President,  Carolyn Cho

Carolyn works at Pfizer Research Technology Center in Kendall Square.  Following her training at Memorial University of Newfoundland (Physics BSc, MSc), University of Toronto (Biological Physics PhD), and Princeton University (Molecular Biology post doc), she went on to computer-based modeling at SmithKline Beecham (now GSK), Physiome Sciences (became Predix and now Epix Pharmaceuticals), Biosystemix, and Novartis. She has also helped organize national and local-area scientific meetings.
Carolyn served as the MA AWIS Treasurer from 2007 – 2008 and has been member of AWIS and the Association for Women in Mathematics on-and-off since graduate school, and began participating several years ago in these and other mentorship programs. She discovered the volunteer organization Boston Cares since arriving here, and is involved in various activities through them.

Co-Vice Presidents,  Jessica Tyell & Elona Hart

Jessica received her Bachelor's degree from UC San Diego in Molecular Biology. She then moved to MIT where she studied the mechanics of chromosome segregation with Peter Sorger and then on to a post doctoral fellowship with Donald Ingber studying the mechanisms by which mammalian cells sense mechanical forces and convert these into intracellular signaling. She recently joined the lab of Gaudenz Danuser, which develops computational and experimental techniques for quantitative cell biology as the Sr. Scientist/Lab Manager where she directs the experimental side of the lab. Jessica has been a member of Mass AWIS since soon after its inception and has chaired several workshop committees. Jessica is passionate about designing and fostering both mentoring opportunities and formal training in "soft" skills such as communication and negotiation for women scientists to help move women past the many stumbling blocks to excel in their careers.

Elona is currently Research Associate and Course Director of Advanced Graduate Education at Harvard School of Dental Medicine. Elona received her M.Sc. in Genetics at Moscow State University and a Ph.D. in Cell Biology at University of Oslo. She has been awarded the Dean’s Scholar Award (2008-2010) for her mentoring and biomedical research training efforts among Harvard Dental School’s students and residents. She has been an active member AWIS since 2008.

Treasurer, Natalie Catlett

Natalie is a scientist at Genstruct, Inc., a systems biology company in Cambridge, MA. Natalie earned her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Iowa and performed postdoctoral research at the Torrey Mesa Research Institute (Syngenta) in San Diego and U.C. Berkeley. Natalie initially joined AWIS in San Diego, finding it a valuable resource for advice and inspiration on how to have both a successful science career and a family. Natalie became involved with Mass AWIS when she moved to the Boston area in 2006. She served as chapter administrator in 2008. Natalie lives in Medford with her husband, Ian, and children Charlotte and Gavin.

Administrator, Jessica Sedan

Jessica coordinates Recruitment and Community Outreach for MassBiologics in Boston, MA. Prior to joining MBL, Jess was a science recruiter for Kelly Scientific Resources in NJ and On Assignment Lab Support in MA. She received her BA in Genetics and Microbiology from Rutgers University, where she also developed student orientation programs for the Douglass Project for Rutgers Women in Math, Science, and Engineering.  Jess is strongly committed to creating opportunities for women to realize their full potential in science and technology fields. She has been involved with AWIS since 2007 and served as Administrator for 2009.

Committee Chairs 2010

Mentorship Committee Co-Chairs, Masha Hareli & Karen Page

Masha is an immunologist, consultant and inventor with extensive experience in academia and industry. She has been actively involved in professional organizations promoting women’s careers since 2006. Masha serves as a co-chair of the AWIS mentoring program for the second year, a mentor at both AWIS and HBA, a member of WEST and an executive committee member of several alumni associations. Masha is currently an Associate Scientific Director at Taligen Therapeutics contributing to the discovery and development of protein drugs that modulate the alternative complement pathway to treat inflammatory diseases.

