The JSPG staff
JSPG staff are dedicated to the empowerment of students, postdocs, policy fellows, and early career professionals in science policy debate across all disciplines and professions around the world. JSPG staff are leading outreach, partnership development, communication, fundraising, and operations.
Chief Executive Officer &
Managing Publisher |
Adriana Bankston is an advocate for the research enterprise and supporting the next generation STEM workforce. By day, Adriana is a Principal Legislative Analyst at the University of California Office of Federal Governmental Relations, where she serves as an advocate for the university with Congress, the Administration and federal agencies.
In addition to working at UC, Adriana is a Fellow with Advancing Research Impact in Society (ARIS), and a Biomedical Workforce & Policy Research Investigator at the STEM Advocacy Institute (SAi), working on cultivating the next generation workforce through science policy. She is also part of the AAAS Section X Steering Group (Societal Impacts of Science and Engineering). As CEO & Managing Publisher of the Journal of Science Policy & Governance, an internationally recognized, open access, and peer-reviewed policy research publication, Adriana empowers early career scientists, engineers, and policy professionals in publishing their work and participating in science policy debates. Adriana’s work in science policy has appeared in Issues in Science & Technology, Inside Higher Ed and the Union of Concerned Scientists Blog. In 2022, Adriana was awarded the inaugural ARIS Emerging Broader Impacts Leader Award. She also received the Top 20 in 2022 Award For Excellence in Advocacy from The Advocacy Association. Adriana earned her Ph.D. in Biochemistry, Cell and Developmental Biology from Emory University. Connect with Adriana on Twitter, LinkedIn and at https://adrianabankston.com/. |
Director of Communications
and Public Affairs |
André Porter is the Director of Communications and Public Affairs at the Journal of Science Policy & Governance. A science-policy professional, André Porter is a Senior Program Officer at the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine. Prior to his time at NASEM, André managed field operations as the Policy Director for Science is US at the American Association for the Advancement of Science. His professional experience includes working in government and non-governmental organizations to advance policies that impact the U.S. STEM enterprise and increase the use of peer-reviewed scientific evidence in policymaking. André has engaged stakeholders across the U.S. to highlight and amplify their perspectives and facilitate their national and local decision-making participation.
Before his time at AAAS, André was the Science Policy Analyst for the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. At ASBMB, his responsibilities included tracking and leading formal responses to federal policies that directly impacted the ASBMB's members. In addition, he organized advocacy campaigns to increase federal support for scientific agencies such as the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, and the Department of Energy. He has participated in several coalitions, including the Coalition for National Science Funding, the STEM Education Coalition, the Coalition for Health Funding, and NDD united. During his time in the federal government, André worked at the National Science Foundation in the Division of Graduate Education and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Center for Environmental Research. His responsibilities included program management and development for graduate and undergraduate STEM education programs, transdisciplinary capacity building, portfolio evaluation, research dissemination, and increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion for underrepresented groups in STEM. André holds a B.S. and M.S. in biology from Howard University. His passions involve advancing the use of scientific evidence for decision-makers, increasing participation of underrepresented groups in science policy, and the intersection of science policy and diplomacy to facilitate innovation. |
Director of Programs and Events
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Julianne McCall is the Director of Programs and Events at the Journal of Science Policy & Governance. By day, Julianne serves as Co-Director of the California Initiative to Advance Precision Medicine, housed within the Governor's Office of Planning and Research. In that role, she oversees cross-sector health policy working groups and projects, research grantmaking, and state government interagency efforts, which include serving on Governor Newsom's COVID-19 Testing Task Force and as a co-author of the first CA Surgeon General's Report on Adverse Childhood Experiences. Previously, Dr. McCall worked on public health and research policy in the California Senate Office of Research and as a Science and Technology Policy Fellow of the California Council on Science and Technology. Prior to her career in policy, she spent sixteen years in neuroscience research labs, including the Salk Institute, Stanford University, the Cleveland Clinic, and the National Center for Microscopy Imaging Research. She conducted medical research as a Fulbright Fellow in Sweden and as a neuroscientist at the Neuroregeneration Laboratory of Heidelberg University in Germany.
