Board Members 2023-2024 | MASS AWIS (Boston)

President Yael Zigelman (She/Her)

Yael is a Senior Research Associate within the Synthetic Biology group at LifeMine Therapeutics, where she focuses on developing high-throughput processes to genetically modify fungi strains. Prior to this, Yael worked as a Synthetic Biology Scientist at BiomX, where she engineered bacteriophages for phage therapy across various indications, including Colorectal and Cyclic fibrosis.

She holds a BSc in Biotechnology from Tel-Aviv University and an MSc in Molecular Biology from The Weizmann Institute of Science, where she studied the transcriptome of stress granules in ALS. Yael wholeheartedly believes in the power of MASS AWIS as a platform to forge meaningful connections among women in STEM. She is committed to nurturing an environment that offers unwavering support and inspiration to women and all genders that strive for change and DEI in pursuing their professional ambitions. In her free time, Yael enjoys solving logic puzzles, Lindy-Hop dancing, and spending time with loved ones.

Vice-President Marina Mattos Ph.D.

Marina is an experienced engineer dedicated to optimizing global supply chains. She holds a Robotics and Automation Engineering degree from UFMG, a Master’s in Supply Chain Management from MIT, a Master’s in Transportation Engineering from UFMG, a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from UFMG, an MBA in Marketing from UFPR, and specialized training in Fashion and Luxury Management from MIT Sloan. Currently serving as the Director of Global Supply Chain Innovation at a multinational corporation, she has over 15 years of industry expertise encompassing retail, logistics, operations, technology, and academia. As a member of the MASS AWIS Chapter since 2019, Marina has experienced invaluable support from their mentoring circle and now aspires to give back by fostering growth and providing guidance to fellow colleagues.

Treasurer Yolande Athaide

Yolande Athaide is the finance lead at the Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability at Harvard University. Prior to joining Harvard in April 2023, she managed multiple small businesses, most of which she co-founded, handling their financial, legal, and operational activities in addition to working on data analytics for clients. She also worked for a small crude oil trading company in Houston, Texas, and for the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, Ltd., in India. Yolande has a deep interest in business analytics and artificial intelligence including methods to reduce bias in them and ensuring ethical practices in their usage. She holds a Bachelor of Science in mathematics from India, and an MBA and J.D. from the United States. She also holds the CFA® charter and the Harvard Business Analytics Program certificate. She moved to Massachusetts a year ago and is delighted to have found MASS AWIS.

Administrator Laurie Burlingame, J.D., M.B.A., M.A.

Laurie Burlingame is a partner in the firm’s nationally recognized Life Sciences Practice Group. She represents private and public companies across the spectrum of the life sciences industry, including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, diagnostics and biological materials. Ms. Burlingame also represents leading venture capital firms focused on the life sciences industry in connection with their portfolio company investments.

Ms. Burlingame often serves as outside general counsel to her clients, closely advising management teams and boards of directors on a wide variety of matters throughout the company’s life cycle, including formation and founder issues, venture capital financings, public offerings, mergers and acquisitions, licensing transactions, strategic collaborations, commercial transactions, corporate governance and other general corporate matters.

Communications Committee Co-chair Vidhya Vijayakumar, Ph.D.

Vidhya Vijayakumar is a Principal Scientist focusing on Microbiology and Immunology at Draper labs. She enjoys working with engineers and scientists from diverse backgrounds and training. Prior to Draper, she worked at SQZ biotech and at Boston Children’s Hospital. She received her Ph.D. from University of Maryland, Baltimore in 2014. Since becoming a MASSAWIS member in 2016, Vidhya has enrolled in and benefited from several workshops and events. This led her to join the MASSAWIS board and expand its outreach. Vidhya likes to spend her time outdoors, running on trails in and around Boston, and playing with her two children.

Communications Committee Co-Chair Erika Minetti

Erika was born and raised in Milan, Italy, and moved to Boston in 2015 to pursue a degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Boston University with a minor in music performance. She recently completed her MS in the Boston University Graduate Medical Sciences Program and is currently doing research on vascular endothelial health.

