Science Policy Ambassadors

JSPG ambassadors

JSPG's ambassadors are undergraduate and graduate students who provide support for promoting the calls for submissions, published work and events, and help further the mission of JSPG, and gain professional development opportunities in science policy.

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Ambassadors (2023)

Niharika Dighe is a PhD student in the Integrated Program in Neuroscience at McGill University. She previously received her BS in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology with Highest Honors from Emory University in 2017 with a minor in Economics. Her current research focuses on the role of the dorsomedial striatum in flexible decision making and how this can be disrupted by cannabis exposure. She is currently the Project Lead for the Immigration Panel with Science and Policy Exchange in Montreal and Conference Programming Committee Member with the Canadian Science Policy Center. She is also passionate about EDI and empowering women and queer folks in STEM and other spheres. Outside of work she enjoys going to concerts, watching pretty sunsets, and cuddling with her cat.

Nina Sara Fraticelli-Guzmánis a current PhD student in Bioengineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She was born and raised in Puerto Rico and after high school, she pursues her undergraduate studies at MIT, from which she graduated in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. She then moved to Atlanta to attend Georgia Tech in Fall 2019. She completed a Master’s in Bioengineering in December 2021 and is now pursuing her PhD in Bioengineering on a project focused on studying the impact of menopause on glaucoma development. At Tech, Nina Sara has been actively involved with the Bioengineering Graduate Association (BGA) as a past co-recruitment and newsletter chair, as well as with the Latino Organization of Graduate Students (LOGRAS), having served as its president in the 2021-2022 school year. Currently, Nina Sara serves as the mechanical engineering graduate student representative for the College of Engineering student advisory board and is president of the Fellowship of Christian Graduate Students (FCGS) on campus.

Ellie Kim is the Laboratory manager for the Life Events Laboratory, a. Research assistant for the Riverside Audiovisual Speech and Audition Laboratory, a Research assistant for the Positive Activities and Well-Being Laboratory, and a Research assistant for the Stanford Psychophysiology Laboratory. She is a recent graduate from the University of California, Riverside and she is planning on applying to graduate school. Ellie is passionate about helping people with chronic pain deal with their identity after their treatment(s).

Harmant Grewal is an aspiring physician with a passion for the arts and a love of learning about different cultures. As a student at Michigan State University, they are pursuing a degree in medicine and are active in the MSU SciComm club. With a strong interest in science communication, Harmant is excited to serve as an ambassador for the Joint Physics and Science Gateway (JPSG) program.

In addition to their studies, Harmant enjoys exploring new cultures and has participated in several cultural programs to broaden their perspective. They are also an avid artist and enjoy creating paintings, sketches, and digital artwork in their free time. Through their involvement with JPSG, Harmant hopes to connect with fellow students who share their passion for science and inspire others to pursue their interests in the field.

Tatenda Murigo is a final year BSc. student at the University of Zimbabwe's Biotechnology and Biochemistry Department. Her Research Project is currently focused on the use of nanotechnology and medicinal plants in drug discovery applications under the Biomolecular Interactions Analyses Lab of Prof. Stanley Mukanganyama's supervision. She serves as one of 3 African Representatives of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Trainee Initiative Leadership Committee as the Communications Officer, coordinating and moderating events, workshops and webinars for scientists across the globe.

She is actively involved in science engagement activities both physically and remotely. She is a Youth Drone Instructor at Zimbabwe Flying Labs where she teaches young students on drone technology and robotics applications in the field of science and technology. She has also served as a Conference and Workshop Organizer of the YouthSTEM2030 #YouthSTEMMatters Research Conference 2022; Visibility STEM Africa For Us, By Us Conference; National Biotechnology Authority of Zimbabwe Fundamentals of Next Generation Sequencing Workshop; and the IUBMB Influencing Science Policy: Widening the Scope of Science Communication Webinar.

She is passionate about youth participation and involvement in policy development and advocating for research inclusion in decision-making processes. She hopes to make science policy an accessible field of interest for young African researchers and scientists globally.

Claire Charpentier Moran is a PhD candidate in Genomics and Bioinformatics at The George Washington University. She is a Kirschstein-NRSA predoctoral fellow and her dissertation research focuses on understanding neural tube formation and neural tube defects. She previously received a BA in Neuroscience from Franklin & Marshall College, where she attended with a STEM scholarship from the Posse Foundation. She is interested in the intersection of science policy and research as well increasing dIversity in science. Claire is currently on the board of Society for Neuroscience- DC Metro Area Chapter where she coordinates the mentoring program and professional development events for scientists in the area. Outside of the lab, she enjoys spending time with her husband and daughter.

Udbhav Ram is a second year, medical physics undergraduate student at mcmaster university who is passionate about research and communication. He is currently a researcher at the university of Alabama at Birmingham, and has collaborated with researchers from Stanford, University of Western Ontario, Mcmaster University and St. Joseph’s Hospital. His research interests include leveraging deep learning and large scale AI systems in healthcare settings. Having presented his research across North America, such as at the Canadian Association of Physicists congress the Canadian Undergraduate Physicists Conference and the American Association of Physicists in Medicine among others.