In the community, Dr. McCall teaches graduate courses in Science Policy at UC Riverside and UC Davis, serves on the Editorial Board of the California Journal of Politics and Policy, occasionally directs the International "Brain Bee" Neuroscience Olympiad for high school students across fifty countries, and is the co-founder of TEDxFulbright, the Sacramento Brain Bee, and a chapter of the Sustained Dialogue Campus Network for racial justice. She earned a PhD in Neuroscience from Heidelberg University in Germany, a Master's degree in Biomedical Sciences from UC San Diego, and a Bachelor's degree in Neuroscience from Denison University. |
Podcast Director and Producer
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Aaron Conrado is the Podcast Director and Producer at the Journal of Science Policy and Governance. By day, he is a Program Coordinator and Senior Analyst at Noblis where he supports the Department of Homeland Security in the office of University Programming. He previously served as a Highly Qualified Expert at the Office of Counternarcotics and Stabilization Policy (CN&SP) in the Department of Defense (DoD). In this role, he supported CN&SP through working on peacekeeping policy, including UN reform, improving peacekeeper performance, building partner capacity, and leading DoD efforts toward the 2021 high-level Peacekeeping Ministerial in South Korea. Aaron formerly served as a Science and Technology Policy Fellow through The American Association for the Advancement of Science in the same office at DoD, bringing his scientific training in evidence-based decision making to a novel field.
He also serves as a Lecturer at The Archer Center in Washington DC, where he leads discussion sections for Dr. Joel Swerdlow’s “The Politics of National Memory” class, as well as lectures on the intersection of science and democracy, and how scientific practices and ways of thinking can better inform public policy and good governance. Aaron got his start in science policy when he served as an intern at the Office of Science and Technology Policy, where he worked on policy topics such as STEM education, GMOs, A.I., biomedical research, and biosecurity. After a brief stint moonlighting as a cocktail bartender, he found his way back to policy, and is now seeking further opportunities to support the science policy community. Aaron holds a B.S. in microbiology from The University of Oklahoma, and a Ph.D. in microbiology and molecular biology from The University of Texas at Austin. In his time in graduate school, he co-hosted “They Blinded Me With Science”, a live radio show and podcast where he interviewed UT Austin researchers about their work and passions. He was also an associate editor on the “Sci on the Fly” podcast during his time as a AAAS STP Fellow. |
Director of Outreach & Engagement
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Shweta Ganapati is Director of Outreach & Engagement of the Journal of Science Policy & Governance. She is a science policy professional, education researcher, and trained chemist.
By day, Shweta serves as a Senior Program Analyst in the Canadian public sector working on a broad range of policy priorities and supporting international collaboration in post-secondary research and training in natural sciences and engineering. She entered this role as a Mitacs Canadian Science Policy Fellow (2020-21). As part of this work, she is a member of the Belmont Forum Secretariat, a partnership of international funding organizations to advance transdisciplinary science. In 2020 Shweta was selected for a pilot Science, Technology and Policy (STeP) Fellowship program of the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research, alongside science policy fellows from the USA, Canada, Mexico, and Argentina. As a STeP fellow she is engaged in building science diplomacy capacity and transdisciplinary networks of early career researchers in the Americas. Shweta is passionate about issues affecting STEM trainees at the graduate level and has published a peer-review study titled “Professional Development and Career Preparedness Experiences of STEM PhD Students: Gaps and Avenues for Improvement”. Shweta’s science policy contributions are published in peer-reviewed journals such as PLOS Climate, PLOS ONE, Journal of Chemical Education and in the Canadian Science Policy Magazine. Before joining the Canadian public service, Shweta was Program Manager at the Canadian Science Policy Centre (CSPC) where she led several projects, including spearheading a workshop program for capacity building in science policy and planning CSPC’s annual conferences in 2019 and 2020. Shweta continues to support CSPC in a volunteer capacity as the co-chair of the Evaluation and Reports Committee. From 2017 to 2019, Shweta was a Research Scientist at a Maryland based biotech start-up, SD Nanosciences, developing a low-cost, easy to assemble, surfactant based gonococcal vaccine. Shweta holds a PhD in Organic and Analytical Chemistry from University of Maryland, USA and a Master’s and Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi, India. |
Director of Operations
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Maria Qadri is the Director of Operations at the Journal of Science Policy & Governance. Maria currently serves as the Scientific Communications Postdoctoral Fellow for the Knowledge Transfer and Outreach arm of the NSF-funded Center for the Advancement of STEM Leadership (CASL) based at the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) in Washington, DC. Within CASL and the AAC&U Office of Undergraduate STEM Education, her research centers on capacity building for thought leadership and professional development programming for STEM faculty. In her work, she aims to empower STEM faculty, particularly those at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, to share their authentic narratives and invaluable insights as broadly as possible through both traditional and non-traditional avenues. Before joining AAC&U, Maria worked in science policy and project management consulting at Ripple Effect, and as editorial staff at the American College of Radiology.