Communications/Events Committee Co-chair Seda Salar

Seda works as a postdoctoral fellow at the Neuroscience Department of Tufts University School of Medicine since her move to Boston in September’22. She obtained her BS in Medical Biology from Istanbul University, Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine (Istanbul, Turkey), her MS in Molecular Biology and Genetics from Bogazici University (Istanbul, Turkey) and her PhD in Medical Neurosciences from Charite Medical Faculty of Humboldt University (Berlin, Germany). After receiving her PhD, she worked as a researcher in Germany and in USA, and as an instructor in Turkey. Her research focuses on the neurophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases, particularly epilepsy and, learning and memory disorders. She volunteered as a mentor in New York Academy of Sciences’ STEM programs (USA) to encourage young fellows to study STEM fields and in Cekirdek Academy (Turkey) to empower women by providing accessible scientific knowledge. Along with doing research, she enjoys reading science fiction and rock & ice climbing.

Events Committee Co-chair Martina Chiacchiaretta, Ph.D.

Martina is a postdoctoral fellow at Tufts University School of Medicine. Her research focuses on several neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s and Narcolepsy. The innovation of her work consists in studying a specific type of brain cells called astrocytes and understanding how astrocytic dysfunctions contribute to central nervous system pathologies. Martina holds a B.S. in Biotechnology, an M.S. in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology at the University of Bologna (Bologna, Italy), and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience and Neurotechnology at the Italian Institute of Technology (Genoa, Italy). Martina joined AWIS in 2022 and, in the same year, started volunteering on the Events Committee. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, spending time with friends, and practicing yoga.

Events Committee Co-chair Pamela Klecki

Pamela is a Senior Research Technologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, where she coordinates and manages a lab whose research focuses on the role of Stem cells in normal development and disease. She holds a BSc in Chemistry from the University of Vienna, a Master’s in Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine from the University of Applied Sciences Technikum Vienna, and a Master’s in Experimental and Medical Biosciences from Linkoping University, where she trained in several technical and theoretical aspects of Cell and Developmental biology.

Apart from her engagement in the field of regenerative medicine, she is passionate about developing and supporting the next generation of women in STEM. Pamela began volunteering for the AWIS Events Committee in 2022. She is also a member of the community-based group of the Young Professionals of the American Cancer Society, an organization leading the fight for a world without cancer.

In her free time, she enjoys reading a great biography, spending time with friends, salsa dancing, and practicing yoga.

Outreach and Engagement Committee Co-Chair Ana Bozas, Ph.D.

Ana is currently Associate Director of Medical Communications at Akcea Therapeutics, a small rare disease biotech. Previously, she worked for Sanofi and Akcea Therapeutics in the medical publications function and Analysis Group as a medical writer for the HEOR consulting arm. Ana graduated from the University of Utah with a PhD in biochemistry, followed by a postdoc fellowship on adult stem cells at the Boston Biomedical Research Institute. Ana has been MASS-AWIS member since 2012, AMWA member since 2014, and an ISMPP member and certified as medical publication professional (CMPP) since 2016. She is also active in the local career mentoring scene, through MASS-AWIS and MGHPA.

Outreach and Engagement Committee Co-Chair Cinzia Metallo, Ph.D.

Cinzia specializes in strategy consulting and currently works at Veranex (previously Boston Healthcare Associates), where she supports medtech, biotech, and pharma clients with market access, market assessment, and growth and investment strategies. Prior to Veranex, she worked in the strategy consulting practice at Lux Research and in the health economics practice at Analysis Group. She holds a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Tufts University, where she focused on neuromechanics, and a Master’s Degree in Physics from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, where she focused on superconductivity. Cinzia has also entrepreneurial experience, having started a medical device company based on her Ph.D. research. She has been a MASS AWIS member and chair of the Outreach & Engagement Committee since 2015.

