Dr. Abigail Ross is a primate behavioral ecologist and the Founder and Executive Director of The Dr. Abigail Ross Foundation for Applied Conservation (TDARFAC). She graduated with a B.A. in Anthropology from the University of Wisconsin- Madison, M.A. in Biological Anthropology from Northern Illinois University, and Ph.D. in Evolutionary Anthropology from the University of Toronto, Canada. She has conducted fieldwork and participated in conservation research projects in Costa Rica, Bolivia, Equatorial Guinea, South Africa, and Madagascar. Her research broadly focuses on maternal care, environmental endocrinology, and nutritional ecology in lemurs.
Dr. Laura Tran is an Assistant Editor with The Scientist magazine. She earned a B.S. in Medical Laboratory Science from Saint Louis University (2017) and a Ph.D. in Integrated Biomedical Sciences from Rush University (2023). Her research focused on how circadian rhythms and alcohol affect the gut and resulted in an NIH NRSA F31 grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
However, her passion shifted from research to science communication while interning with the Chicago Council on Science and Technology (C2ST). Her writing covered a broad range of topics (e.g., animals, space, microbiology) for a general audience from 2021-2023, and she was on the organizing committee for ComSciCon Chicago in 2022. Dr. Tran also became a science communication fellow at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in 2023. She believes that effective communication is an invaluable skill in any profession.
While her career trajectory pivoted drastically during graduate school, she hopes it inspires others to set aside self-doubt when trying new experiences and tackling new opportunities. You never know where you’ll end up!
Our fall 2023 Innovators and Motivators podcast hosts Dr. Ashlynn S. Stillwell, an Associate Professor and the Elaine F. and William J. Hall Excellence Faculty Scholar in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Missouri (2006), and an M.S. in Environmental and Water Resources Engineering (2010), M.P.Aff in Public Affairs (2010), and Ph.D. in Civil Engineering (2013) from The University of Texas at Austin. Her previous positions include consulting engineering at Burns & McDonnell (2006-2007) and policy research at the Congressional Research Service (2009).
Dr. Stillwell’s research focuses on creating sustainable water and energy systems in a policy-relevant context. Some of her current projects include examining performance of green storm water infrastructure, as well as the connections between water and electricity generation. Additionally, she is currently working on water, energy, and carbon policy and modeling.
Dr. Stillwell’s research work on the energy-water nexus has resulted in several awards, including the National Science Foundation CAREER award and the UCOWR Early Career Award for Applied Research. Additionally, she was honored with the 2015 Girl Scouts of Central Illinois Woman of Distinction Award in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, the 2018 Rose Award for Teaching Excellence, and the 2018 AEESP Award for Outstanding Teaching in Environmental Engineering and Science. Dr. Stillwell has also been among the List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by their Students at Illinois. Previously, she served as Chair of the Board of Directors for Girl Scouts of Central Illinois and Faith in Place.
E-mail us at awiscommunications@gmail.com if you’re interested in nominating someone to be on the podcast!
Dr. Molina is an Associate Professor in the Division of Community Health Sciences in the School of Public Health, an Associate Director for Community Engaged Research for the Mile Square Health Center, one of the oldest FQHCs and one of the few affiliated with an academic medical center, and the Associate Director for Community Outreach & Engagement at the University of Illinois Cancer Center.
Inequities in cancer have been the primary focus of Dr. Molina’s efforts as a researcher, administrative leader, and community advocate, with a focus on racial/ethnic minorities, rural residents, and LGBTQ communities. Their work leverages an asset-based perspective to address adverse social determinants of health and barriers to care, including costs and transportation, through enriched community-clinical partnerships. They have published 130 publications, many in collaboration with >50+ trainee partners, ranging from high school students through early career faculty members.
Written by Kajal Gupta and edited by Christina Nowicki.
Check out the Spring 2023 Innovators and Motivators Podcast with Dr. Kajal Gupta! (scroll to the bottom of this page to listen now)
Dr. Kajal Gupta discovered her passion for science at a young age. She has always been naturally inquisitive and eager to learn new things. While she decided to become a research scientist early on in her life, picking a specialty was not as obvious. Born and raised in a small town in India, Dr. Gupta received her Ph.D. from one of India’s premier schools in infectious diseases. Her desire to learn more and further her education led her to relocate to the United States, where she chose the University of Notre Dame to pursue a post-doctoral fellowship.
She had no idea what the future held. Immigrating to the United States on a J1 visa made it difficult for her to obtain an independent research position in academia. In her pursuit of a fulfilling academic career, she decided to pursue various post-doctoral fellowships at major U.S. schools such as the University of Notre Dame, the State University of New York, and Rush University Medical Center to keep her visa status while simultaneously climbing up the academic ladder. Despite all the obstacles, Dr. Gupta’s resilient character landed her an independent position, and she is now an Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at Rush University Medical Center. Her research focuses on the development of new immunotherapies for breast and pancreatic cancer. She is well-published and well-funded, and she is well-known for her unwavering dedication to her job and students.
Dr. Gupta’s career at the crossroads of science, technology, human contact, and intellectual problem-solving is both gratifying and fascinating, although she sometimes finds portions of her job difficult due to the unique hurdles of being a woman in science. Her strongest advice to young women is to never compromise and to never let someone tell you that you can’t attain your aspirations. She also suggests compartmentalizing, prioritizing time management, and, most importantly, finding outlets for relaxation.
Dr. Gupta is pushing the edge by participating in efforts that encourage more women to pursue careers in research, in addition to juggling family life and the rigorous demands of her jobs. Dr. Gupta also aims to help her trainees develop the skills needed to allow them to navigate through the uncomfortable situations that arise during the course of their career, for which little formal training exists – imparting wisdom on everything from daily work ethics to dealing with unwelcome comments as part of her casual teaching style.
