Dr. Yang is co-founder and CEO of Lectenz Bio. She received her B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Virginia and her Ph.D. in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale University. She serves as chair of the AWIS-SD Leadership Network and Website committees.

Sarah Narehood is a Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics PhD candidate at UC San Diego co-advised by Dr. Mark Herzik and Dr. Akif Tezcan. She grew up in Pittsburgh, PA and attended Emory University where she earned a B.S. in Chemistry. She is a facilities co-chair for WIST and PR co-chair for the AWIS SD chapter.

Stephanie Pinedo, MS, works in Biosurveillance for the Operational Infectious Diseases Directorate at the Naval Health Research Center (NHRC). She earned her M.S. and B.S. in Chemistry from San Diego State University. She is a volunteer for the WIST and part of the Events Committee for the AWIS SD chapter.

Megan Keene is a cell and molecular biology PhD student at SDSU and UCSD, studying ovarian cancer in Dr Carrie House’s lab. She has a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry with a biomedical ethics minor from USD where she studied malate dehydrogenase and allosteric drug design in Dr Ellis Bell’s lab.

Federica Klaus received her M.D. and Ph.D. from the University of Zurich in Switzerland and conducted her residency in psychiatry at the Psychiatric University Hospital of Zurich. After a postdoctoral fellowship funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation at UCSD, she became Director of Research in the Center for Empathy and Compassion Training in Medical Education at the Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion at UCSD.

Ivy Tam is the lab manager in the lab of Dr. Deepshika Ramanan at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, where she studies maternal-offspring immunity. She graduated from the University of California, San Diego with a Bachelor’s of Science in Microbiology and completed her Masters in Biology in the lab of Dr. Varykina Thackray where she investigated the role of hormones in the gut microbiome. In addition to being the chair of PR, Publications, and Registration Committee at WIST, she also serves as co-chair for PR at AWIS-SD chapter.

Abby is Senior Membership + Components Manager at Association for Women in Science. With over a decade of dedicated experience in member-based organizations and non-profits, she has cultivated a passion for building meaningful connections, problem-solving, and driving impactful programming. Throughout her journey, she has been committed to fostering leadership among volunteers and local leaders and believes in the power of collaboration and community engagement.

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Debolina Sarkar is a Ph.D. candidate in Biochemistry at the University of California, San Diego, where she is developing and optimizing novel RNA therapeutics. Originally from India, she earned her Bachelor of Pharmacy degree with a focus on drug delivery systems for small-molecule therapeutics before moving to the U.S. for graduate studies. Beyond her research, Debolina is passionate about scientific outreach and community building. She has served as an Operations Team Lead for Nucleate San Diego’s flagship Activator program, supporting early-stage biotech startups by connecting them with industry leaders. She currently co-chairs the Sponsorship Committee for WIST 2025.

Dr. Davis is a Scientist 4 in the Genetic Medicine Technology group at Genentech (formerly Poseida Therapeutics). She received her B.S. and M.S. in Biology at California State University, San Bernardino. She completed her PhD exploring novel RNA therapies and non-viral delivery at Irell & Manella Graduate School of Biological Sciences at the Beckman Research Institute at City of Hope. She is a co-chair of the AWIS-SD Corporate Sponsorship Committee.

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Dr. Lavalle earned her PhD in Biomedical Sciences from UCSD and is a postdoctoral fellow at the Salk Institute, studying genetic drivers of autoimmune disorders and cancers. She has held various leadership positions within the Endocrine Society and AWIS to empower individuals in STEM by promoting inclusion, mentorship, and opportunities.

Dr. Narayanan is a Lead Process Analytical Scientist in Poseida Therapeutics (A member of Roche group). She holds a PhD in T-cell Biology/Immunology from Medical University of Vienna, Austria. She is passionate about CMC in Cell and Gene Therapy modality and loves serving at selected biotech forums including AWIS and Biocom as a Mentor, Co-Chair and in Board Leadership role.

Mairead Bretney Solano is a customer experience and operations professional with a background in biology and education. She holds a B.S. from Hawaii Pacific University and an M.Ed. from the University of San Diego. She is a facilities co-chair for WIST and part of the events committee for the AWIS SD chapter.

Georgina To’a Salazar, PhD, works to create innovative solutions in science communication, research, and policy. With a BS in chemical engineering from Stanford University and a PhD in biomedical engineering from the University of California, Irvine, Dr. Salazar has fulfilled her dream of exploring the world, having taken research positions in Singapore and Japan before returning to the United States to focus on science communication. She currently works as a freelance scientific writer through her small business, Redwood Scientific Communications, LLC.

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Christa Park, PhD, PMP, LSSBB, works in corporate development at The Scripps Research Institute’s Office of Technology Development. She earned her PhD in Immunology from UMass Medical School, an MS in Biology from California State University San Marcos, and a BS from UC San Diego, bridging science, strategy, and industry collaboration.

Dr. Ledezma earned her PhD in Immunology from George Washington University. She transitioned as a postdoc from the Nanoengineering department at UCSD to the Cellular and Molecular Medicine Department to study macrophage biology in pancreatic cancer with Dr. Christopher Glass. She served as a mentor and Director of the LADYS-Program Charlottesville and is now excited to help advocate for STEM with the AWIS SD Chapter. Currently, she is serving in the Publications Committee at WIST.

Ellie is an M.S. student in Computational Social Science at UC San Diego with an M.A. in Applied Linguistics. She has 4+ years of teaching ESL, EFL, Russian, and composition, and have prepped students for TOEFL, IELTS, and GRE. Her research spans NLP, corpus linguistics, and language assessment.

Dr. Mekhla Singhania earned her PhD in Free Radicals and Radiation Oncology from the University of Iowa, where she led translational and mechanism-based oncology studies investigating therapeutic combinations in non-small cell lung cancer. In addition to her scientific work, Dr. Singhania has held leadership roles in various student and professional organizations. She is passionate about mentoring the next generation of scientists, advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM, and supporting ESL education for underprivileged school children.

Daniela Requena, M.S., is an Associate Scientist at iXCells Biotechnologies, where she is part of the stem cell differentiation team focused on iPSC-based disease modeling. She earned both her B.S. and M.S. in Biochemistry from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso in Chile, where she studied dopamine neurotransmission and homeostasis. She serves as a Sponsorship Committee Co-Chair for WIST and the AWIS-SD Corporate Sponsorship Committee, as well as a Member-at-Large on the Executive Board.

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Dr. Kayal Madhivanan is a Senior Scientist at Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, where she leads preclinical research focused on developing neuro-targeted siRNA therapies. She earned her PhD in Cell Biology from Purdue University, where her research explored novel mechanisms and therapeutic opportunities for cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. Alongside her scientific achievements, she has actively served in leadership capacities within student and professional organizations, with a passion for guiding future scientists. She also serves on the Corporate Sponsorship Committee for AWIS-SD, helping to strengthen partnerships and fund our organization's efforts.