Speakers List
A recurring issue at conferences and seminars is the underwhelming number of URM speakers giving talks. A commonly cited reason for this is not knowing who to invite. To that end, we’ve begun compiling a list of prominent URM researchers across every field of STEM and Medicine. We hope that conference organizers can use this list as a resource when inviting speakers. However we hope that organizers use this list conscientiously. There is a well-known, and well-documented, issue of “tokenism”, i.e. the idea that women and underrepresented minority researchers are included to give an appearance of diversity. We would like to stress that a diverse conference is not just about representation of minority speakers but also about creating an environment that is conducive to sharing ideas and collaborating. See our “Best practices” page for tips on how to create an inclusive environment.
Finally, we would like to stress that:
(i) Speakers on our list should be compensated properly for their time.
(ii) We are not the only resource out there! Check out this database for more lists of underrepresented researchers.
(iii) Our list is mainly nomination based (we then reach out to the researchers for their consent to be featured on the list). Please consider nominating yourself or others to be on the list! You can do so here or by emailing us at dscnatl@gmail.com.
NOTES ON USING OUR LIST
1) Please see here for the Speakers List in spreadsheet format (useful for more complicated searches), an explanation of all of the fields (and how to search them), and a list of sorted subfields.
2) Our website saves your previous search for future reference! If you would like to clear your search, press the “Clear” button (next to the “Submit” button).
| Field (see Notes for sorted subfields) | Preferred Name | Institution | Position | Description | Website | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Equity/Advocacy, Public Health | Dr. Linda Burhansstipanov | Native American Cancer Research Corporation (NACR) | President | Dr. Burhansstipanov investigates cancer healthcare in Native American communities and is the founder of the Native American Cancer Research Corporation (NACR). | NATA Website | Cancer, health equity, genetics, Indigenous, Native American, education, outreach |
| Biomedical Engineering, Kinesiology | Dr. Kristin Morgan | University of Connecticut | Assistant Professor | The Morgan lab investigates how changes in joint motion and muscle function relate to knee injuries. She looks at how we use motion capture analysis and wearable technology to track the onset of joint instability during athletic tasks. | Faculty Page | Gait pattern analysis, dynamic joint stability, anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries, patellofemoral pain, biomechanics, musculoskeletal, computational modeling |
| Chemical Engineering | Dr. Zenda Davis | Auburn University | Post-doc | Dr. Davis investigates the molecular level surface characterization of sorbents/catalysts - specifically silver-based adsorbents - for use in the liquid phase desulfurization of logistics fuels. | High performance materials, Catalysis, Energy, Surface Science, Interfacial Reactions, sorbents, adsorbents, fuel | |
| Bioinformatics, Cancer Biology, Cellular Biology, Genetics, Molecular Biology | Dr. Carlos S. Moreno | Emory College | Associate Professor | My main research interests are in translational cancer bioinformatics, to identify diagnostic markers for more effective and refined therapies, to identify new potential therapeutic targets, and to better understand the biology of tumor progression. My lab has identified several genes that are strongly correlated with prostate cancer progression. | Faculty Page | Cancer Genomics, Cancer Bioinformatics, Biomarkers, Transcriptional Regulation, Prostate Cancer |
| Neuroscience, Psychology | Dr. Ayanna Thomas | Tufts University | Director, Professor | The Thomas lab investigates episodic memory failure and how retrieval of memories can be biased. | Lab Website | cognition, memory, retrieval, episodic memory, bias, encoding, cognitive aging, eyewitness memory, metacognition |
| Epigenetics, Genetics, Plant Sciences | Dr. Xuehua Zhong | University of Wisconsin-Madison | Associate Professor | The Zhong lab investigates the epigenetic mechanisms underlying plant cell differentiation and environmental adaptation. | Lab Website | differentiation, development, epigenetics, chromatin, environment, adaptation, biomass |
| Earth Sciences, Geology | Dr. Lucas Zoet | University of Wisconsin-Madison | Assistant Professor | The Zoet lab investigates the physics of glacier motion. | Lab Website | seismicity, glaciers, deglaciation, erosion |
| Agriculture, Plant Sciences | Dr. Amaya Atucha | University of Wisconsin-Madison | Assistant Professor | The Atucha lab investigates fruit crop responses to environmental stress, specifically looking at the ability of fruits crops to withstand freezing temperature. | Faculty Page | fruit crop production, plant ecophysiology, cold hardiness |
| Neuroscience | Dr. Lucas Pinto | Northwestern University | Assistant Professor | The Pinto lab investigates the neural mechanisms underlying cognition and decision-making. He specifically looks at how cortical areas interact at large scales to support decision-making, and how the cognitive demands of different tasks modulate cortical dynamics. | Lab Website | neural mechanisms, cognition, decision-making |
| Clinical - Neurology, Neuroscience | Dr. Michele Veldsman | University of Oxford | Post-doc | Dr. Veldsman's research looks at the impact of ageing, dementia syndromes and stroke on functional and structural networks in the human brain. | Research Page | cognitive neurology, dementia, stroke, functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), ageing |