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Leadership

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Katherine Dwyer
President    fa3735@wayne.edu

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Katie is currently a dual-graduate student working towards her Ph.D. in Biological Sciences and M.B.A. She enjoys engaging in scientific outreach and eventually would like to inform and affect policy within the science-policy interface.

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Victoria Kelley
Secretary & Medical Student Liaison
victoria.kelley@wayne.edu

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    Brenna Friday
    Vice-President 
    bfriday@wayne.edu

      Brenna is currently a dual major Ph.D. candidate pursuing degrees in Biological Sciences and Urban Sustainability. Her work centers around understanding the impact of disturbance in aquatic ecosystems or urban communities. Eventually, she hopes to apply her interdisciplinary knowledge in a research position in the science-policy sphere.

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      Emma Fidler
      Membership Coordinator & Undergraduate Student Liaison
      emmafidler@wayne.edu

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        Maggie Lauria Sneideman
        Communications Director & Graduate Student Liaison
         
        maggie.sneideman@wayne.edu

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        Maggie is a current PhD candidate in the Biological Sciences department. She enjoys teaching and getting students involved in science. She is interested in outreach to get the public more engaged and informed about science.  

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        Shreya Desai
        NSPN Liaison
        shreyadesai@wayne.edu

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        Victoria is a second-year medical student at Wayne State University. She is passionate about building healthier communities through direct action and equitable health policy.

        Emma is currently an undergraduate student at Wayne State University pursing a B.S. in Biological Sciences. They are interested in a career in teaching and research and are looking forward to sharing their love of science with the next generation of students!

        Shreya recently received her bachelor's degree from Wayne State University, with a major in neuroscience and a minor in psychology. Shreya was the former President of SciPol-Detroit and one of the cofounders, and is is interested in pursuing a career in medicine.

        Former President (2020-2022): Shreya Desai

        Former Vice President (2021-2022): Katie Dwyer

        Former Secretary (2021-2022): Daed Daher

        Former NSPN Liaison (2021-2022): Lana Grasser

        Former Co-President (2020-2021): Saurav Singh

        Advisors

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        Hilary Marusak, PhD
        Advisor
        hmarusak@med.wayne.edu

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        Dr. Marusak is an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences at Wayne State University. She directs the WSU THINK lab, which focuses on the impact of stress and trauma on brain development in children and adolescents, and childhood anxiety disorders and PTSD.

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        Stacie Clayton, MBA
        Advisor
        stacie.clayton@wayne.edu

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        Stacie is the Director of Community Affairs for Wayne State University.  In this role she serves as the primary contact for individuals, business, community organizations, and local municipalities that seek involvement with the University.  Stacie promotes the urban mission of the University by strengthening, developing and sustaining mutually beneficial partnerships with stakeholders throughout the metropolitan Detroit area.  This includes strategically extending Wayne State’s resources to the community so that Wayne State continues to have a significant impact on the cultural, economic and social life of southeastern Michigan. Stacie also works directly with the University’s leadership, schools and colleges to advance their work internally and externally.

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        Carrie Leach, PhD
        Advisor
        carrieleach@wayne.edu

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        Dr. Leach is an Assistant Professor (Research) at the Institute of Gerontology and Community Engagement Program Manager at the Center for Urban Responses to Environmental Stressors (CURES) at Wayne State University. Dr. Leach has considerable experience in inter-disciplinary research in a variety of settings with expertise in health communication, environmental health literacy, and community-based and aging services delivery and communication. 

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        Dr. Theresa Hastert
        Advisor

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        Dr. Hastert is an Associate Professor in the Department of Oncology within the Wayne State University School of Medicine, and a Scientific Member in the Population Studies and Disparities Research Program at the Karmanos Cancer Institute (KCI). Her research focuses on social, economic, and behavioral factors as predictors of cancer outcomes. Her recent work focuses on cancer survivorship, and on financial and employment outcomes and social needs experienced by cancer survivors, particularly those with the fewest resources. Dr. Hastert is the PI of a Mentored Research Scholar Grant through the American Cancer Society (ACS) examining the economic consequences of cancer and leads a project funded by the Michigan Health Endowment Fund to develop educational resources to connect people with cancer and their caregivers to help them navigate financial issues related to cancer. She completed her PhD in Epidemiology at the University of Washington and Master of Public Policy degree at UCLA, where she worked in the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.

