
G ra duat e Wom e n i n Sc i e n c e
2020-2021 Board of Officers
Natalia Aponte
President
Graduate Student Dept. of Earth and Environmental Science, Univ. of Pennsylvania
Research area: Environmental microbiology
Current research project: Physiological characterization of sulfur reducing microbes and enrichment of novel microorganisms from hydrothermal vents
Hobbies: Reading, running and going to the beach
Favorite song: Dulcito'e coco - Vicente García
Aakansha nangarlia
Vice President
Aakansha is currently a 4th year Ph.D. student in @drexelbiomed. Her thesis project is focused on drug development and delivery for HIV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 infection. She also graduated with my BS/MS in Biomedical Engineering from Drexel University in 2017, hence making this her 9th year in Philadelphia!
A little bit about her: she was born in India, but she grew up in Northern Virginia before moving to Philadelphia for undergrad/grad school. When she is not in the lab, she loves exploring the city especially the food: trying various cuisines and restaurants around, listening to #podcasts, reading, and spending time with family and friends. Recently, She took up #running during quarantine (she says to prevent her from binging Netflix more than she already does) and she said it ended up being one of the best decisions she has made for herself.
Maura Slocum
Secretary
Ph.D. student, Dept. of Earth and Environmental Science, Univ. of Pennsylvania
Research area: Soil biogeochemistry.
Current research project: Biogeochemical cycling of carbon and carbon storage processes in Anthropogenic Dark Earth (ADE) soils.
Hobbies: Full-time dog mom, practicing yoga to keep my sanity, and giving into my podcast addiction.
Favorite song: There will be time by Mumford & Sons and Baaba Mal.

Jaydee edwards
Treasurer
Jaydee is a first year PhD student in @penn.ees at @uofpenn, where she studies environmental geochemistry - her current work involves researching microplastics in freshwater sources. She just graduated from college this past May with a B.S. in Chemistry (her favorite subject ever) from @johnbrownuniversity and moved to Philly from Texas in August! She loves her family, reading, running, her cat - Mr. Jones, camping, adventures, and of course, science.

Dr. Kayleigh O'Keefe
Public Relations Officer
Kayleigh is a postdoctoral researcher @pennbiology, where she studies the ecology and evolution of infectious diseases. Her current project uses a sample collection of over 70000 (!) ticks collected over the last two decades to investigate the population dynamics of ticks and the pathogens that they spread. Kayleigh is from Long Island, NY, and she received her bachelors from @amherstcollege and her PhD from @uncbiology. During quarantine, Kayleigh started taking online storytelling classes with @storycollider, and she is now trying her hand at (virtual) storytelling open mics! She enjoys trying out new recipes, listening to podcasts, and hanging out with her new cat, Bagel.
Kayleigh also runs our social media so 👋🏻.
Ananth Srinivas
Newsletter Coordinator
Paleontology PhD student @Penn
@BristolPalaeo masters, work with reptilian biomechanics, technology and part-time iOS App Developer.
Sabrine Cypher
Outreach Coordinator, Symposium Planning Leader
Sabrine Cypher claims the world as her hometown since she is an army brat, but sometimes says Pittsburgh, PA since that's where most of her family is. She got her B.S. from Georgia Tech in Chemistry in 2017 and is currently a fourth year pursuing a PhD in Inorganic Chemistry at Penn Chemistry. Her research involves investigation of transition metal catalysts for carbon dioxide functionalization to industrially relevant fuels. In her free time, she enjoys relaxing with a good book, movie, or video game. When there isn't a pandemic raging, she also enjoys axe throwing and travelling the world.
DK Meah
Social events coordinator
DK was born and raised in Houston, Texas but before he moved to Philly, he lived in Erie, PA, where he did his undergraduate work at @gannonu. DK is a masters student in bioethics at Penn, and for his PhD, he wants to study environmental epidemiology. Outside of school, DK enjoys martial arts, being outdoors, and playing music. He also fosters cats, but this pic here is of his own cat, Leo!
Dr. Jane Dmochowski
Faculty Advisor
Dr. Jane Dmochowski is the faculty advisor of GWIS philly and is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania where she teaches in the Earth and Environmental Science Department and mentors undergraduate research students in projects that utilize remote sensing to understand how landscapes change through time. Jane is from California where she earned her bachelors from UCSB and her Ph.D. from Caltech, both in geophysics. When not teaching and advising students, Jane can be found knitting; hanging out with her husband and kids, Oliver and Poppy (ages 15 and 9); cuddling with her furbabies, Darwin and Malcolm; or running, cycling or swimming with one of her triathlon or cycling teammates.