Olaya, CUPS Executive Alumna, Founder of the Press Office & Individual Contributor
Olaya Fernandez Gayol was a Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Department of Pediatrics. Her research focused on describing the neuronal circuits implicated in anorexia nervosa, especially those related to brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) signaling.
Olaya was co-president of CUPS, and founded the Press Office out of her desire to provide a platform for postdocs to publicize their science while improving their science communication skills.
Molly Scott, former Co-Chair of the Outreach & Comms Committee and Individual Contributor
Molly received her PhD in developmental psychology at Temple University. She was a postdoctoral research fellow in the Neurocognition, Early Experience and Development Lab where she worked on the Baby’s First Years project studying the connection between income and young children’s development.
Molly was co-chair of the Outreach & Communications committee from 2021-2022, and is passionate about translating scientific findings for parents, teachers, policy makers, and other stakeholders.
Keeley, Outreach & Comms Alumna & Individual Contributor
Keeley Mui was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Department of Pathology and Cell Biology in Columbia University. She studied how cytoskeletal linkages to the nucleus via the LINC complex regulates mechanical tension in breast epithelial cells in order to maintain tissue homeostasis and prevent pathways leading breast cancer.
Keeley was chair of the Outreach & Communications committee from 2019-2021, and is passionate about promoting public engagement with science.
Brandon, Outreach & Comms Alumnus & Blog Individual Contributor
Brandon Ashinoff is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Psychiatry. His research is focused on understanding how patients with schizophrenia process information differently and how that leads to the development and maintenance of delusions.
Brandon was a founding member of the Outreach & Communications Committee (created Jan 1, 2019). He organized activities such as Science Movie Nights. Learn more about Brandon’s work in this Meet our Postdocs Q&A !
Chloé, Outreach & Comms Alumna & Individual Contributor
Sandra, Outreach & Comms Alumna, Blog Section Manager & Individual Contributor
Sandra Franco Iborra was a Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Department of Pathology and Cell Biology at Columbia University. Her research focused on understanding the role of mitochondria-endoplasmic reticulum interactions in the pathophysiology of muscular dystrophy. She is now an Education and Outreach Coordinator at the New York Genome Center.
Sandra co-founded the Outreach & Communications committee (created Jan 1, 2019), and lead the outreach activities of the committee.
Micaela, Former Blog Management Team & Individual Contributor
Micaela Cunha conducted a Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship at the Center for Radiological Research at Columbia University. In her work, she analyzed complex datasets to understand the biological mechanisms involved in space-radiation-induced carcinogenesis in astronauts.
Micaela was a founding member of the Outreach & Communications committee (created Jan 1, 2019), and former co-president of CUPS (CUMC campus). Learn more about Micaela’s work in this Meet our Postdocs Q&A.
Alex, Former Blog Management Team & Individual Contributor
Alex Karambelas was a Postdoctoral Research Scientist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University. In her work, she used chemical transport computer models, designing various emissions scenarios to identify mitigation strategies to curb future air pollution and premature mortality. Learn more about her work in this Science Story.
Alex was a founding member of the Outreach & Communications committee (created Jan 1, 2019), and former president of CUPS.
Ben, Website Manager & Former Blog Individual Contributor
Ben Rudshteyn was a Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Department of Chemistry at Columbia University. In his work, he applied specific stochastic methods for solving the Schrodinger Equation very accurately to determine the properties of biologically relevant molecules.
Ben was a founding member of the Outreach & Communications Committee (created Jan 1, 2019) and the vice-president of CUPS (Morningside), as well as post-doc senator and website manager. Find out about Ben’s work in our Meet our Postdocs post!
Marie, Former Outreach & Comms Member, Blog Founder, Editorial Manager & Individual Contributor
Marie Labouesse was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University. In her work, Marie used in vivo methods and genetic tools to understand the neural circuits that regulate motor function in animal models. Learn more about her work in this Science Story.
Marie was also a co-founder of the Outreach & Communications committee (created Jan 1, 2019) and its chair and then vice-chair throughout 2019. Her top goal was to develop and expand sections of the Blog: Meet our Postdocs, Science Stories and Event Highlights as well as to engage in outreach activities across NYC.
Daniel Schury, Former Blog Individual Contributor
Daniel obtained his PhD in experimental atomic physics at the Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen and GSI Helmholtzzentrum Darmstadt (both Germany). His research focuses on merged and crossed ion beam experiments which are used to study the dynamics of atomic reactions with different collision partners. At Columbia he worked in the Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory at Nevis where he applied these techniques to astrochemical questions.
Casey Lardner, Blog Individual Contributor
Casey was a postdoctoral research scientist focused on understanding variation in stress & resilience in wild rats. She completed her Ph.D. in neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in 2020, where she co-directed a neuroscience outreach organization, MiNDS, and hosted a storytelling show called “Studying the Brain.” She is originally from Virginia.
Carmen Rubio Verdú, Blog Individual Contributor
Carmen obtained her PhD in experimental condensed matter physics at CIC nanoGUNE in San Sebastián (Spain). She was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Physics Department. Her research focused on quantum phenomena that emerge in materials that are one atom thick. At Columbia she used a technique called Scanning Tunneling Microscopy that allows for the study of the electronic properties of materials at the atomic scale at cryogenic temperatures (that is, at -269 °C).
Rupali Gund, Blog Individual Contributor
Rupali completed her PhD in immunology at the National Institute of Immunology (India). She was a Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Department of Dermatology at Columbia University. Her research involved studying disease mechanisms in autoimmune hair loss disease Alopecia Areata.
Dhru, Section Manager and Contributor for Arts and Humanities
Dhru Deb is a Postdoctoral Research Scientist at the Department of Biomedical Engineering. He is a cancer researcher by day, a visual artist by night and a New Yorker at heart! He is passionate about encouraging the Columbia University’s postdoc community to combine the knowledge and resources across seemingly disconnected disciplines and to make use of the unique opportunities provided by the New York City!
Dhru was co-chair of the Research and Professional Development committee of CUPS from 2020-2022 and an active contributor to the Outreach & Comms committee.
Other Contributing Alumni:
We send our warm thanks to our other CUPS members who provided individual contributions and without whom this blog would not be possible:
- Jami Jackson Mulgrave, liaison of the UR Postdoc Group, telling us about her work on Type 2 Diabetes.
- Gwennaëlle Monnot
- Nandini Sivakumar