All slides are linked below in PDF format.
Opening Presentation – Transforming Research Assessment: Altmetrics & Question of Scholarly Impact
- Robin Chin Roemer, UW Libraries Instructional Design and Outreach Services Librarian
Robin Chin Roemer is an academic librarian with strong interests in research impact, non-traditional learning and learners, educational technology, and Interdisciplinary pedagogy. She currently works as the head of the UW Libraries’ Educational Outreach Team, which helps support students in professional and fee-based programs from within the Libraries. In addition to her MLIS, she has a BA and MA in English Literature.
Transforming Zones of Conflict in Contemporary War Literature
- Ben Wirth, English Department
Ben Wirth is doctoral candidate in the English Department. He received his MFA from UW and a BA in English from American University. His forthcoming dissertation will examine the intersections between American political theory and the production of new modes of masculinity in post-WWII American literature, specifically as they distance themselves from traditional notions of heroic masculinity. He is especially interested in the spaces and sites where these shifts take place in contemporary literature, and what we can learn from how these spaces transform.
- Karen Chan, Architecture
Karen is a graduate student in the Architecture program at the University of Washington. Her current studio research explores the future possibilities of energy and waste as drivers of architecture and city planning. Karen pursued her undergraduate degree in architecture at Ryerson University in Toronto and participated in a travel studio to the Netherlands.
Audit and Restructure of Gastroenterology Cancer Resource Biorepository
- Amanda Tanadinata, Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology
Amanda Tanadinata is a Master of Science candidate in the Biomedical Regulatory Affairs Program under the UW School of Pharmacy. She is also a Research Associate performing clinical histology in the UW Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology. There, she completed her MS project auditing and restructuring the UW Gastroenterology Cancer Resource Biorepository, which is the department’s clinical and research resource. Previously, she received a BS in Biochemistry and a BA in Chemistry from the University of Washington in 2013.
Waves of Change: Ocean Waves and their Contribution to the Rapid Transformation of the Arctic
- Madison Smith, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Madison completed her B.A. in Earth & Oceanographic Science at Bowdoin College in Maine, and is currently working towards her Ph.D. in Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of Washington, with a focus in Hydrodynamics. Her research interests are in environmental fluid mechanics, particularly ocean surface waves and their interactions with sea ice.
From Patient to Researcher: Transforming Kidney Disease Treatment
- Gary W. Liu, Bioengineering
Gary Liu is a third-year graduate student working towards a Ph.D. in Bioengineer-ing. He received a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin, and was awarded an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship to support his graduate studies. As a kidney disease patient for the past 20 years, Gary seeks to engineer new therapies and technologies to treat kidney disease.
Tossing Out the Binary: Transforming Gender and Sexuality Norms to Improve Health
- Katie Querna, Social Work
Katie is a teacher, researcher, writer, advocate/activist, and practitioner focused on intersections of sexuality/gender and health and social welfare practice and pedagogy, with an emphasis on contemplative practices and feminist methodologies. Katie earned her MSW, worked in HIV/AIDS for years, and is currently a PhD student in Social Welfare and a National Institutes of Health Translational Health Sciences Fellow. Her research focuses on transforming traditional conceptions of gender and sexuality to improve well-being broadly, currently through violence prevention. She is committed to partnering with communities to make science and interventions accessible and relevant and teaches yoga, meditation, and dance.
Transform from Within: Gene Editing for HIV Cure
- Biswajit Paul, Molecular and Cellular Biology
Bish is a scientist and community leader whose work straddles science, education and outreach, and LGBTQ advocacy. Bish hopes to make a significant difference in the emerging field of HIV Cure research using gene editing. He engineers T-cells so that they are resistant to HIV entry, and subsequent infection in humans. He is looking for opportunities to take his in-depth PhD training and translate it into real-world clinical or policy outcomes. Being an out, gay, immigrant scientist-of-color, he is passionate about in creasing diversity in STEM, especially in leadership positions. He is also a Science Communication fellow, a Teaching fellow, a filmmaker, a foodie, and an avid hiker.
Transforming Our View of the Ocean, One Strand of DNA at a Time
- James Kralj, School of Marine and Environmental Affairs
James Kralj is a first year graduate student pursuing his Masters degree in Marine Affairs. His professional and research interests lie at the intersection of science and policy. In his thesis work under the guidance of Dr. Ryan Kelly, James is evaluating the impacts of oyster aquaculture on surrounding eelgrass communities along the West Coast using environmental DNA, an emerging tool for ecosystem monitoring in the marine environ-ment. This work promises to inform the policy and management decisions behind aqua-culture and eelgrass communities. James received his BS in Microbiology from the Uni-versity of Wisconsin–Madison in 2015.
Developing Synthetic Vascular Grafts into Living Blood Vessels
- Le Zhen, Chemical Engineering
Le Zhen is a second year PhD student in the Department of Chemical Engineering. He’s currently working with Professor Buddy Ratner on developing a synthetic blood vessel replacement that will transform into a living blood vessel in the body. After his undergraduate research on material synthesis and MS research on a biological system, he decided to combine both experiences and do PhD research at the interface of material and biology. He works with a biomaterial that seamlessly heals into the body after implantation. He hopes to transform the future of medicine by developing materials and devices with supreme biocompatibility.
Changing Culture by Embracing Heritage: Transforming a Remote, Rural School
- Wesley Henry, College of Education
After teaching in Philadelphia, Wesley Henry began doctoral studies at UW and is currently a doctoral candidate in the College of Education. Wesley’s dissertation focuses on the efforts of administrators in successful rural schools as they engage communities and leverage local resources to address the challenges posed by rurality and government policies written for large, urban districts. Wesley works for The Graduate School and teaches at UW Bothell. Additionally, he serves as Chair of the KCTS 9 & Cascade Public Media Advisory Board and sits on the University Council for Educational Administration Graduate Student Council.