Throughout her career, her professional and scholarly work has been committed to accessible and inclusive STEM education, science policy, and science communication. She is an active member of the Association for Women in Science, the National Science Policy Network, and 500 Women Scientists. Qadri earned her Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering and Quantitative Biomedicine in 2018 from Rutgers University as well as an M.S. from the University of Connecticut and a B.S. from the University of Hartford. |
Director of Data Analytics and
Impact Evaluation |
Agnes Varghese is the Director of Data Analytics and Impact Evaluation at the Journal of Science Policy & Governance. By day, she serves as a California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES). At Cal OES, she utilizes a data-driven approach to better understand the needs of California’s counties and cities in the face of emergencies.
In her pursuit of making science more easily accessible to policymakers, content creators, and the general public, Agnes has formerly served in a variety of roles. Through the University of California, Riverside Center for Science to Policy, Agnes was a Science Fellow in Assemblymember Eloise Gomez Reyes’ office. There, she collected and analyzed data identifying the issues primarily impacting constituents in California’s 47th Assembly District. She later continued in this office as a Science Policy Scholar with the National Science Policy Network. At the University of California, Los Angeles Center for Scholars and Storytellers, Agnes was a Junior Fellow who worked on translating child development literature into actionable insights for content creators of children's media. Additionally, before becoming a Fellow with CCST, she worked as a Program Assistant for the organization, investigating the impact of CCST’s initiatives on public discourse and legislation in California. Agnes earned her PhD and Master's in Developmental Psychology at the University of California, Riverside, and undergraduate degrees in Psychology and Broadcast Journalism at the University of Maryland, College Park. You can find some of her science policy work in the Journal of Science Policy & Governance, Policy Insights from the Brain and Behavioral Sciences, and EdSource. |
Media Engagement Director
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Chiungwei Huang is a chemist and science writer. She works for Eastman Chemical Co. as an analytical scientist, where she develops testing methods to diagnose chemicals so that they can be used to improve people's lives. She was a AAAS Mass Media Science and Engineering Fellow in 2022 and reported on science, technology, and health in a way that the average newspaper reader can understand. Chiungwei also guest writes for features and on her blog about social issues of science as a minority, first-generation immigrant, and mother scientist.
At the JSPG, Chiungwei inspires and encourages conversations with new audiences to increase the reach and impact of JSPG’s published work. Chiungwei is passionate about making science accessible and inclusive and as a media-trained scientist, she anticipates growing leadership in science policy to shape the future of science and its impact on humans. Chiungwei holds a PhD in Physical Chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA, and a Master’s and Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from National Chiao-Tung University, Taiwan. |
Editorial Program Manager
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Patience Kiyuka is a Scientist at the Kenya Medical Research Institute, Kenya. Her research interests are in immunology and molecular epidemiology of infectious diseases. Patience is keen on translating research into policy and engaging with policymakers. She is an award-winning science content creator and winner of the prestigious inaugural National Academies Eric Wendy Schmidt award for excellence in science communications. She has also developed community theatre, radio dramas and radio talk shows and used virtual reality technology for science engagement.
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Ambassador Program Manager
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Matt Martin is an Ambassador Program Manager at the Journal of Science Policy & Governance. He is a Master’s student in the Bioethics & Science Policy program at Duke University. His policy interests center around the ethical and legal challenges of health innovation, particularly those associated with emerging biotechnology and technology transfer. He has explored these interests through several projects, most recently with the National Cancer Institute’s Technology Transfer Center, and further advocates for local STEM engagement through his service with Engineers & Scientists Acting Locally (ESAL). Before Duke, he served as a Program Associate at Research!America, a health research advocacy alliance, and was a fellow in the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) for Young Professionals program. He received his B.S. in Chemistry from Furman University.
