SNEHA DAS

I work as a Program Officer at Research Manitoba, a provincial funding agency dedicated to advancing Manitoba's research and innovation ecosystem. In this role, I lead the Innovation Proof-of-Concept grant program, which supports the commercialization of discoveries and innovations emerging from academic institutions and industries. 

Before that, I was a Research Development Manager at the Center for Social and Behavioral Science (CSBS), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). I facilitated CSBS’s strategic interdisciplinary research initiatives, provided proposal development support, and managed the internal seed grant program. 

My background includes a PhD in microbiology and extensive undergraduate teaching experience. During graduate school, I interned with the Office of Proposal Development at UIUC, where I worked on several large-scale interdisciplinary proposals and managed the weekly research funding opportunities newsletter. This experience was crucial in my career exploration journey and learning about non-academic career paths for researchers.

Science communication is not just a hobby but a genuine passion. I write articles on various scientific topics for different science communication platforms in my free time. I discovered my interest in communicating science as a teaching assistant for an undergraduate molecular genetics discussion course. Since then, I have actively participated in science communication outreach and crafted articles to foster science literacy. I aspire to make science accessible to everyone. Explore my science communication portfolio and learn more about my work! 

Outside work, I enjoy spending time with my husband and puppy, traveling and exploring nature, collecting fridge magnets, and playing board games.