The Academy community represents one of the most dynamic and diverse groups of STEM professionals and science enthusiasts and supporters around the world, with more than 16,000 Members across 100 countries.
Published May 1, 2016
By Diana Friedman
Academy Members are building STEM careers, overcoming the challenges associated with cutting-edge research, putting science into practice, influencing policy, and supporting future generations of science leaders.
We invite you to get to know your fellow Academy Members and learn about new opportunities to interact and get involved!
Dmitry Storcheus
Dmitry Storcheus, MS, is an engineer at Google Research NY, where he specializes in the research and implementation of dimensionality reduction.
What initially drew you to the field of machine learning?
I was drawn to the field because of the remarkable power of machine learning tools to learn and forecast patterns in data. I remember an article from 2011 about scientists from Stanford who were able to use machine learning to study breast cancer with their algorithm (called C-Path) using microscopic images. They reported that the algorithm was more accurate than human doctors in predicting survival, which was amazing for me at that time. The success of machine learning combined with its mathematical rigor inspired me to conduct research in this field.
What are some of the biggest challenges in machine learning right now?
The first one is regarding supervised versus unsupervised methods. While unsupervised methods have greater flexibility, the supervised ones can be fine-tuned to achieve better accuracy, so there is a tradeoff. Recently I published a paper coauthored with Mehryar Mohri and Afshin Rostamizadeh that makes a point for using supervised dimensionality reduction, since it has favorable learning guarantees. Particularly, we show that the generalization error of a hypothesis class that includes learning a linear combination of kernels that define projection jointly with a classifier has a favorable bound.
The second challenge is “Can kernel machines match deep neural networks in accuracy?” So far we have seen great progress by wonderful scientists, such as Fei Sha and Le Song, who were able to use kernel approximations to match deep neural networks in accuracy on speech datasets and provide theoretical justification of their results. This work is still in progress, and I think it will be raising widespread discussions in the next couple of years.
Expand Your Network!
Inspired by the passion, expertise, and unique perspectives of your fellow Members? Tap in to the incredible network the Academy offers through our mentoring programs.
We’re thrilled to offer you access to a new opportunity to get involved and interact: Member-to-Member Mentoring. The program matches you with a mentor—or a mentee—who is a fellow STEM professional and Academy Member. Depending upon your experience level and needs, you can request a mentor, become a mentor, or both.
Interested in mentoring students? We also offer incredible mentorship opportunities through the Academy’s Global STEM Alliance, which delivers education programs that can help you develop your teaching and communication skills, while paying it forward to the next generation of scientific innovators.
The Academy community represents one of the most dynamic and diverse groups of STEM professionals and science enthusiasts and supporters around the world, with more than 16,000 Members across 100 countries.
Published May 1, 2016
By Diana Friedman
Academy Members are building STEM careers, overcoming the challenges associated with cutting-edge research, putting science into practice, influencing policy, and supporting future generations of science leaders.
We invite you to get to know your fellow Academy Members and learn about new opportunities to interact and get involved!
Devika Varma
Devika Varma is a PhD candidate in Biomedical Engineering at The City College of New York. Her thesis focuses on developing novel, plant-based materials for intervertebral disc repair and regeneration. In short, she is working to figure out a non-invasive treatment for back pain. In her spare time, Devika mentors students by participating in the Academy’s mentoring programs.
Who has been your biggest science inspiration?
My grandfather, K.K.R Varma, has been my biggest science inspiration. He would always encourage me to read science fiction authors and push his collection of Popular Mechanics my way. Even at the age of 90 he is learning new languages like Urdu and Arabic. He also continues to brush up on his Calculus. This constant thirst for knowledge is what continues to inspire me. I am very lucky to have him in my life.
What’s a fun fact about you that might surprise your friends or colleagues?
I strongly believe in the power of human “poop.” Human excreta is packed with nutrients and has tons of untapped energy which I believe can be manipulated to power our future and increase our agricultural productivity, organically. Resourceful sanitation can create biofuel and compost from dry toilets. Sounds like a pipe dream, but organizations such as SOIL in Haiti are setting great examples.