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Advisors
JSPG advisors provide guidance on strategic outreach, engagement and partnership development for the journal to fulfill its mission of empowering students, postdocs, policy fellows, and early career professionals around the world.
Senior Advisor for International Engagement
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Jean-Christophe (JC) Mauduit is JSPG's Senior Advisor for International Engagement. By day, JC serves as a Lecturer in Science Diplomacy at University College London Department of Science, Technology, Engineering in Public Policy (UCL STEaPP). He was previously a Visiting Scholar at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Washington, D.C. and former Associate Director of the Science Diplomacy Center at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Boston, MA.
Initially trained as a scientist, obtaining a BSc in Physics from Paris XI University, an MSc and a PhD (2007) in Astronomy and Astrophysics from the Paris Observatory, he worked for the French National Center for Scientific Research on the European Space Agency “Gaia” satellite mission and at the California Institute of Technology on the NASA “Spitzer” infrared satellite. His career later took him to South Africa, where he was a Project Officer for the International Astronomical Union, overseeing more than forty international projects aiming to develop astronomy research, education, and outreach in over thirty countries. He has also been involved in many science education and outreach programs and was an Associate Editor on the Journal of Science Policy and Governance (2016-2018). He is the co-founder of the Science Diplomacy Club at the Fletcher School, Tufts University, where he recently obtained a Master of Art in Law and Diplomacy (2017). He is a member of the American Astronomical Society, the International Astronomical Union and AAAS. |
Advisor for International Outreach
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Alessandro Allegra is JSPG's Advisor for International Outreach. By day, Alessandro is a science policy professional and scholar interested in understanding and shaping the interface between science, politics, and society in Europe. He currently works as Policy Officer at the European Commission Science Advice Mechanism, and has professional experience in UK, EU, and international science policy, having worked at UNESCO, the Royal Society of London, and the UK Royal Society of Biology. Coming from an academic background in philosophy of science, Alessandro is completing a PhD in Science, Technology and Society (STS) at University College London (UCL), as part of which he spent a year as Fulbright-Schuman Fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He co-founded the #ScienzaInParlamento science policy campaign in Italy, and served as Secretary of the Association of Italian Scientists in the UK (AISUK).
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Senior Advisor
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Shalin Jyotishi is a senior analyst, writer, and strategist at New America. He is also a Fellow at the World Economic Forum leading Future of Work research and a Forbes contributor covering workforce and education innovation. Shalin’s mission is to solve problems about the workforce, higher education, policy, technological innovation, and their intersections.
Shalin’s expertise has appeared in NPR, Morning Consult, EdSurge, Financial Times, InsideHigherEd, and the Chronicle of Higher Education, and on high-level stages at the United Nations, OECD, World Bank, U.S. National Academies, and the Education Writers Association. Shalin serves or served on advisory boards for the U.S. National Science Foundation, MIT, United Nations, the International Economic Development Council, the American Enterprise Institute, George Washington University’s Institute for Public Policy, and Georgetown University’s Center on Security and Emerging Technology. He was named a 2021 Davos invitee and a University Innovation Fellow by Stanford University. Previously, Shalin was Visiting Scholar at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world’s largest scientific society, where he co-authored a book on science and technology policy (Forthcoming MIT Press). He led teams and programs at the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, North America’s oldest presidential higher education association, to aid university executives with economic and workforce development and R&D innovation. Shalin was CEO of the internationally-acclaimed Journal of Science Policy & Governance and held positions at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the University of Michigan, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Shalin earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia and his M.S. in Public Interest Technology from Arizona State University. Reach him at Twitter, LinkedIn, and ShalinJyotishi.com. |
 Founder
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Max G. Bronstein is the Founder of the Journal of Science Policy & Governance. He holds a Masters in Public Policy and a Graduate Certificate in Science Policy from the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. His undergraduate degrees are in biology and writing composition from Ithaca College. Max has held positions at the National Science Foundation, the U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology, the University of Michigan, the National Institutes of Health, and the Michigan Journal of Public Affairs. Max has significant consulting experience in government affairs and non-profit services with a focus on science and technology policy. He is the former Director of Science Policy at Research!America and and the Chief Advocacy and Science Policy Officer of the EveryLife Foundation for Rare Diseases, and former Senior Director of Health Policy & Corporate Affairs at Audentes Therapeutics. Max currently works as an Assistant Director in the OSTP Health & Life Sciences team.
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