Mentoring Committee Co-chair Jessica Desmond

Jessica Desmond is currently a study lead at 2Seventy Bio working on a gene editing solution for Hemophilia A as well as oncology studies. Her contributions involve preparing for and performing in vivo studies as well as analyzing samples ex vivo. Formerly, Jessica was the senior research assistant in the Patti Lab at the Joslin Diabetes Center for 5 years after completing a Bachelor’s degree in biochemistry at WPI. Her major focus in the Patti Lab was understanding the transgenerational effects of paternal catch-up growth caused by prenatal undernutrition. During this time, she also completed a Master’s degree in biology at the Harvard Extension School culminating in a thesis centered around identifying the effects of postnatal undernutrition on pancreatic flexibility and gut intrinsic factors later in life. Jessica started as a mentee with MASS AWIS in 2019 and began volunteering for the Mentorship Committee in 2021.

Mentoring Committee Co-chair Sang Park Ph.D.

Dr. Sang Park is an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA, where she also serves as the Principal Investigator of her laboratory located at Boston Children’s Hospital. In her role, Dr. Park leads a team of researchers and oversees various scientific investigations within her field of expertise, which specifically focuses on glucose metabolism. Dr. Park’s research centers around studying the molecular mechanisms involved in the development of type 2 diabetes, with a particular emphasis on unraveling the complexities of insulin signaling pathways in the context of obesity. In addition to her research endeavors, Dr. Park has a strong passion for mentoring. Since 2021, she has actively engaged in mentoring initiatives such as AWIS (Association for Women in Science) and HGWISE (Harvard Graduate Women in Science and Engineering), where she dedicates her time to providing guidance and support to aspiring women scientists. Dr. Park is also a certified professional coach and aims to empower and facilitate the growth and success of fellow researchers in the scientific community, fostering a supportive and inclusive environment for their professional development. She is a member of JCSW (Joint Committee on the Status of Women). Her passion lies in fostering the growth and success of fellow women in the scientific realm, contributing to the advancement of diversity and inclusivity in scientific pursuits.

Mentoring Committee Co-Chair Marina Mattos Ph.D.

Leadership Committee Co-Chair Diane Rigos, Ph.D.

Dr. Angeliki Diane Rigos is a scientist, educator, and consultant interested in working across disciplines to promote sustainable solutions to global problems. She is the Executive Director of the MIT Tata Center for Technology and Design.
Dr. Rigos began her career as a Principal Scientist at Physical Sciences Inc. where she worked on defense and energy contracts. She transitioned to an academic position as Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Merrimack College where she served as President of the Faculty Senate, Chair of her department, Director of Women’s Studies and Associate Director of the National Microscale Chemistry Center. She has taught courses in chemistry, women in science and sustainable energy at the undergraduate level and science and energy policy at the graduate level. Her areas of research have included corrosion studies of supercritical water oxidation reactors used to destroy military toxic waste, Brownian dynamics simulations of order-disorder transitions in sheared colloidal suspensions, modeling of diffusion controlled reactions and conformational interconversion in protein crystals.
For twelve years, she also worked as an energy consultant at Levitan & Associates, Inc. with a focus on power price forecasting, LNG, fuel cells, and renewable technologies including onshore / offshore wind and solar photovoltaics.
Dr. Rigos has been a visiting scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University and Northeastern University and has volunteered in startup accelerators, as an industry mentor in Cleantech Open and an industry champion at MassChallenge.
Dr. Rigos received a B.A. in Chemistry from Cornell University, a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and an M.B.A. from Northeastern University and is an alumna of HERS Denver 2015.

Leadership Committee Co-chair Jocelyn Scheirer, Ph.D.

Jocelyn Scheirer is an entrepreneur, scientist, and artist who began working in wearable biometric devices in the late 1990s. She holds an M.A. in Developmental and Social Psychology, and her Ph.D. research focused on emotion communication with the MIT Media Lab’s Affective Computing Group. Her work has been installed internationally, including the Deutsche Hygiene Museum in Delft, Germany, The Bromfield and Galatea Galleries in Boston, and in permanent exhibitions at the MIT Media Lab and the Cambridge Innovation Center.