What is the most important benefit you feel the Academy’s Global STEM Alliance provides?
The programming at the Global STEM Alliance has been very impressive in terms of how impactful they are for young professionals in STEM and how genuine their outreach efforts have been. Their mentoring programs such as the Afterschool STEM Mentoring Program and its “Food Connection” project have really helped me tap into the inner mentor in me.
Expand Your Network!
Inspired by the passion, expertise, and unique perspectives of your fellow Members? Tap in to the incredible network the Academy offers through our mentoring programs.
We’re thrilled to offer you access to a new opportunity to get involved and interact: Member-to-Member Mentoring. The program matches you with a mentor—or a mentee—who is a fellow STEM professional and Academy Member. Depending upon your experience level and needs, you can request a mentor, become a mentor, or both.
Interested in mentoring students? We also offer incredible mentorship opportunities through the Academy’s Global STEM Alliance, which delivers education programs that can help you develop your teaching and communication skills, while paying it forward to the next generation of scientific innovators. The Junior Academy and 1000 Girls, 1000 Futures are recruiting new mentors this June.
The Academy community represents one of the most dynamic and diverse groups of STEM professionals and science enthusiasts and supporters around the world, with more than 16,000 Members across 100 countries.
Published May 1, 2016
By Diana Friedman
Academy Members are building STEM careers, overcoming the challenges associated with cutting-edge research, putting science into practice, influencing policy, and supporting future generations of science leaders.
We invite you to get to know your fellow Academy Members and learn about new opportunities to interact and get involved!
Yana Zorina
Yana Zorina, PhD, is currently working as a cell biologist at Acorda Therapeutics, a biotechnology company located just north of New York City that focuses on developing treatments for multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injury.
What’s the best piece of career advice you’ve received?
When I was in college, I entered the pre-med program with the assumption that if I was interested in science and biology, then the most logical place to go was medical school. My pre-med advisor at the time told me that science comes in three stages: scientists discover new knowledge, teachers disseminate the new knowledge, and doctors apply it to patients. At that point I realized that I wanted to be at the root of the process, and these words have stayed with me until the present day.
Did you ever compete in a science fair as a kid?
During high school I participated in the Intel Science Talent Search program and became a semi-finalist after performing a screen for iron-regulated promoters in mycobacterium tuberculosis. The Intel competition served as my springboard into the amazing world of scientific research.
Do you have any hobbies outside of science?
Ever since childhood I have always enjoyed intricate craft making. I particularly love making flowers out of fine beads. The patience and attention to detail required in such projects directly translates to the projects I now work on in the lab. The morphological beauty of neuronal and glial cells speaks directly to the artist in me, and I greatly enjoy imaging these cells via confocal microscopy.
Expand Your Network!
Inspired by the passion, expertise, and unique perspectives of your fellow Members? Tap in to the incredible network the Academy offers through our mentoring programs.
We’re thrilled to offer you access to a new opportunity to get involved and interact: Member-to-Member Mentoring. The program matches you with a mentor—or a mentee—who is a fellow STEM professional and Academy Member. Depending upon your experience level and needs, you can request a mentor, become a mentor, or both.
Interested in mentoring students? We also offer incredible mentorship opportunities through the Academy’s Global STEM Alliance, which delivers education programs that can help you develop your teaching and communication skills, while paying it forward to the next generation of scientific innovators.
The Academy community represents one of the most dynamic and diverse groups of STEM professionals and science enthusiasts and supporters around the world, with more than 16,000 Members across 100 countries.
Published May 1, 2016
By Diana Friedman
The Academy community represents one of the most dynamic and diverse groups of STEM professionals and science enthusiasts and supporters around the world. Academy members are building STEM careers, overcoming the challenges associated with cutting-edge research, putting science into practice, influencing policy and supporting future generations of science leaders.
Fredda Weinberg
Fredda Weinberg, a graduate of the original Junior Academy program, returned to the Academy as a member while pursuing her Master’s in Information Systems. A programmer for Reliable Health Systems, Fredda is passionate about “connecting the needy to sources of security, justice, and sustenance.”
