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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Inaugural Ambassadors (2022)

Katherine (Kate) Andersh is a PhD candidate in Neuroscience at the University of Rochester. She previously received her BS in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science from the University of Arizona in 2017 with a minor in Psychology. Her current research is focused on the role of inflammation in vision loss and cell death in glaucoma, one of the leading causes of blindness in the world. She is a former Science Communication Training Fellow with the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO). With this fellowship, she was able to communicate with both local and national legislators advocating for the importance of scientific funding as well as equity and inclusion efforts in STEM within the Rochester community. In addition, she has worked with many groups within her institution, including her time as vice president of the Alliance for Diversity in Science and Engineering, to advocate for the needs of underrepresented trainees and participate in larger university initiatives to support equity and inclusion. She is interested in pursuing a career in science policy and continuing to advocate for underrepresented voices in STEM and within the community.

Dan Bui is a final year undergraduate in Modern and Medieval Languages at the University of Cambridge, where he specialises in German, Italian and Portuguese. His academic interests include digital health financing in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as the global pursuit of universal health coverage. He is working as the University of Cambridge coordinator of the Global Health Policy Platform, hosted by University College London, and focused on devising new resilience strategies in health and education provision from a grassroots perspective. He has also worked as a communications coordinator and health policy research assistant at a German-Malagasy NGO, based in Berlin. There, he contributed to several publications, and wrote an op-ed on using financial scaleability to improve global health equity. Dan is passionate about the transparent and accessible communication of science, incorporating non-Western perspectives, as well as integrating seemingly divergent policy domains, such as transportation and population health.

Leila B. Chiddick is an undergraduate student at UCLA applying to the field of Global Studies and Public Health. She is exploring health policy and law as a member of the undergraduate organizations Public Health Initiative: Leaders of Tomorrow (PILOT) and Black Pre-Law Association (BPLA). She is interested in expanding people’s understanding of preventive medicine and their healthcare rights by creating and distributing comprehensive and accessible resources and articles. She was initially drawn to the healthcare sector because of her interest in preventative medicine. She was especially drawn to women’s reproductive health and natal care in underrepresented communities. Much of healthcare’s focus has been on the treatment of different diseases. Although this is important, Leila believes that prevention should be an important factor that all healthcare providers should promote. It can come in many forms and can be catered to someone’s personal life to improve their health, which isn’t always the case with treatments. Prevention can be taught, and through proper, universal education, peoples’ health can improve.

Seerat Kang is a Project Manager in the Life Events Lab at UC Riverside and a research assistant in the Stanford Psychophysiology Laboratory and UC Riverside’s Laboratory of Aging and Neuro-cognitive Imaging. She has received her B.A. in Psychology from UC Riverside and is currently preparing to pursue a PhD in the future. Kang’s current research interests are centered around doctor-patient communication and neuro-cognitive aging. Her research policy interests include healthcare transcommunication and urban environmental sustainability. The Los Angeles native enjoys photography, hiking, beach days, and indie publishing/gallery curation in her free time.

Bipin Kumar Badri Narayanan is a Master's student in Computer Science at the University of New Brunswick (UNB) in Canada. Before coming to Canada, he has studied in Germany and India. He currently does research on Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics. Beyond his research, he has broad policy interests including climate policy, post secondary policy, AI ethics and interactions between AI and Privacy. His hobbies include traveling, hiking, and swimming. He has completed his Bachelors in Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering from Anna University, India. Bipin has also served as Executive at Large on the Toronto Science Policy Network (TSPN). He has also served as Vice president on the UNB Graduate Student Association. He sits on the National Executive of the Canadian Federation of Students. Bipin is a passionate graduate student advocate and hopes to follow a career path in public policy to continue addressing issues in technology discrimination and privacy.

Hannah LeBlanc is a PhD student in Biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her research focuses on microbial RNA biology and regulation of gene expression in bacteria. They graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a B.A. in Biochemistry, where she researched bacterial RNA-protein interactions. Hannah serves as an Associate Editor at the MIT Science Policy Review, and is interested in policy and advocacy around healthcare access and housing. Outside of science, they enjoy rowing, weightlifting, and playing hockey.

Gabriel Medianero is a Panamanian psychology student pursuing an Undergraduate Degree in Psychology at the Universidad de Panamá. Throughout his studies in psychology, Gabriel has obtained expertise in substance use and addictions, particularly through his training in prevention and intervention programs and his clinical rotation at the National Mental Health Institute in Panamá. His areas of clinical and research interest include health psychology and its relationship to environmental and social factors. He has occupied different leadership positions at the national and international levels, including Vice President of the Students´ Psychological Association of the Universidad de Panamá, Student Representative at the Psychology Faculty Council, member of the Students’ Workgroup of the Interamerican Psychological Society (SIP) and Student Representative of his home country at the Global Student Psychological Committee (GSPC). Gabriel uses these leadership platforms to empower and support other trainees in his home country to get involved in psychological research and contribute to the scholarly literature of their region. His work has also been recognized by the national and international organizations, including the Secretaria Nacional de Ciencias, Tecnología e Innovación (SENACYT), Ministerio de Educación in Panamá and the American Psychological Association (APA) in the United States. He recently received the APA’s Division of International Psychology 2022 Student International Research Award.

Nabila Riaz is a PhD student in Mary Lou Guerinot's lab at Dartmouth College. Her research focuses on understanding the regulation of iron homeostasis and abiotic stress adaptations in plants. Nabila hopes her research can clarify the molecular mechanisms regulating Fe homeostasis to improve global crop production. In addition, she seeks to enhance scientific training, communication, and engagement to excite people about the science around them. At Dartmouth, Nabila is an EE Just Graduate Student Fellow to mentor first-year graduate and undergraduate fellows in the underrepresented minorities (URMs) community. In addition, she is an Ambassador for the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) program. Presently, Nabila works as a Local science partner at the American Geophysical Union to collaborate with NH legislative office to discuss how the impacts of climate change are growing in frequency and why we need science to lead the way. Her policy interests lie mainly at the intersection of science communication and policy. Outside Lab, Nabila enjoys photography, kayaking, and hiking.

Aashna Sahni is a Master’s student at University College London studying Neuroscience and has received her Bachelor’s in science from Emory University in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology. She is currently working as a research associate at the Francis Crick Institute in the Kohl lab investigating the effect of change in internal states on negative parental behaviour which can possibly help people suffering from postpartum depression. Aashna is also working as a podcast director and writer for UCL’s science magazine, Kinesis. She hopes to keep working towards science advocacy and making science accessible to all.