Karen is a cell biologist at Pfizer where she specializes in primary human cell models, in vitro assay development, and new target identification.  She has seventeen years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry.  While working as a research associate at Genetics Institute and Wyeth, she earned her PhD in Pharmacology at Boston University School of Medicine.  She has served as a mentor for two AWIS Mentoring Circles and spearheaded the development of a mentoring program within her department at Pfizer.  Karen is also a very active member of the Junior League of Boston and currently serves as the Director-Elect of Strategic Planning and Management for that organization.  Her volunteer efforts reflect her commitment to the development of women as leaders and the health and education of girls in our community.

Membership Committee Chair, Karen Yee

Karen is presently an Instructor at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School. She obtained a BA degree with Honors in biological science from Dartmouth College and a Ph.D. degree in molecular and cellular biology from University of Washington. Karen first joined AWIS as a graduate student at the University of Washington and chaired the AWIS-Seattle Chapter Scholarship Committee for a two years as well as held a number of positions on the AWIS-Seattle Chapter Board. She was delighted when the AWIS- Boston Area chapter was revived soon after she started her post-doctoral fellowship at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Her scientific interest has revolved around how cells interact with one another as well as with the extracellular matrix in a number of diseases including atherosclerosis, cancer and heart disease. When Karen is not in the lab, she enjoys time with her husband, Lewis, and two young daughters, Sofia and Athena. 

Events Committee Co-Chairs, Lynnelle Pittet & Meredith Bowman

Lynnelle attended Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA where she received her Bachelor’s degree in Biology with a minor in Chemistry.  She then went to Montana State University where she earned her PhD in Veterinary Molecular Biology.  She studied how a prior influenza infection increases susceptibility to a secondary pneumococcal pneumonia.  After graduating, Lynnelle joined the lab of Dr. Joseph Mizgerd for a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard School of Public Health and Boston University School of Medicine.  She studied the role of alveolar macrophage NF-kappaB RelA in initiating the immune response during pneumococcal pneumonia.  She is currently a scientist at Selecta Biosciences where she is working to develop immunomodulatory nanoparticles.  In addition, she is an instructor for the biology department at Simmons College and is pursuing an MBA at Simmons College. Lynnelle has been an active AWIS member since 2007.

Meredith Bowman is currently aStaffing Manager, focusing on Science and Clinical placements with Randstad, the world’s 2nd largest provider of HR solutions and staffing.  In this position, Meredith is responsible for the development of client and talent and relationships within the biotech, pharma, hospital and academic communities in New England.  Meredith started her career with Randstad as a Clinical Account Manager working onsite at Genzyme Corporation and has since grown into her role within HR consulting/staffing. Before joining Randstad, Meredith worked in Clinical Research at GlaxoSmithKline in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and then spent 3 years working in Social Work at a Residential Program in Arlington, MA.  Meredith holds a BS in Psychology and Spanish from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and hopes to return to school to pursue her education (advance degree) in the near future.  In her personal life, Meredith is married and enjoys spending time with her friends and family. Meredith has been an active AWIS member since 2008.

Strategic Alliances and Special Projects Committee Chair, Carol Manahan

 Carol Manahan, Ph.D. is a Scientific Education Manager in the Education Office, NIBR Cambridge.  She joined the Education Office in October 2005 after completing an Association for the Advancement of Science Policy Fellowship at NSF.  She also was a member of the National Academy of Sciences/NRC committee, “Building Bridges: Fostering Talent in the Biomedical Sciences.”  While a postdoctoral researcher, she was one of the founders and is the founding Chair of the National Postdoctoral Association, a group that advocates for positive change in the experience of postdoctoral researchers.  She performed her postdoctoral research in Dictyostelium chemotaxis at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in the laboratory of Peter Devreotes.  She received her PhD in Molecular Cell Biology and Biochemistry at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, in Maurine Linder’s laboratory.  Carol has been a member of AWIS since 2003, first in the Washington DC chapter and now in the Boston chapter.  Carol served as MA AWIS Co-Vice President in 2009.

Get Involved

In addition to our Executive Board, we have many committees looking for new members - including Fundraising, Workshops, and Mentoring.  Volunteering is a great way to meet people and build new skills!

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