Joyce Stamm, Ph.D. (she/hers)

Program Director, National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institutes of Health

Bio: I’m a program director in the Division of Training, Workforce Development, and Diversity at NIGMS, where I primarily manage grants focused on training undergraduate and graduate students to pursue biomedical research careers. Before joining NIGMS, I was a professor of biology at the University of Evansville, where I led undergraduate research projects in Drosophila genetics and developmental biology, examining topics including cell growth control and epigenetic regulation.

Alex Vazquez-Cortes (He/Him)

Research Assistant

Oregon Health & Science University

I graduated with my Bachelor’s of Science in Public Health Studies: Pre-Clinical Health Sciences and on the Pre-Medicine track at PSU. I am also an EXITO alum. My research interests include pediatric anxiety in the perioperative period and qualitative analysis of photovoice methodology. Currently, I am a research assistant at OHSU and am working on obtaining my respiratory therapy license.

Connie Tran (she/her/hers )

Graduating Spring 2024 from

 Portland State University

Undergraduate Research Assistant at 

Oregon Health & Sciences University

Hello! My name is Connie Tran and I am graduating in Spring 2024 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology, and a minor in Psychology and Neuroscience. I am also on the pre-medicine track. During my undergraduate, I was paired with the Trunkey Center at OHSU, where I had the opportunity to complete research with Dr. Cydni Williams regarding sleep in children with traumatic brain injuries. In the future, I hope to pursue an MD-PhD in neuroscience! 

Bahar Madani (she/her)

Junior, majoring in Public Health

Portland State University

I focus on utilizing retrospective data to assess neuropsychological outcomes in patients with Super Refractory Status Epilepticus (SRSE) admitted to the ICU. Concurrently, I secure informed consent from EMU patients for their participation in the Seizure Dog Study project.

I am continuing my research and spending time with my family and friends as much as possible. 

Co-Presenter: Paola Lopez Duarte, Ph.D. (She/Her/Ella)

Associate Professor

Environmental Science and Management

Portland State University

Bio: I am a  marine biologist and college professor who enjoys combining their research interests with a passion for teaching to support students in their journey to becoming scientists. My research focuses on the behavior and ecology of invertebrates and fish, especially the factors controlling larval dispersal from and recruitment to adult habitats. My research team combines field and laboratory approaches and cultivates a supportive, collaborative environment where we lift each other.  

Co-Presenter: Shandee Dixon, Ph.D. (she/her)

Associate Scientist, Oregon Health & Science University

Career Mentor, CIMR RLC Coordinator, CIMR Research Training Curriculum, 

CIMR Faculty Lead

Portland State University

Bio: Shandee is an Associate Scientist at the Oregon Clinical & Translational Research Institute (OCTRI) at OHSU and the Research Thread Director for the Wy'east Post-Baccalaureate Pathway at OHSU’s Northwest Native American Center of Excellence. Since joining the Center for Internship, Mentoring, and Research (CIMR) team in 2021, she has taken on roles as Co-Investigator of BUILD EXITO and URISE, faculty lead for summer research experiences, and coordinator for student research placements. Shandee earned her Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology from the University of Michigan and completed postdoctoral work at UCLA, UC Irvine, and as an OHSU Diversity and Inclusion in Research Fellow. As a first-generation college student, she is passionate about advocating for underrepresented groups in STEM. 

Co-Presenter: Becky Miller, M.S. Ed (she/they)

Research Associate & URISE Program Manager

Regional Research Institute - Social Work

Portland State University

Bio: Becky is a Research Assistant in the School of Social Work and a CIMR Program Manager of URISE Scholars working towards advanced degrees in the biomedical workforce. Working specifically on coping self-efficacy intervention research to support young people transitioning from foster care to independent living has given Becky a breadth of experience managing social science research projects, developing data collection protocols, analyzing qualitative and quantitative data, and testing innovative research methods. As a program manager, Becky thrives on supporting students in their research placements and helps people tap into their community resources and inherent personal knowledge to make sound decisions moving forward in their education.  

Co-Presenter: Karla Horgan Arévalo, M.A. (she/her/ella)

Mentoring Academy Coordinator

Portland State University

Bio: Karla’s training is as a Clinical Mental Health Therapist and has a professional background in education. Karla’s passion for connecting folks from underrepresented communities to educational opportunities has allowed her to work on various grants and scholarship programs that supported DACA recipients and undocumented youth in navigating higher education. As a first-generation immigrant and college graduate, Karla understands the importance of building trauma-informed and strengths-based practices to foster empowerment for folks who hold historically marginalized identities.

