Christine Mirzayan Science & Technology Policy

1998 Fellow Biographies

		Daniel Barkley (TRB) is a PhD Candidate in Economics at the University of California, Irvine. He received his master’s degree in Operations Research at London School of Economics. His B.S., from UCLA, is in Mechanical Engineering. He is a social science researcher and has several interests in science and technology policy. He hopes his experience at the Academy will broaden his experience in public policy and social science research. Most importantly, he seeks to have his research published and believes he will learn many relevant skills to accomplish this goal.
		Merrie Cartwright (CGER/OSB) recently received her PhD from the University of Maine, Orono, where she majored in Zoology. She has a master’s degree in Zoology also from the University of Maine as well as a degree in Biological Sciences/Marine Biology from Florida Institute of Technology. She is very involved in professional society activities related to her studies such as membership in the American Fisheries Society, the Estuarine Research Federation, and the Ecological Society of America. Her future career goal is to be an ecologist or resource manager.
		Angela Chuang (CPSMA) is a PhD candidate at the University of California at Berkeley where she is majoring in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences in the field of Power Systems. She obtained a master's and B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at Berkeley, and completed a Management of Technology certificate in 1998 under the Haas School of Business and College of Engineering also at Berkeley. Her research interests include power systems planning, optimization, and game theory. She hopes to broaden her perspectives in interdisciplinary fields towards a career in technology management and energy consulting.
		Austin Frakt (OCGA) received the PhD Electrical Engineering with a minor in Mathematics at MIT in 1999. He has a master's in Electrical Engineering from MIT as well as a bachelor's degree in Applied Engineering and Physics from Cornell University. His doctoral focus was stochastic signal and image processing with an emphasis on multiscale statistical modeling. He has worked at Hughes Aircraft Company in El Segundo, California and at Alphatech in Burlington, Massachusetts. Dr. Frakt now works at Abt Associates Inc. in Cambridge, MA. His current interests include statistical and econometric analysis of health care policy and the development of models from complex cross-sectional and panel data sets. Contact by email.
		Sekou Franklin (CBASSE-PD) is a PhD student in Black Politics and American Government at Howard University. He holds a master’s in Political Science from San Francisco State University as well as a B.S. in Political Science from Santa Clara University. He has a particular interest in science and technology policy because of its potential to improve upon the life of poor children and inter-city residents. His career goal is to teach at the college or university level.
		Eileen Gebbie (RRC) is a PhD Candidate in Sociology Science Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She received her bachelor’s degree in General Studies from Portland State University. She is particularly interested in neonatal medicine academically and practically with the intention of working on her nurse-midwifing degree. She believes her experience at the academy will only enhance her future policy directives. Contact by email.
		Amanda Greene (IOM) is PhD Candidate in Nursing with a minor in Health Policy/Health Services Research at the University of Maryland. She received her master’s and bachelor’s degree in nursing from UNC at Chapel Hill and also holds a Post Master’s Certificate in Nursing Administration from Duke University. She is a family nurse practitioner (FNP). She has over 18 years of experience in Nursing and her long-term goal is to work with a multidisciplinary research team in primary health care services including development, implementation, and evaluation of programs and policy. Contact by email.
		Erin Hannan (OPUS) is a Master’s Candidate in Marine Policy from the University Delaware. She received her B.A. in Biology from University of California at Santa Cruz. Most recently she worked on an NSF funded research project entitled Identity and Environmental Action. Her research goals are to find a bridge between policy and science and to effectively communicate her research to people at all levels. Her future plans include pursuing a PhD in Marine Conservation Biology or Natural Resource Management with the goal of teaching at the University level. Contact by email.
		Shelly Hargrave Martinez (OSEP) received her PhD in Developmental Psychology at the University of Michigan, with a concentration in Neuropsychology. She received her B.S. in Psychology from Drexel University. While in graduate school, she has realized the importance of funding for research. Her OSEP project was an evaluation of different funding options for graduate students. Her dissertation examined possible reasons why older children are experiencing coordination problems. Shelly recently accepted a position as Assistant Vice Provost for Graduate Studies at the University of Michigan. She will be leading two of the Dean's core initiatives: revising fellowship packages (which directly relates to her NRC internship project) and providing additional health insurance benefits to graduate students. Contact by email.
		Jennifer Harris (CBASSE) is a MD/PhD Candidate in the Medical Scholars Program at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana where she is specializing in medical sociology. She has a master’s degree in International Health from the Johns Hopkins University-School of Public Health. She also has a B.A. in Anthropology from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. She is particularly interested in learning how to apply the sociological and public health skills she has learned to issues related to the health and well-being of women and adolescent girls. Her long-term career goal is to work on adolescent health care issues.