How did you get hooked on a STEM career? The ability to reproduce results was enough to convert me from superstitious to scientific.
Was there someone who helped encourage you to pursue a career in STEM? My chemistry teacher at Sheepshead Bay High School [in Brooklyn, NY], in 1977, showed me my first programming language and suggested that one day, it could be a career.
What has been one of the most rewarding moments of your career? There’s nothing like having your work profiled on the local evening news. A little technology, leveraged properly, changed countless lives for kids who previously did not imagine they had a future.
Expand Your Network!
Inspired by the passion, expertise, and unique perspectives of your fellow Members? Tap in to the incredible network the Academy offers through our mentoring programs.
We’re thrilled to offer you access to a new opportunity to get involved and interact: Member-to-Member Mentoring. The program matches you with a mentor—or a mentee—who is a fellow STEM professional and Academy Member. Depending upon your experience level and needs, you can request a mentor, become a mentor, or both.
Interested in mentoring students? We also offer incredible mentorship opportunities through the Academy’s Global STEM Alliance, which delivers education programs that can help you develop your teaching and communication skills, while paying it forward to the next generation of scientific innovators.
The Academy community represents one of the most dynamic and diverse groups of STEM professionals and science enthusiasts and supporters around the world, with more than 16,000 Members across 100 countries.
Published May 1, 2016
By Diana Friedman
Academy Members are building STEM careers, overcoming the challenges associated with cutting-edge research, putting science into practice, influencing policy, and supporting future generations of science leaders.
We invite you to get to know your fellow Academy Members and learn about new opportunities to interact and get involved!
Juan A. Gallego
Award-winning scientist and multi-instrument musician Juan A. Gallego, MD, MS, is an assistant professor of Psychiatry at the Hofstra North Shore LIJ School of Medicine. He lives in Brooklyn, NY, where he can also be heard playing bass, guitar, drums, and more.
What project(s) are you currently working on?
I am performing lumbar punctures (spinal taps) in patients with schizophrenia and in healthy volunteers with the goal of studying the role of microRNAs in cerebrospinal fluid as prognostic and diagnostic biomarkers.
What is one of the biggest challenges you’re facing right now?
Recruiting subjects is always a challenge, especially for a study like mine. Therefore, recruiting enough subjects to be able to conduct meaningful and relevant analysis is my biggest challenge.
What is one thing you love to do outside the lab?
I’ve been playing music since age 16. I play the electric bass, guitar, some piano and drums, and I perform regularly in the New York area. I typically play with bands but also write some of my own music. I play regularly with a few artists such as Nilko Andreas and LaMar NYC (world music) and La Cumbiamba eNeYe (Colombian music). I also fly to perform in my home country, Colombia, with Estados Alterados (synth pop).
Expand Your Network!
Inspired by the passion, expertise, and unique perspectives of your fellow Members? Tap in to the incredible network the Academy offers through our mentoring programs.
We’re thrilled to offer you access to a new opportunity to get involved and interact: Member-to-Member Mentoring. The program matches you with a mentor—or a mentee—who is a fellow STEM professional and Academy Member. Depending upon your experience level and needs, you can request a mentor, become a mentor, or both.
Interested in mentoring students? We also offer incredible mentorship opportunities through the Academy’s Global STEM Alliance, which delivers education programs that can help you develop your teaching and communication skills, while paying it forward to the next generation of scientific innovators.
The Academy community represents one of the most dynamic and diverse groups of STEM professionals and science enthusiasts and supporters around the world, with more than 16,000 Members across 100 countries.
Published May 1, 2016
By Diana Friedman
Academy Members are building STEM careers, overcoming the challenges associated with cutting-edge research, putting science into practice, influencing policy, and supporting future generations of science leaders.
We invite you to get to know your fellow Academy Members and learn about new opportunities to interact and get involved.
Mark Jackson
After spending a number of years working in theoretical physics at an array of prestigious institutions, including the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and the Lorentz Institute for Theoretical Physics, Mark Jackson, PhD, decided to change things up a bit in his career. In 2014, he harnessed his entrepreneurial spirit, years of experience as a researcher, and love of sharing science with the public to found Fiat Physica, a crowd funding platform specifically for physics, astronomy, and space exploration.