Moderator: Annie Lindgren, Ph.D. (She/Her)

Interim Associate Vice President for Research

Portland State University

Bio: Annie Lindgren is the Interim Associate Vice President for Research and Director of the Center for Life in Extreme Environments at Portland State University. Dr. Lindgren's research focuses on studying evolution, biodiversity, and adaptation of deep-sea cephalopods, particularly squids living in the cold dark waters off the coast of Oregon. Dr. Lindgren also teaches and mentors students and works with CLEE faculty to expand informal STEM education opportunities for the public through avenues including PSU and PDX Women in Science Events, OMSI and K-12 programs. You can often find Dr. Lindgren and her animals at"Meet a Scientist" events or science pubs at OMSI. 

Faviola Robles Saenz (Ella/She/Her)

Ph.D. Student, Community Psychology

Portland State University

Bio: Faviola Robles Saenz is a Ph.D. student in the Applied Psychology program at Portland State University, working with Dr. Greg Townley. As the daughter of Mexican immigrants, Faviola leverages her and her family’s lived experiences to understand the psychological well-being of Latino immigrant families. Broadly, her research aims to examine the interplay between Latinos' environments—home, work, and community—and their mental health, utilizing critical perspectives alongside Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) and Participatory Action Research (PAR) methods. In recent years, Faviola has dedicated her research efforts to working with Latino immigrant farmworkers in Oregon, understanding how labor laws and global issues impact their working conditions and psychological well-being.

Dilys Vela Diaz, Ph.D. (She/Her)

McNair Program Administrator

Portland State University

Bio: Dilys has been involved in two main research areas: uncovering the evolutionary relationships among tropical tree species in the genus Calophyllum, and exploring the mechanisms behind diversity patterns across tropical and temperate tree forest communities. These days, however, in her role as Program Administrator of the McNair Program, she is dedicated to supporting PSU students from underrepresented communities as they prepare for postgraduate education.

Jazzmine Waugh, Ph.D. (She/Her)

Research Associate

Center for Internship, Mentoring, and Research

Portland State University

Bio: Jazzmine Waugh is a Research Associate with the Center for Internship, Mentoring, and Research. She recently defended her PhD in Biology: Data Science from the University of Washington. Her research involves data-driven approaches to investigating human impacts on the environment and the diversity of people who participate in science.

Nacho de la Higuera, Ph.D. (He/Him) 

Research Associate

Extreme Virus Laboratory

Portland State University 

Bio: Dr. de la Higuera (Nacho) is a biologist interested in virus evolution. Nacho joined the eXtreme Virus Lab (XVL) at PSU in 2016, after completing his PhD at the Autonomous University of Madrid. His research in the XVL focuses mainly on the origin of cruciviruses, a novel type of virus found in diverse ecosystems around the globe, that is a chimera between DNA and RNA viruses.

Moderator: Tong Zhang, Ph.D. (she/her/tā)

Assistant Dean for Inclusive Innovation in the Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science

Portland State University

Bio: Tong T. Zhang is the Assistant Dean for Inclusive Innovation at the Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science at Portland State University. She has expertise in nonprofit and education leadership and working with organizations to create meaningful and sustained social impact across the education continuum. She was previously the executive director of Oregon MESA, an invention-based equity program based at PSU, and she was also a founding staff member and COO of Thread, an organization providing wrap-around support to high school students in Baltimore city. Prior to her work in non-profit education, she worked on developing immunotherapy approaches for gynecologic cancers. She has a Ph.D. in Immunology from The Johns Hopkins University-School of Medicine and a B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Washington.

Anita Gooding, Ph.D. (She/Her)

Assistant Professor 

University of Portland

Bio: I am an Assistant Professor at the University of Portland. Broadly speaking, my research agenda centers issues of equity and inclusion within social work education. My research has explored the concept 'use of self' from the perspectives of BIPOC social work practicum instructors, and the impacts of racialization and racism on students and social work professionals.

Hyuny Clark-Shim, Ph.D. (Gue-Korean gender-neutral term meaning "that person")

Research Assistant Professor

School of Social Work & Regional Research Institute

Portland State University

Bio: Through my research and scholarship, I hope to learn and share how to decolonize and embrace multiple ways of knowing, especially in educational settings.  My current projects include evaluation work for BUILD EXITO mentoring program and for reemployment initiatives sponsored by Oregon Employment Department.

Jazzmine Waugh, Ph.D. (She/Her)

Research Associate

Center for Internship, Mentoring, and Research

Portland State University

Bio: Jazzmine Waugh is a Research Associate with the Center for Internship, Mentoring, and Research. She recently defended her PhD in Biology: Data Science from the University of Washington. Her research involves data-driven approaches to investigating human impacts on the environment and the diversity of people who participate in science.

Aaron Golub, Ph.D. (He/Him) 

Professor of Urban Studies & Planning - Urban & Public Affairs

Portland State University

Bio: Dr. Golub is a professor in the Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning at Portland State University (PSU). He has twenty-five years of experience working in the advocacy and academic arenas on issues of transportation equity and justice. His research focuses on who wins and loses from transportation plans and investments, how we measure those disparities, and how academic research can assist communities to advocate for more equitable transportation systems.