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        Dr. Lori Pile
        Advisor

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        Dr. Pile is a professor in the department of Biological Sciences and associate dean of undergraduate affairs in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Wayne State University. She is currently a co-PI and the co-Program Director of the National Institutes of Health funded Maximizing Access to Research (MARC) at Wayne State University undergraduate student training program. The goal of this scholar program is to build a strong cohort of research-oriented underrepresented minority students who identify as biomedical scientists and will enter Ph.D. or M.D./Ph.D. programs in the biomedical sciences. Dr. Pile is the co-developer and instructor in the undergraduate course Science Advocacy and Public Engagement, which is designed to promote student interaction and engagement with diverse audiences around a variety of science topics.

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        Rochelle Chapman 
        Advisor

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        Rochelle is the Community Engagement Coordinator for the Center for Urban Responses to Environmental Stressors (CURES). Her role is to create bi-directional relationships with community members. To educate and disseminate research in a relatable way to the community.She was added to the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships Team weekly engagement meetings. For the past 19 years she has been involved in grassroots organizing and community outreach which includes free resources (food, clothing, school supplies, etc.) for residents.

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        Dr. Tricia Miranda-Hartsuff
        Advisor

        Dr. Patricia Yvonne Miranda-Hartsuff is a health equity policy scholar with over 18 years of experience with community-based participatory methods and expertise in the measurement of population-based health disparities. She has underscored the importance of the intersectionality of gender, race, class and immigration in evaluating health disparities, and has added the critical assessment of the implementation of health in all policies and sociopolitical context to the discourse on health inequity and as a lens to examine important conditions that affect vulnerable populations.

        Dr. Miranda joined Wayne State University in August 2020 as tenured Associate Professor of Public Health.

        Dr. Hastert is an Associate Professor in the Department of Oncology within the Wayne State University School of Medicine, and a Scientific Member in the Population Studies and Disparities Research Program at the Karmanos Cancer Institute (KCI). Her research focuses on social, economic, and behavioral factors as predictors of cancer outcomes. Her recent work focuses on cancer survivorship, and on financial and employment outcomes and social needs experienced by cancer survivors, particularly those with the fewest resources. Dr. Hastert is the PI of a Mentored Research Scholar Grant through the American Cancer Society (ACS) examining the economic consequences of cancer and leads a project funded by the Michigan Health Endowment Fund to develop educational resources to connect people with cancer and their caregivers to help them navigate financial issues related to cancer. She completed her PhD in Epidemiology at the University of Washington and Master of Public Policy degree at UCLA, where she worked in the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.

        CURRENT MEMBERS
        • Breanna Borg

        • Katie Dwyer

        • Ava Palopoli

        • Lana Ruvolo Grasser

        • Lyndsey Braman

        • Alisa Kishta

        • Clara Zundel

        • Edlira Sako

        • Edlira Sako

        • Hilary Marusak

        • Daed Daher

        • Ayia almufti

        • Savanah Rayyan

        • Colleen Linn

        • Julia Evanski

        • Shreya Desai

        • Jennifer Oprisiu

        • Alicia Arkwright

        • shelley Paulisin

        • Jack Schroeder

        • Prince Iroanya

        • Emma Fidler

        • Amanpreet Bhogal

        • Mackenzie Connell

        • Theresa Hastert

        • Simi Olabode

        • Marc McFarlane

        • Nicole Gadon

        • Alixandria Trombley

        • Dalia Daher

        • Quinten Beggs

        • Lisa Todd

        • Victoria Kelley

        • Jaelen Mayberry

        • Justin Hayes

        • Christine Rainak

        • Brenna Friday

        • Maggie Sneideman

        • Michael Muczynski

        • Azeez Ayantayo

        • Simi Olabode

        • Lisa Maria Aldape

        • Tavie Valdez

        • Alexandra Yorks

        • Anna Avant

        • Zoe McLeroy

        • Saniya Khan

        • Natalie Snider

        • Lisa Todd

        • Victoria Fasakin

        • Siddhi Nair

        • Sean Minton

        • Olivia Kodra

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        BENEFITS OF MEMBERSHIP
         

        Membership is $25/year, which includes a free SciPol-Detroit t-shirt and benefits listed below. Membership dues are paid on Venmo to scipoldetroit@wayne.edu.

        We are also selling SciPol-Detroit stickers and sweatshirts to raise money for a science-advocacy trip to Capitol Hill. Click here to access our order form. 

        PARTICIPATE IN LANSING & DC TRIPS, SMALL GROUP LAWMAKER MEETINGS

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        PRIORITY ACCESS TO EVENTS, NETWORKING, CAREER DEVELOPMENT, & LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

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        NAME LISTED ON WEBSITE & FREE T-SHIRT!

        THANK YOU

        We are very grateful for the generous support of:

        Wayne State University Office of Government and Community Affairs

        Wayne State University College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

        Wayne State University Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences

        Research!America Microgrant

        Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) Science for Public Good Fund

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