Thanks to everyone who joined us this year at Holy Cross' inaugural WinS Day event!
This March 25, 2017, College of the Holy Cross - inspired by XCHROM and with the club's support - hosted its first-ever annual Women in Science Day!
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We were thrilled to have so many wonderful students and real-life scientists come together for this groundbreaking event.
Keynote SPeaker
Dr. Cheryl Martin, Ph.D. '84 | "With a Background in STEM, You Can Do Anything"
Dr. Martin is a member of the Managing Board at the World Economic Forum where she is responsible for the industry agenda. She joined the Forum in March, 2016 from the consulting firm Harwich Partners, which she launched to work with public and private sector entities to identify critical drivers that would accelerate adoption of new technologies into markets. Previously, Dr. Martin served as the Acting Director of the DOE's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). In addition, she was the Deputy Director for Commercialization at the agency where she developed the Technology-to-Market program, which helps breakthrough energy technologies succeed in the marketplace.
Prior to joining ARPA-E, Dr. Martin was an Executive in Residence with the VC firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, and interim CEO of Renmatix, a start-up company focused on renewable materials. She also spent twenty years with Rohm and Haas Company in roles ranging from technology to business and where, most recently, she had been the General Manager for the Paint and Coatings business in Europe, Middle East, and Africa.
Dr. Martin earned a B.A. in chemistry from Holy Cross and went on to earn a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from MIT. She is a non-resident Fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University. Dr. Martin serves on the board of Enbala, an early stage company focused on making the electric grid more sustainable by harnessing the power of distributed energy.
Holy Cross WinS Day 2017 was made possible by grants from the Holy Cross IGNITE Fund, from the National Science Foundation, and by the generous contributions from the Office of the Dean, the Office of the Science Coordinator, the Department of Biology, Department of Chemistry, Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Department of Physics, and Department of Psychology.
High School Demos
Biology with Prof. Paxson
Title: “Regeneration: Making New Body Parts”
Biology with Prof. McAlister
Title: “Oceans, Climate, and Sea Life”
Chemistry with Prof. Hupp, Prof. Sculimbrene, and Prof. Avila-Bront
Title: “Chemistry All Around Us”
Physics with Prof. Shertzer
Title: “Physics in Everyday Life”
Alumnae Panelists
Karen Mills Alsante Ph.D. ‘89
Senior Director in the GMP Analytics Group at Pfizer Groton. She earned her doctorate in organic chemistry from Duke University in 1994. Dr. Alsante has organized /chaired over 20 scientific conferences and symposia on stress testing, photostability, and impurities; published more than 20 scientific articles, 9 book chapters, and edited 2 books on the topic of pharmaceutical stress testing and impurity isolation.
Helen Boucher M.D. ‘86
Director, Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program; Director, Heart Transplant and Ventricular Assist Device Infectious Diseases Program; Professor of Medicine, Division of Geographic Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Tufts Medical Center. Dr. Boucher has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, and she was most recently appointed to the Presidential Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic-resistant Bacteria.
Meghan Casey ‘15
Medical Assistant at Newton Wellesley Primary Care; in 2016 was a Social Programs Manager at a pediatric HIV clinic (Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative) in Mwanza, Tanzania. Meghan is applying for MPH/MSN programs for fall 2018 entry.
Holly Khachadoorian-Elia M.D. ‘96
Vice Chair for Administration for the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology; Assistant Professor in Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Khachadooria-Elia received her M.D. from Tufts University School of Medicine in 2002. She also earned an MBA in Health Management through a combined program with Tufts University School of Medicine, Northeastern University College of Business Administration, and Brandeis University Heller School for Social Policy and Management.
Sheila Namirembe ‘15
Majoring in chemistry and under the guidance of Prof. Andre Isaacs, Sheila worked on developing metal catalyzed methodology to synthetically useful motifs. Currently, she is pursuing a Ph.D. in organic chemistry at Boston College, working on developing catalytic and enantioselective methodology to synthetically useful Boron containing motifs.
Tannaz Sedghi ’14
Masters of Public Health (MPH) in Chronic Disease Epidemiology from Yale University in 2016. Statistical consultant for Danbury Hospital in Danbury, CT. She is currently completing a one-year post-baccalaureate certificate at the University of Connecticut, with aspirations of becoming a physician-researcher.
Sarah Valente ‘16
Majored in Chemistry and minored in both Art History and Studio Art. Teaches Science, Art, and Religion to 7th and 8th grade boys at Nativity School of Worcester. She continues to highlight the interdisciplinary connections in her work as an educator at Nativity Worcester and as part of the POW! WOW! Worcester Committee.
Catherine Ward ’13
M.S. candidate in biochemical and molecular nutrition at the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, and is completing coursework at Simmons College for the didactic program in dietetics.
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Dr. Payal Patel - Closing Speaker
Dr. Patel’s first science experiment happened in second grade, when her class performed a chlorophyll chromatography lab. Fascinated by that experience, she wondered what other secrets nature hid. Ever since then, Dr. Patel has sought opportunities to spread her love of science. Dr. Patel is the Director for Worcester operations of Science from Scientists, an organization that cultivates a passion for making science approachable to all. Dr. Patel earned her B.S. in Biology at the Ohio State University and her PhD in Biomedical Science from the University of Toledo College of Medicine, followed by postdoctoral training at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