Carla Patricia Reyes Flores (she/ella) is a PhD candidate in Biomedical Sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine at Chicago. She previously received her B.A.S. in Animal Science at the University of Puerto Rico – Mayagüez Campus. Her current research focuses on investigating epigenetic determinants of resolution and repair of acute lung inflammation and injury with a focus on regulatory T cells (Tregs), in the context of youth and aging. Beyond her academic pursuits, Carla is passionate about science writing and communication, science policy, and advocacy. To this end, she has worked closely with a variety of local and national organizations such as the Northwestern University Science Policy Outreach Taskforce, Chicago Women in STEM Initiative, Chicago Graduate Student Association, Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics & Native Americans in Science, and many others. In her free time, Carla enjoys going to concerts, biking, spending time with her family, and try new restaurants.

Jenna Roper is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Bioengineering with a designated emphasis in Public Policy at the University of California, Riverside. In lab, she develops low-cost, easy-to-use diagnostics for agricultural applications. She is especially interested in making access to agricultural technology more equitable for small-holder farmers to help combat global food insecurity. She serves as Co-Chair of the Science to Policy Student Cabinet at UC Riverside. In S2P, she works to educate civic-minded scientists and engineers on advocating for sound science in the policy making process. She is broadly interested in using science-informed policy to center equity. The call of adventure and love of the outdoors are deeply ingrained in her.

Hree Dharma Santhi Putri Samudra is a passionate and dedicated scholar with a unique background in international relations, having graduated from Universitas Padjadjaran, Indonesia. Her undergraduate research focused on China's health diplomacy in Indonesia, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the crucial role of health in policy-making. Hree's research experience and commitment to bridging the gap between science and policy have led her to pursue an MA in Asian Studies at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, where she will concentrate on nuclear and disarmament security, examining the interplay between scientific advancements and policy decisions.

Despite not being a traditional STEM scholar, Hree's drive to be a bridge-builder between scientists and policy-makers has earned her various prestigious roles. She is a Fellow Member of the Northeast Asia Security Symposium, a program under the Young Professionals in Foreign Policy (YPFP), where she actively contributes to discussions on security and political matters. Additionally, Hree serves as a researcher for the Asia and Oceania Committee of the International Association for Political Science Students (IAPSS) and was selected as a Delegate to the 2023 Youth Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) held at the UN Headquarters in New York.

In her spare time, Hree enjoys traveling and trekking, allowing her to explore the world's diverse cultures and landscapes. Her distinctive background, passion for policy and security, and commitment to fostering dialogue between scientists and policymakers make her an outstanding Ambassador for the Journal of Science Policy and Government.

Toby Satterthwaite is a PhD student in Physics at Stanford University. He previously received an MPhil in Physics from the University of Cambridge and a BA in Physics and Computer Science from Harvard University. His current work focuses on instrumentation and data analysis for observational cosmology research at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. Prior to this, he worked in experimental high energy physics research at the ATLAS Experiment of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN from 2019 to 2022. Outside of the lab, he enjoys spending time outside, having been a member of Harvard and Cambridge's rowing teams, and having spent time on the United States' Under 19 and Under 23 National Rowing Teams.

Chloe Swanson is a recent PhD graduate in Psychology from the University of California, Davis (2023). She previously earned her MA in Psychology from University of California, Davis (2020) and her BS in Psychology and French from University of Wisconsin, Madison (2015). Between her undergraduate and graduate research careers, Chloe held an IRTA postbaccalaureate fellowship at the National Institute of Mental Health. Her graduate research explored how behavior changes in a variety of contexts: during pregnancy, infant rearing, contraceptive treatment, new relationship formation, and social separation. Outside of the lab, you can find Chloe in the classroom teaching undergraduates about the development of sex, gender, and reproductive capacity. It was her research and teaching surrounding reproductive psychobiology that steered her to a career in science policy and advocacy, with a special interest in reproductive healthcare, access, and rights.

Lucy Stowe is a developmental psychology Ph.D. student at the University of California, Davis working in the Mind-Emotion Development Lab. She earned a B.A. in psychology from Boston University in 2020 and worked as a lab manager for two years in the Development of Social Cognition Lab at the University of California, Irvine before starting her graduate program in 2022. She researches the intersection of children’s moral cognition and their emotional development, specifically as it pertains to children’s expectations and their experiences with inequality. She currently conducts research on how children learn to manage their expectations in response to inequality and how this can help improve their emotional outcomes. She hopes that this research can inform socio-emotional education policy for children in school settings, and that it will shed light on potential developmental and emotional markers that make people more or less accepting of inequality. Her research involves working with caregivers and educators at libraries, museums, and in the community to help transmit developmental research findings. Lucy is passionate about communicating science to diverse audiences, fostering mentorship in her community, and coming up with real-world applications to her research.

Richard Tran is a Chemistry Master's Student at University of California - Davis (UC Davis). Richard's research is focused on Bioinorganic Chemistry and investigating soil-metal dynamics using colorimetric chelators as well as using probes to detect reactive oxygen species in biological systems. Richard is the legislative affairs director for UC Davis's Graduate Student Association and founder of Science Says Science Policy Group (SSSPG) focused on advocating initiatives related to alternative transportation, fairness in academia, safety of chemical handling, and more!

Hobbies include: weightlifting, biking, and writing.

Eduardo Zelada is a Master's student in Molecular Biology and Physiology at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium, and he received his Bachelor's in Biology from UPCH in Peru, where he researched plant abiotic stress responses. He is investigating the genetics of seed dormancy imposition and maintenance in cereals. Eduardo hopes his research will enhance the planting value of seed crops under unfavorable conditions. His main interests in policy and advocacy revolve around agricultural biotechnology and sustainable food systems. Eduardo also serves as a member of the Monitoring and Evaluation Support Unit for the World Scout Office. Outside of science, Eduardo enjoys doing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and going for hikes.