Board of Directors

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Associate @ Rosette, LLP

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Associate Vice President of Research and Innovation & Professor @ Department of Biological Sciences
University of North Texas

I am truly grateful and dedicated to the SACNAS community as shown by my 25-year association with the organization – from student member to current President. I am an active researcher and full Professor with a funded laboratory and have extensive experience as a teacher, mentor, and academic administrator. My current position is Associate Vice President of Research and Innovation and previous experience as an Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Students prepared me to work across disciplines and lead STEM initiatives. As a first-generation student from New Mexico, with Chicana and Indigenous roots, I understand the challenges one faces when seeking to persist and broaden participation within the STEM fields. Thus, my passion is helping others reach their goals within the STEM fields, advocating and obtaining resources for our community, and building collaborative STEM programs. When I am not working you can find me with my much-loved dog pack and family.

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Professor of Biology, University of Massachusetts Boston

Adán Colón-Carmona is a Professor of Biology at the University of Massachusetts Boston where he is a plant cell and developmental biologist studying growth control in response to internal and external environmental cues. Dr. Colón-Carmona leads university initiatives that include research education activities geared towards diverse student populations; focus on cancer and cancer disparities research, outreach and training; and address diversity, equity and inclusion within faculty ranks. A SACNAS member since 1989 and a mentor to 100s of undergraduates, graduate students and postdocs in his laboratory, Dr. Colón-Carmona is dedicated to social change in higher education as a vehicle to improving peoples’ lives.

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Office of Research Safety-Director @ The University of Georgia

First generation American and first of my family to graduate from college. Chicano/Zapotec Indian, B.S. U.C. Irvine-Biological Sciences, S.M. M.I.T-Toxicology. Twenty five years working in several disciplines within the field of Environmental Health and Safety. Currently, Research Safety Office-Director at The University of Georgia. Interests: Biosafety, Industrial Hygiene, Health Physics, Environmental Management, STEM education, hiking, biking, history, gaming and paying it forward for the next generation of SACNAS thinkers and leaders.

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Professor and Associate Dean @ Arizona State University

I was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where I went to public schools and university. I received a degree of Licenciado en Matemáticas in 1976 and went on to get a PhD from the University of Chicago. I love nature, animals and people, and enjoy reading, concerts, and the movies. I have been a SACNAS Lifetime Member since 2008 and I have been a judge for poster sessions and travel grants, organized and participated in professional development and in research sessions. I regularly mentor undergraduate and graduate students and am thankful for the opportunity to be in the Board of Directors.

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Associate Professor of Pharmacology @ Howard University College of Medicine

Dr. Dávila-García received her PhD in Biology and Neurosciences from New York University in 1989. She is presently an Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacology. Dr. Dávila-García’s is a Harvard Macy Institute Alumna in Health Professions Education. She has been re-elected for a second term to the Board of Directors of SACNAS, is a member of Executive Committee Neuroscience division and a member of the Mentoring and Career Development Committee for ASPET, and serves as an Executive Leader of the World Women in Neuroscience (WWN). Dr. Dávila-García devotes part of her time to mentoring students and young professionals, and promoting diversity, equity and inclusion at National and International organizations.

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PhD Candidate @ University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

Shaimar was born and raised in Puerto Rico, where she pursed a bachelor’s degree in biology at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus. Following her interest in developmental biology, she moved to West Virginia to pursue a master’s degree in biological science at Marshall University. Although she knew about SACNAS from undergrad, it was not until her master’s studies that she attended her first SACNAS National Conference. When Shaimar started her PhD studies at UT Health San Antonio, she wanted to replicate the sense of community and support that she felt during that conference and therefore led the effort to re-instate a SACNAS chapter at the university, enabling students to attend the national conference free of charge through a grant that the chapter successfully secured, and making the chapter one of the most active organizations on campus. Shaimar is also working with different organizations on initiatives to increase diversity in STEM and to tackle health disparities.

Connect with Ms. González Morales in the SACNAS Member Online Community >>

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