Scheirer invented and, along with MIT, patented a very early textile biosensor, which measured and displayed skin conductance. Widely cited, that wearable evolved into a form that drove several successful startup companies. She founded her first wearables company, Empathyx, Inc. in 2006, and then joined Rosalind Picard and Rana El Kaliouby as their first employee at Affectiva in 2009. The company was recently acquired for 73.5 M.

Jocelyn went on to hold research and faculty posts at Harvard and Brandeis Universities and to consult. In recent years, she has also consulted for industry, government and academia on numerous projects involving sensors, physiology, and VR/AR. Clients include NASA, Brandeis University, NYU ‘s Future Reality Lab at The Courant Institute, and industry. She is currently the CTO and Co-founder of the AR/XR company ImmerSphere. Jocelyn has served on the board of the MIT Enterprise Forum of New York, is a mentor for American Women in Science, and is a frequent speaker on topics relevant to technology entrepreneurship, sensors, management and the ethics of invention and commercialization.

Leadership Committee Co-Chair Leila Deravi

Leila Deravi, is an Associate Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Northeastern University and co-Founder of a new startup, Seaspire Skincare. She is the recipient of the National Science Foundation’s early CAREER award, the American Chemical Society Polymer Materials Science and Engineering Young Investigator Award, and the Undergraduate Research Mentorship Award in Chemistry, Chemical Biology. Before she started her independent faculty career, Leila received her BS in Chemistry at the University of Alabama, and her Ph.D. in Chemistry at Vanderbilt University. She subsequently completed her postdoc in Bioengineering at Harvard University

DEI Committee Co-Chair Kathy Nevola, Ph.D. (They/Them)

Kathy Nevola received their Ph.D. from Tufts University in Cellular, Molecular, and Developmental Biology with a concentration in Bioinformatics. They currently work as a Data Scientist at Olink Proteomics. Kathy is also a member of their company’s cultural development team Culturelink. Kathy is passionate about mental health, D&I, and giving others the opportunity to shine. In their free time, they enjoy playing with their dog and cat, rock climbing, doing yoga, or playing video games.

DEI Committee Co-Chair Maru Colbert, Ph.D. (She/Her)

Professor Colbert is an engineer, educator, performer and activist. Her research areas in industry and academia are chemical, environmental and materials engineering and include small-scale process chemistry, reactionware, phytoremediation, nanosensors and atmospheric modeling. She meets professional challenges as she continually adds research and practice elements to her chemical engineering, STEM education and social justice endeavors. Work she began decades ago as multiculturalism and relational education is included in her DEI emphasis with respect to general working and specific learning environments and related policies that reinforce equity.

Past President Diane Rigos, Ph.D.

Dr. Angeliki Diane Rigos is a scientist, educator, and consultant interested in working across disciplines to promote sustainable solutions to global problems. She is the Executive Director of the MIT Tata Center for Technology and Design.
Dr. Rigos began her career as a Principal Scientist at Physical Sciences Inc. where she worked on defense and energy contracts. She transitioned to an academic position as Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Merrimack College where she served as President of the Faculty Senate, Chair of her department, Director of Women’s Studies, and Associate Director of the National Microscale Chemistry Center. She has taught courses in chemistry, women in science, and sustainable energy at the undergraduate level and science and energy policy at the graduate level. Her areas of research have included corrosion studies of supercritical water oxidation reactors used to destroy military toxic waste, Brownian dynamics simulations of order-disorder transitions in sheared colloidal suspensions, modeling of diffusion-controlled reactions, and conformational interconversion in protein crystals.
For twelve years, she also worked as an energy consultant at Levitan & Associates, Inc. with a focus on power price forecasting, LNG, fuel cells, and renewable technologies including onshore/offshore wind and solar photovoltaics.
Dr. Rigos has been a visiting scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University and Northeastern University and has volunteered in startup accelerators, as an industry mentor in Cleantech Open and an industry champion at MassChallenge.
Dr. Rigos received a B.A. in Chemistry from Cornell University, a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and an M.B.A. from Northeastern University and is an alumna of HERS Denver 2015.