What is one of the biggest challenges you’re facing right now?
When I began Fiat Physica I believed that the challenge would be to convince the public that science was worth supporting. This turned out not to be a problem: the public loves science! The problem is that most researchers do a very poor job of communicating their work to the public. Much of Fiat Physica’s focus is now educating researchers on how to market their projects in a way that engages the public.
Who has been your biggest science inspiration?
Linus Pauling: the only person to have won two unshared Nobel Prizes (Chemistry and Peace), social and peace activist, and fellow Oregonian.
What’s the best piece of career advice you’ve received?
If you don’t want your supervisor’s job, you have the wrong job.
Expand Your Network!
Inspired by the passion, expertise, and unique perspectives of your fellow Members? Tap in to the incredible network the Academy offers through our mentoring programs.
We’re thrilled to offer you access to a new opportunity to get involved and interact: Member-to-Member Mentoring. The program matches you with a mentor—or a mentee—who is a fellow STEM professional and Academy Member. Depending upon your experience level and needs, you can request a mentor, become a mentor, or both.
Interested in mentoring students? We also offer incredible mentorship opportunities through the Academy’s Global STEM Alliance, which delivers education programs that can help you develop your teaching and communication skills, while paying it forward to the next generation of scientific innovators.
The Academy community represents one of the most dynamic and diverse groups of STEM professionals and science enthusiasts and supporters around the world, with more than 16,000 Members across 100 countries.
Published May 1, 2016
By Diana Friedman
Academy Members are building STEM careers, overcoming the challenges associated with cutting-edge research, putting science into practice, influencing policy, and supporting future generations of science leaders.
We invite you to get to know your fellow Academy Members and learn about new opportunities to interact and get involved!
Mirna Mihovilovic Skanata
Mirna Mihovilovic Skanata, PhD, got her degree in Physics from Brown University in Rhode Island. Originally hailing from the beautiful coastal city of Split, Croatia, she is currently based in New York City working as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at New York University and is relishing in the excitement that her adopted home has to offer.
What projects are you currently working on?
I am working on understanding how neural circuits process information—you can say I am “cracking neural circuits.” The human nervous system is extremely complex, so it is paradoxically more profitable to ask these big questions using small model organisms. My research project envisions developing a specialized microscope that can image neural activity in a freely behaving fruit fly larva, “reading its mind” as it makes decisions crucial to its survival.
What is one of the biggest challenges you’re facing right now?
My research now involves developing new technologies and utilizing electronics and optics in a novel way to build a very sophisticated microscope. It is a challenge, but also a great adventure.
How do you like to keep busy when you’re not in the lab?
Since I moved to New York City, I started ice-skating at Chelsea Piers and at the Central Park Wollman Rink, I sail on the Hudson, tap-dance in the West Village, and skateboard in the many parks in the City. I have one activity for each season! I find it exciting to start from scratch and pick up a new skill.
Expand Your Network!
Inspired by the passion, expertise, and unique perspectives of your fellow Members? Tap in to the incredible network the Academy offers through our mentoring programs.
We’re thrilled to offer you access to a new opportunity to get involved and interact: Member-to-Member Mentoring. The program matches you with a mentor—or a mentee—who is a fellow STEM professional and Academy Member. Depending upon your experience level and needs, you can request a mentor, become a mentor, or both.
Interested in mentoring students? We also offer incredible mentorship opportunities through the Academy’s Global STEM Alliance, which delivers education programs that can help you develop your teaching and communication skills, while paying it forward to the next generation of scientific innovators.
Learn how Yalemtsehay Mekonnen, PhD, has taken the lead in academia in Ethiopia and in motivating young female scientists.
Published October 1, 2015
By Diana Friedman
Yalemtsehay Mekonnen, PhD
Not only was Academy member Yalemtsehay Mekonnen, PhD, among the first graduates from Addis Ababa University. She went on to become the first female professor in Ethiopia. Her impressive research and publishing track record in cell biology and human physiology focuses specifically on analyzing medicinal plants used in communities across Ethiopia to evaluate whether or not they could help to treat infectious disease such as malaria, or non-communicable diseases such as hypertension and diabetes. Dr. Mekonnen’s interest in medicinal plants also extends to working toward their safe and sustainable use, and advocating for the preservation of plant biodiversity in Ethiopia and beyond.
