Guest Speakers

Guest Speakers from the 2020 Summer Program:

Dr. Chris Bates
A professor at University of California, Santa Barbara Prof. Bates’ research sits at the intersection of chemistry and materials science, leveraging synthetic and physical experimental techniques to design, create, and probe the properties of soft matter. Current endeavors span a variety of topics including block polymer self-assembly, new elastomeric materials, and thin film patterning.
With a Ph.D. in Chemistry, University of Texas at Austin and B.S. in Chemistry, University of Wisconsin - Madison, he graciously helped volunteered to explain polymers and more for Synapsis.

Jonah Rosas
A graduate research assistant at the Department of Biomolecular Science and Engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Jonah got his B.S. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from The John Hopkins University. Under the guidance of Professor Pitenis, Jonah is working to get his Ph.D from University of California, Santa Barbara. Jonah explained the intricacies of molecules at the molecular level and shared his experiences about working in labs.

Leeza Santiago Millan
Pursuing her Phd from Harvard, Leeza got her BSc from the University of North Carolina at Chapel hill in genetics. Her research falls under biological and biomedical sciences and she has worked at NIH, UPenn, Michigan State University and more. For Synapsis, Leeza imparted her expertise about genetics and how medicine can be tailored to a person’s needs.

Christine Junhui Liu
Christine is a PhD student in the Speech and Hearing Bioscience and Technology (SHBT) program at Harvard Medical School. She received her Bachelors of Arts in neuroscience and Bachelors of Music in music theory from Northwestern University, where she investigated experiential factors that influence subcortical auditory development in children and teenagers with Dr. Nina Kraus. Christine is broadly interested in the neural mechanisms of auditory plasticity for her doctoral research. In her free time, she loves spotting dogs on the Esplanade, reading obscure musicology books, and playing the viola with Longwood Symphony Orchestra.

Lisa Wax
With a background in animal science from Cornell University, Lisa has spent over thirty two years of professional multidisciplinary biotech and pharmaceutical experience in small and large companies, primarily in regulatory affairs and research and development. She has worked on programs across a variety of platforms including biologics and small molecules, primarily in the fields of oncology and immunology. Lisa talked about her interactions with the FDA, how she assists in research, and immunotherapy for cancer.


Poojashri Mishra
A professor at Laval University in Quebec, Dr. Mishra’s research is based in neuroscience. With a Ph.D. in neurophysiology from the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, her thesis was about Sporadic Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) which she talked about during our Synapsis session. She also serves as a reviewer and editorial board member for various journals/book series, ensuring research transparency through peer-reviewed, accessible and reproducible science.

Dana Boebinger
A PhD student in the Harvard-MIT program in Speech and Hearing Bioscience and Technology, Dana received her B.S. from Florida State University. She uses fMRI to understand the neural mechanisms that underlie human perception of complex sounds, like speech and music. I am also interested in how auditory perception varies across different populations, as well as whether training can improve these abilities. She has served as Co-Director of Harvard's Science in the News organization, which works to bridge the communication gap between scientists and nonscientists, and has served on the organizing committee for the national ComSciCon workshop, which trains graduate students to be better science communicators.

Jeb Bevers
Dr. Bevers is a Professor of Biology at Yavapai College, specializing in mammalogy, evolutionary biology, biogeography and paleontology. He has conducted field, laboratory, and museum based research in biology in North America, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, and England. With over 17 publications and many years teaching, he answered questions that Synapsis students had about paleontology.

Thomas Wang
Graduate from Harvard Medical School, Dr. Wang is a rising third-year resident physician in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, a Harvard affiliated teaching hospital. With his strong clinical training in cardiology at one of the top internal medicine residency programs in the country, and an outstanding research background in internal medicine, Dr. Wang discussed the intricacies of the heart and his path to becoming a doctor.

Nayiri Khatchadourian
A graduate from UCLA, Nayiri is a second year medical student at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine. With her rich background in research, volunteer work, and intern experience, she was part of a panel that talked about case studies seen in hospitals.

Dustin Harris
Dr. Dustin graduated from UCLA and then went on to complete his residency at the University of Chicago. Currently, he is practicing Emergency Medicine in Los Angeles. In addition to that, he specializes in sports medicine and has publications focused on the effects of diabetes and viral vectors. He was part of the panel that discussed case studies and further talked about his experience as a doctor.