		Michael Hostetler (PD) is a Post -Doctoral Fellow at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and has done post-doc work at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in Chemistry. He holds a PhD in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley and received his B.S. in Chemistry from MIT. He is going to Law School this fall at Duke. He plans to study issues at the interface of science, technology, and law. He is particularly interested in working on the GPRA project in the Policy Division.
		Priscilla Johnson (NAE) is a PhD Candidate at Purdue University specializing in Civil Infrastructure Systems. She has her master’s in Civil Engineering from Purdue University as well as a bachelor’s degree in Communications Studies with a specialization in mass media from New York University. She is interested in promoting public awareness and understanding of scientific issues and believes her experience at NAE will help her achieve this. Contact by email.
		Lesley Lydell (OSEP-PD) is PhD Candidate in Higher Education Policy and Administration with a minor in Policy Analysis at the University of Minnesota and holds a bachelor’s degree in English and Philosophy from Northwestern University. Recently she has been working on an NSF-sponsored grant to examine outcomes for graduate students across the disciplines. She hopes to become a researcher and policy analyst at the national level focusing on post secondary education issues.
		Kara Manning (ONPI) is a PhD Candidate in Molecular Genetics at Oregon Health Sciences University. Her bachelor’s degree is in Biology with a minor in Philosophy from Oregon State University. She is active in committees such as Greenteam and X-PAC (X-generation political action committee). She is very interested in communicating scientific findings to the public and media and hopes her fellowship will help her learn more about careers in science communication. Contact by email.
		Micah Milton (IOM) is a Master’s Candidate in Behavioral Sciences at Emory University Rollins School of Public Health. She has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Florida State University. She has research experience in the behavioral aspects of disease epidemiology. She is particularly interested in disease prevention issues and research in cardiovascular disease and cancer. Contact by email.
		Christine Mirzayan was an fellow in the second year of the fellowship program working for the Commission on Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Education (CSMEE). She had recently finished her Ph.D. from the University of California in San Francisco and had been selected as a 1998 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Congressional fellow. At UCSF, her research focused on the development of the vertebrate nervous system. In particular, she analyzed the molecular mechanism by which diffusible cues guide the migration of developing axons. While at UCSF, she found that although she enjoyed basic research, she was increasingly interested in the role that science plays in society and looked forward to a career that would allow her to utilize her scientific knowledge to address the political and social problems facing our nation. Tragically, she was unable to reach that goal when she lost her life during the last week of the fellowship program. The National Academy of Sciences has named the fellowship program in her honor.
		Cassandra (BA) is a PhD candidate in Animal Science at the University of Maryland College Park. She has a master’s and B.S. degree in Animal Science also from the University of Maryland. She is interested in production agriculture and sustainable agriculture policy issues. Once she receives her degree she would like to work in an area that allows her to develop policies that enhance agriculture both domestically and globally.
		Kaatrick Ramasubramanian (CETS) is Master’s Candidate in Telecommunications and Computers at the George Washington University. His bachelor’s degree is in Electronics and Communications Engineering from Bharathiar University in India. He is particularly interested in aerospace programs and technology. He hopes his experience with CETS will expand his knowledge in Telecommunications.
		James Sexton (CBASSE) is a PhD candidate in Social Psychology with a minor in Statistics at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. He has a master’s degree in Social Psychology from UMass as well as a bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary studies from Miami University. He is interested in science and technology policy because he has been involved in research for many years. He would like to explore the practical applications of research to answer vital social issues.
		Katharine Shobe (CBASSE) is a PhD Candidate in Psychology at Yale University. She has a master’s degree in Psychology also from Yale University as well as a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Her dissertation looks at illusory memory, and she plans on studying traumatic memory as a pot-doc. She plans to pursue a career as a non-academic researcher. After receiving her PhD she would like to have a research position in government or law enforcement. Contact by email.
		Lisa Vandmark (NSRC) is a PhD Candidate in Geography at Rutgers University. She received her master’s in Human Ecology from the Free University of Brussels Belgium as well as a B.S. in Nursing from Rutgers. She has a background in Psychiatric Nursing and Human Ecology and is pursuing a career in Environmental Restoration. She is particularly interested in environmental education and public understanding of environmental issues. Contact by email.
		Janet Whitley (CLS) is a PhD Candidate in Pharmacology with a minor in Physiology at Indiana University and holds a B.A. in Economics from Temple University. Her research in neuropharmacology increased her interest in policy issues concerning life sciences and medicine such as the treatment of mental illness and drug abuse. Her goal is to articulate scientific information to the non-science community in order for science to achieve its greatest potential and contribution to society. Contact by email.