Her work has not only helped move the field of science forward, it has also allowed her to travel and, importantly, to help motivate younger women to pursue careers in the sciences.
What helped inspire you to pursue a career in the sciences?
I was always fascinated by discoveries in the natural sciences. The great scientists of the 18th and 19th century are my inspirations. In particular, Joseph Priestley, Louis Pasteur and Marie Curie. I admire them because of their curious minds, intelligence and their great contribution to the knowledge of science. I am always attentive of women scientists who excel and I also wish that many women come up as Nobel Prize winners like Marie Curie, the first woman ever to have broken the barriers of neglect of women in the 19th century.
What’s the best piece of career advice you’ve received?
I learned from those senior to me, instructors and from those who made it in their professions, that I have to be purposeful and hold on to my ideals and convictions to be fruitful in my career.
What has been one of the most rewarding moments of your career?
In science rewards do not come overnight, it is a continuous effort. The most rewarding moment of my career is the motivating feeling I get when my scientific experiment works right and when my work is published in reputable scientific journals.
What is one of the biggest challenges you’re facing right now?
My challenge now is that I always want to do more and I never have enough time!
What is one of your hobbies (outside of science)?
I like to travel and see new places and get to know people of different backgrounds and cultures.
Do you want to be part of our inclusive and impactful network? Join today!
Postdoctoral associate Robert S. Jansen doesn’t just love his work; he also loves running marathons.
Published September 23, 2015
By Diana Friedman
Robert S. Jansen
Like many scientists working in New York and around the US, Academy member Robert Jansen is originally from outside the US. In his case, home is just over the Atlantic Ocean in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. But today he’s a postdoctoral associate in medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College.
What is the focus of your current research?
I am working to identify the function of essential genes of Mycobacterium tuberculosis by untargeted metabolomics. Knowing the function of these essential genes allows us to screen for inhibitors, which might ultimately serve as drugs for the treatment of tuberculosis.
What has been one of the most rewarding moments of your career?
Seeing that my fundamental lab work on a transporter was translated into an experimental therapy for patients suffering from a hereditary calcification disorder.
What is one of the biggest challenges you’re facing in your career right now?
Making the transition from postdoc to an independent position.
Tell us about something you like to do outside the lab.
I run about one marathon per year – Chicago is up in November. My best marathon experience was New York; it was my first marathon and my first visit to the USA. Americans are much better at cheering than the Dutch. I started running shorter distances when I was young, about 10. I only started running longer distances during my PhD because I joined my hospital’s team in the annual “dam to dam run” in Amsterdam.
If you’re a scientist from outside the US who is navigating visa and immigration issues, be sure to check out our guide for scientists.
Do you want to be part of our inclusive and impactful network? Join today!
Marina Picciotto, PhD, shares five ways to help young scientists more effectively use their mentoring experience to reach their career goals.
Published May 1, 2015
By Marina Picciotto, PhD
Students from Dr. Picciotto’s lab.
Academy member Marina Picciotto, PhD, is the Charles B. G. Murphy Professor of Psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine, where she studies the effect of nicotine on the brain. Her leadership is evidenced not only by her research but also by the numerous recognitions she has received, including being elected to the National Academy of Medicine for Leadership and the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers for Exceptional Research.
Dr. Picciotto offers five tips on how to be a more effective mentor.
Assess Needs and Set Goals from the Start
This is the most fundamental part of the mentoring experience and needs to be established at the outset. Mentoring is a professional relationship between two people, with the goal of career and personal development. While fostering good mentorship is the responsibility of the students’ institution, Dr. Picciotto stresses that trainees are often on their own, and accountable for identifying those areas they struggle with the most. “Each trainee has their own set of skills and background,” she says, “so it’s important that young scientists do some honest self-reflection to help them recognize their own training needs and identify what is or isn’t provided in the environment.”
