MENTORS
Contact a Mentor
If you have a question about science writing/science communication for the contest (or in general), feel free to fill out our mentor contact form, and a mentor will answer your questions as soon as possible! *Note that the form will be available prior to Dec 5th*
Meet The Mentors!
Ashleen Knutsen
Biology, Engineering
Ashleen spent several years as a biomedical researcher before becoming a freelance science writer. She has written feature articles for several online publications and over 50 scripts for popular science education YouTube channels.
Stuti Chakraborty
Biology
Stuti Chakraborty is currently an intern at Christian Medical College, Vellore. She is also a country representative for Healthcare Information for All; part of the SDG 3) working group for the United Nations Major Group for Children and Youth; a country correspondent for YourCommonwealth; a communications team correspondent for the Global Healthcare Workforce Network and a country correspondent for IHP Global. She recently started working with Global Health Mentorships as a content facilitator and has also been a pioneer member for the launch of the India Chapter of Women in Global Health as a Chapter Officer over the last few months.
Yen Pang Chew (Apple)
Biology, Enviromental Science
Apple is doing her PhD in Plant Molecular Sciences in University of Edinburgh. She works on improving genetic engineering in green micro-algae, the ancestor of all land plants. Being a BAME woman from a developing country, I have overcome many challenges and I now strive to inspire and help young people pursue a career in STEM.
Karli Swenson
Biology, Chemistry
CKarli Swenson is a second year Ph.D. student studying craniofacial development at the University of Colorado | Anschutz Medical Campus. She spends most of her time practicing new biochemical techniques, reading up on developmental biology research and learning how to best communicate scientific literature to a general public. Outside of lab, you can catch her snacking, hiking, and fumbling with a film camera.
Dakodah Terry
Biology, Enviromental Science
It took Dakodah a while to figure out what she wanted to do with her life but once she took her first Chemistry class, she was hooked. She is planning on going to medical school to be an OBGYN and then to go back to school to become an Endocrinologist so that she can help people like herself. She is an avid traveler and she is always looking forward to her next adventure.
Diana Quintana
Engineering
Diana is a college student studying mechanical engineering, with a minor in mathematics. She loves being involved in her school’s Society of Women Engineers chapter volunteering in workshops that introduce, and motivate young girls between the ages of 8- 14 to enter the STEM field. During here free time she is learning about web development, and hopes to continue volunteering with organizations whose mission is to continue to spread the word of STEM. As well as give the tools to the younger generation to feel better prepare to enter a career in the STEM field.
Alison Gilchrist
Biology, Enviromental Science
Alison is a biology PhD candidate at CU Boulder. She studies viruses and evolution, and is also interested in the human immune system and epidemiology. She has written for Scientific American, Massive Science, and Science Buffs and recommended books on NPR's Science Friday. She enjoys reading, hiking, and trying to convince people that vegetarian food can be good too. Connect with her @AlisonAbridged.
Kenith Taukolo
Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics
Kenith is a rising sophomore who is dedicated about improving he lives of others through STEM topics and lessons.
Chinmayi Balusu
Biology
Chinmayi Balusu is an undergraduate student at Columbia University studying the life sciences and medical humanities. She is an experienced student researcher with a background in neurodegenerative diseases, biomedicine, and more and has received many awards for her work, on regional and international levels. Chinmayi is also the founder and CEO of Simply Neuroscience, an international non-profit organization fostering students' interdisciplinary interests in the brain.
Malgorzata Gazda
Biology
Małgorzata Anna Gazda is currently a PostDoc at Laboratoire Dynamique et Organisation des Génomes (Dyogen), Institut de Biologie de l'ENS, CNRS, INSERM, Université PSL, Paris, France. She graduaded for her PhD at CIBIO-InBIO/University of Porto, Portugal, supervised by Miguel Carneiro. Before her PhD in Portugal she graduated from the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland with a MSc thesis about heterozygosity-fitness correlations. After her Masters she gained experience working 2 years in the Museum and Institute of Zoology Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland and Technical University of Munchen, Germany as a research assistant in the project about coevolution of cuckoo and gerygone.
Arpan Dey
Physics, Mathematics
Arpan Dey, aged 15, is a high-school student student from India. He is interested in physical sciences and mathematics. He is also an aviation enthusiast. He wishes to pursue quantum mechanics in the future.
Katharine Coggeshall
Biology, Environmental Science, Chemistry
Katharine Coggeshall is a technical writer/editor at Los Alamos National Lab. Her education is in biology, chemistry, and neuroscience, but she enjoys writing about any field. She is also an advocate for females in STEM.