Technology Panel: 9AM PST / 12PM EST / 5PM GMT
Revisit the panel discussion using the link above, and/or check out the video and panelist bios below.
About the Panelists:
Bryan Bryson, PhD
Twitter: @brybry0814
Bryan Bryson is the Esther and Harold Edgerton Assistant Professor of Biological Engineering at MIT and a member of the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard. Bryan completed his undergraduate studies at MIT in mechanical engineering before obtaining a PhD in biological engineering also at MIT. After graduate school, Bryan went to the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health where he trained with Sarah Fortune and became interested in new approaches to examine host pathogen interactions in TB infection. Bryan started his lab a little over two years ago where his lab focuses on bridging quantitative approaches to understand how the immune system eliminates deadly pathogens.
Asher Williams, PhD
Talk Title: Cell-Free Biosynthesis of Conjugate Vaccines
Twitter: @Asher__Williams
Dr. Asher Williams is a Trinidad & Tobago National Scholar who earned a B.Sc. in Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at NYU in 2015. She worked as a bioengineering intern at NASA before pursuing a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Her graduate work focused on harnessing bacterial production systems to generate pain-relieving compounds and anticoagulant drugs through metabolic engineering. As part of ongoing efforts to separate the food chain from the drug chain, she concentrated on optimizing regulatory and genetic processes within cells to improve production of specific high-value compounds and enzymes. She was awarded an RPI Presidential Graduate Research Fellowship and during her graduate career she mentored several graduate and undergraduate students, presented at research conferences, and published over 10 co-authored papers in peer-reviewed journals, with a patent pending. Dr. Williams also served as Vice President of the Black Graduate Student Association at RPI and worked on several initiatives and efforts to increase the recruitment and retention of minoritized students in graduate education. She is currently a Presidential Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Cornell University, where her research is aimed at developing a platform for cell-free biosynthesis of conjugate vaccines against enteric infections.
Onyinye I. Iweala, MD, PhD
Twitter: @onyiiwealamdphd
Onyinye I. Iweala, M.D., Ph.D. is an allergist and immunologist certified by the American Board of Allergy and Immunology and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology Allergy, and Immunology at the University of North Carolina (UNC)-Chapel Hill. As part of the UNC Food Allergy Initiative, she studies the immunologic mechanisms behind alpha-gal mammalian meat allergy. She has presented her work at several national meetings. Dr. Iweala received her Ph.D. in Experimental Pathology from Harvard University and her medical degree from Harvard Medical School. She completed a residency in Internal Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and a clinical and research fellowship in Allergy and Immunology at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Dr. Iweala is married with three children. Her hobbies include singing -- especially a capella music, running, high intensity interval training, and dance.
Tonya J. Webb PhD
Twitter: @scienceempress
Dr. Tonya J. Webb is a tenured Associate Professor at the Department of Microbiology and Immunology for the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM). She earned her B.S. in Biology/Chemistry at Prairie View A&M University (Cum Laude). She completed a doctoral degree in Microbiology and Immunology, at Indiana University with studies focused on investigating the role of CD1d1 molecules and NKT cells in antiviral immunity. Her post graduate work includes postdoctoral fellowships at Indiana University School of Medicine and at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Dr. Webb’s academic career at UMSOM included positions of increasing responsibility in Microbiology and Immunology; studies on oncology at the Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center; and currently as a member of the Center for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine. She has received numerous honors and awards throughout her career, including the NIH, AACR, and a host of professional and academic societies. She founded a biotech company, WebbCures, LLC in 2016. Dr. Webb also contributes significant time to local and national service to increase diversity and equity in academic medicine and healthcare; and finds time to mentor and share her experiences with STEM scholars and aspiring scientists.