She adds that while some students have gaps in technical knowledge, others might benefit from improving time management or interpersonal skills. In this context, Dr. Picciotto urges young scientists to use Individual Development Plans (IDPs) to help set clear career objectives and identify professional development needs. Greater self-awareness can help trainees define goals that build new strengths, find an appropriate mentor, and obtain the most value from the mentoring relationship.
Make Your Experience Work to Your Benefit
Marina Picciotto, PhD
During her training years, Dr. Picciotto’s mentors encouraged her to freely explore scientific questions and directions, recognizing that “learning by doing” is often an essential part of professional growth. Naturally this resulted in setbacks that were important teachable moments. “I made a lot of mistakes, but this allowed me to shape my own vision of what my career could be, and was a source of motivation to stay in science.”
Dr. Picciotto likes to stress to junior scientists that finding that elusive tenure track position in academia shouldn’t be the sole purpose of scientific mentoring. Equipping trainees with the tools they need to achieve their own goals–which could just as easily be outside traditional academic paths–is a more effective mentoring goal.
There are many career paths where a STEM degree is in demand, and mentors can help young scientists to consider alternative career paths in publishing, industry, finance or law. This may include sharing information about the training needed to transition into non-academic positions, and introducing trainees to professionals currently working in those alternative fields. “Laboratory heads should help trainees to realize how a [STEM] PhD can be useful in today’s world,” says Dr. Picciotto.
One Size Does NOT Fit All. Find Your Fit!
Going back to fundamentals, Dr. Picciotto underscores that at its essence, mentoring is a professional relationship between two people, so there is no such thing as a “one size fits all” mentoring style. The independence she was encouraged to have as a trainee scientist may not work for those who would profit from closer supervision. Moreover, she emphasizes that there is no absolute definition of what constitutes mentoring. “Mentoring can be about simply providing information, or it may call for more extensive support and providing of opportunities.” In a research setting, the laboratory’s head is usually the main reference for guidance and advice.
However, Dr. Picciotto notes that mentorship can come from many different sources. Formal courses or workshops at the trainee’s institution, as well as in professional organizations, can complement training. These include the so-called “soft skills” such as effective writing, public speaking, or preparing for job interviews. “Trainees need many different things [to succeed in their careers] and no one mentor can provide them all.” Since there is no “cookie-cutter approach” for professional success, students who have access to a variety of training resources, and a network of mentors with different styles and professional backgrounds, will benefit from a far richer learning experience.
Stay in it for the Long Haul
Dr. Picciotto recognizes that mentorship is equally important at every career stage. “[Mentoring] shouldn’t stop after the training years but ideally should continue, as there are things we do not know and challenges at all career levels.” Continued mentorship is particularly important for women and other underrepresented groups in the sciences, to develop the contacts they need to reach leadership positions. Dr. Picciotto’s mentorship helped her build leadership skills at an advanced stage in her career. “As Chair of the Program Committee for the Society for Neuroscience, I was faced with a complex decision about the annual meeting’s program.”
Her mentor advised seeking input from a working group of experts in neuroscience, and subsequent discussions with the group helped her work through an effective solution. “I learned many things from this [experience], including the necessity of listening to all constituencies and seeking consensus.”
Think of Your Mentor as an Extended Family Member
Effective mentorship not only imparts knowledge, but also provides sponsorship. “Sponsoring trainees by writing letters of support when applying for jobs or funding, requires a degree of familiarity that only develops by working closely with someone,” says Dr. Picciotto. “The commitment to caring about a young professionals’ career development can be rewarding. Scientific discovery is one type of satisfaction, but watching those who work with you succeed on their own and knowing that your mentorship helps trainees succeed, is an even greater satisfaction.”
Dr. Picciotto believes that the most effective form of mentoring is what’s known as “adoption” which involves working closely with a trainee to ensure that he/she is exposed to opportunities. “Mentorship and adoption is the only way to provide everyone with the same opportunities to succeed. The scientific community is far richer when everyone is part of it.”
Learn more about educational and mentoring opportunities available through the Academy.
