boufidis
Dimitris Boufidis is a Ph.D. Candidate in Bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania and Science Diplomacy Chair of the Penn Science Policy and Diplomacy Group (PSPDG), working at the intersection of emerging neurotechnologies, science diplomacy, and the societal implications of science.
Emily Selland
she/her
Emily is a Public Health Disease Ecologist and fifth year PhD Candidate at the University of Notre Dame. As co-president of the Science Policy Initiative at Notre Dame for two years, she co-led two Science Communication Days at the Indiana State House and rebuilt a monthly community outreach event, Michiana Science Cafe, but she is always searching for more things to learn and ways to reach the public and advance science-driven policy through SNAP!
Erin Morrow
she/her
Erin is a 4th year PhD student in cognitive neuroscience studying memory and emotional arousal in PTSD. She is co-president of the Science Policy Group at UCLA. Erin is a Georgia native, and is passionate about humility-driven approaches to science engagement and increasing the visibility of science policy as a career path.
Isako (Izzi) Di Tomassi
she/her
Agricultural researcher and a 2nd-year PhD student at Cornell University, Izzi studies ways to fight late blight disease. Driven by a desire to contribute in some way to sustainable global food security, whether that is as a scientist, through extension work, or through policy work. A leader in Cornell Advancing Science and Policy Club.
Jordan Williams
she/her
Jordan is a pharmacology PhD candidate at the University of Pennsylvania researching upper respiratory diseases, calcium signaling, bitter taste receptors, and GPCRs. Her research interests have always centered around enzymes and their role in human health, whether in breast cancer research, drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics, bitter taste receptors, etc. Jordan wants to help scientists become better communicators of their work – regardless of the audience, and holds a special interest in increasing science literacy and communication in rural areas (like her native Idaho), where scientific resources and outreach are already sparse.
JP Flores
he/him
JP is a 4th year PhD candidate in Bioinformatics & Computational Biology at UNC Chapel Hill studying 3D chromatin structure and gene regulation. At UNC, he is also pursuing a Graduate Certificate in Innovation for the Public Good.
Kassandra (Kass) Fernandez
they/them
PhD Candidate in Engineering Education at the University of Florida, Founding President of the Policy Advocacy in Science and Engineering student organization, and SNAP’s Lead Web Developer
Mikayla Smith-Craven
Mikayla is a recent doctoral graduate from the University of Kansas Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department. Her research focused on improving drug formulation and delivery of life-saving drugs amphotericin B and zidovudine, to increase patient comfort and accessibility to their medications. During her final year as a PhD student, she founded the student-led organization Jayhawks for Science Policy at the University of Kansas, which continues to thrive today. Mikayla is a Kansas native, and recently moved to Michigan for her career, where she hopes to continue to engage with the local community by focusing on her passion for connecting science and scientists to community members.
Miles Arnett
Miles is a 3rd year PhD student in the Bioengineering department at the University of Pennsylvania and the President of the Penn Science Policy and Diplomacy Group (PSPDG). He also loves volleyball, card games, and cheering on his hometown Boston sports teams!
Olivia A. Asher
Olivia A. Asher is a 5th-Year PhD Candidate and Presidential Fellow in the Institute of Bioinformatics at the University of Georgia. Her research focuses on Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF), a group of fungi that live in ~80% of land plants and can be used to promote plant growth. Olivia is also a Department of Energy Computational Science Graduate Alumna. As part of this fellowship, Olivia conducted research at Los Alamos National Laboratory on Mollicutes-Related Endobacteria and on optimizing enzymes for digesting plastics as part of the Bio-Optimized Technologies to keep Thermoplastics out of Landfills and the Environment (BOTTLE™) project in the summer of 2022. In her free time, Olivia has taken on leadership roles in the Coalition of Athens Scientists, University of Georgia’s Graduate Pride organization, the Bioinformatics Graduate Student Association, and the Plant Center Spring Symposium Planning Committee. Public service is one of Olivia’s core values, and she regularly volunteers with local organizations including Science for Georgia, Campus Kitchen, Concrete Jungle, and Sandy Creek Nature Center. Her hobbies include liminal space photography and observing turtles.
Rose Albert
she/her
Rose is a PhD candidate studying neonatal lung disease and serves as VP of the Penn Science Policy and Diplomacy Group. After growing up across the Southeast (MS, TN, AL, GA), her career goal is to provide scientific and policy support to frontline communities most impacted by environmental injustice in the Deep South. She loves maxing out her library card, blasting Waxahatchee, and hanging out with other policy nerds at PSPDG and SNAP!
Sneha Rao
she/her
Sneha is a PhD candidate in the Developmental and Stem Cell Biology program at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) studying how the embryo prepares for implantation in the uterus. Her policy interests center on reproductive health equity and building adaptable frameworks to regulate emerging stem cell and gene editing technologies. She is also passionate about expanding science policy and communication training opportunities for all research trainees to encourage science policy engagement at a variety of levels. As a leader of the Science Policy Group at UCSF, Sneha has helped develop the first Science Policy course offered to basic science PhD students at UCSF, advocate for research funding in Sacramento and Washington, D.C., and organize events on bioethics, community engagement, and science communication.
Youssef El Gharably
I’m a 1st-year Quantum Science and Engineering PhD student at the University of Delaware; I mainly work on quantum material growth techniques and applications in Quantum Computing in the Material Science and Engineering Department at UD. I have been an Egyptian international student in the U.S. since 2022, and my interest in science policy and its influence on the government, society, and the world has always been of great interest to me, especially the recent ongoing national efforts towards Quantum Science and Technologies. I am also the Science Diplomacy Coordinator in UD’s Science Policy group.