Finding confidence, a career path in a TU immunology lab
How mentorship, research shaped Hill-Lopes scholar Sumra Chaudhry’s TU experience
Events
Women make groundbreaking contributions to the STEM workforce. Join us to learn from and honor their achievements.
Events are sponsored by The Hill-Lopes Scholars Program and the Jess and Mildred Fisher College of Science and Mathematics.
Explore upcoming events or learn about past events.
Upcoming Events
An Interdisciplinary Approach to Understanding Online Child Safety
Thursday, October 24, 4 p.m.
Join the Hill-Lopes Scholars Program for a special seminar with Kathryn Seigfried-Spellar, Ph.D., a globally recognized cyberforensic expert in the area of internet crimes against children. In her seminar, Seigfried-Spellar will share her interdisciplinary approach to online child safety through her research that merges the behavioral and social sciences with cybercrime.
About the Speaker
Kathryn Seigfried-Spellar
Kathryn Seigfried-Spellar, Ph.D., M.A., is the chair of the digital multimedia sciences section of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. She studies the personality characteristics and socio-legal factors associated with cyberdeviance, such as internet child pornography use, hacking, cyberbullying, trolling and cyber threats via social media. Seigfried-Spellar has published in the area of digital forensics, specifically the ability to conduct a behavioral analysis of digital forensic evidence from child pornography investigations.
Past Events
Previous speakers included:
- Panel speakers from Becton, Dickinson and Company — Brandy Garzel, a Research and Development Manager in Molecular Diagnostic Systems; Rita Matta, Surgery Innovation and Strategic Lead; Caitlin Austin, Senior Manager and Software Product Owner
- Lisa Orbé-Austin, licensed psychologist and executive career coach
- Dawn Wright is Chief Scientist of the Environmental Systems Research Institute
- Anne-Marie Imafidon, co-founder of Stemettes
- Teresa Norberg-King, an aquatic toxicologist
- Malika Grayson, founder of STEMinist Empowered LLC
- Meg Urry, pioneering researcher who discovered several black holes
- Rita Colwell, a groundbreaking microbiologist
BD STEM Virtual Career Panel
Women in STEM discussed their careers at , one of the largest global medical technology companies in the world that is advancing the world of health™ by improving medical discovery, diagnostics and the delivery of care.
Panel Speakers
Brandy Garzel, Ph.D.
Brandy Garzel is a Research and Development Manager in Molecular Diagnostic Systems at BD. She leads a team of scientists in the development of molecular PCR tests for the diagnosis of diseases such as respiratory illness. Brandy joined BD as a research scientist in 2018, after spending a year at the FDA as an ORISE fellow. She was promoted to R&D Manager in 2023, and enjoys the challenging, yet rewarding nature of Molecular Diagnostics.
Rita Matta, Ph.D.
Rita Matta is a Surgery Innovation and Strategic Lead at BD. She is in the Technology Leadership Development Program (TLDP), a R&D rotational program for Ph.D.s, which consists of three successively more challenging assignments that can span multiple businesses and/or locations within BD. TLPD strengthens skillsets while developing leadership skills across multiple disciplines.
Caitlin Austin, Ph.D.
Caitlin Austin is a Senior Manager and Software Product Owner, driving product feature design for the next generation blood culture instrument at BD. Caitlin first began her journey with BD as an intern at BDTI in 2015. She joined BD’s Technology Leadership Development Program in 2017 and rotated through three business units on efforts spanning Technology Development, Strategic Innovation and Product Development.
This event is hosted by the Hill-Lopes Scholars Program in partnership with . The Hill-Lopes Scholars Program seeks to support women in STEM at Towson University and beyond through professional development, community and career exploration.
Imposter Syndrome 101
Lisa Orbé-Austin, Ph.D. gave an overview of impostor syndrome, including:
- typical signs and behaviors
- different ways it may manifest as a result of sociocultural and environmental factors
- how it impacts leadership and team functioning
- the most effective coping strategies
- action planning to address it in daily practice
About the Speaker
is a licensed psychologist and executive coach, with a focus on career advancement and leadership development. She is a co-founder and partner of , a career and executive coaching consultancy, where she works mostly with high-potential managers and executives. She earned her doctorate in Counseling Psychology from Columbia University.
The Dive of a Lifetime to the Deepest Place on Earth
Dawn Wright, Ph.D. shared the results of her recent mission to Challenger Deep—the deepest place on Earth. A major objective of the dive was a technological proof-of-concept operation of the first portable FOD sidescan sonar to be installed and operated on a submersible, and for well beyond the standard commercial limitation of 6000 m.
About the Speaker
is Chief Scientist of the Environmental Systems Research Institute (aka Esri), a world-leading geographic information system (GIS) software and data science company.
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Women Taking Back Tech
Anne-Marie Imafidon, MBE lead a discussion about her book .
About the Speaker
Anne-Marie Imafidon is the co-founder of , an award-winning social initiative dedicated to inspiring and promoting the next generation of young women in the STEM sectors. Since its inception 10 years ago, it has exposed more than 60,000 girls across Europe to her vision for a more diverse and balanced science and tech community.
Deemed a prodigy, she was the youngest girl ever to pass A-level Computing at age 11, and was just 20 years old when she received her Master’s Degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of Oxford.
Picture a Scientist Film Screening and Panel Discussion
The program hosted a screening of Picture a Scientist - a feature-length documentary film that chronicles the groundswell of researchers who are writing a new chapter for women scientists. After the film, a panel of faculty and staff members from the Fisher College of Science and Mathematics, College of Liberal Arts and The Office of Inclusion and Institutional Equity lead a discussion.
Highlights of Career Research Experiences at the EPA
shared highlights of her career research experiences at the EPA. Her presentation included personal and professional experiences about how she developed aquatic toxicity test methods for wastewater, contaminated sediments and problem pollutants. She discussed technical challenges, scientific accomplishments and how methods and approaches were vetted through the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) journals and scientific conferences - essential for environmental management decisions within EPA.
About the Speaker
Teresa Norberg-King is an aquatic toxicologist. During her career at the EPA, Teresa conducted research in the Office of Research and Development, where her research interests included chemical testing, mixtures, bioaccumulation, effluent and sediment toxicology, toxicity identification evaluations, toxicity of major ions (TDS), early life stage fish testing, and animal alternatives. She focused on various biological approaches to assessing the effects of chemicals and chemicals on aquatic ecosystems.
Teresa Norberg-King is now self-employed and continues to pursue her research interests and mentor professionals in environmental toxicology and chemistry.
Hooded: A Black Girl's Guide to the Ph.D
, discussed her “ABCs of STEM Success” and spoke about her book
About the Speaker
Grayson is the founder of STEMinist Empowered LLC—an organization focused on the empowerment of women of color who pursue graduate degrees, through consultancy and mentorship.
Dr. Grayson is a Fortune 100 global speaker, mechanical engineer and bestselling author. Her passion for increasing the number of women who graduate through the STEM pipeline motivated her to create ASPIRE STEM, which focuses on providing financial assistance to young women from high school and secondary school who aspire to pursue STEM at the university level. In 2021, Grayson was awarded the inaugural scholarship to three young women from Trinidad.
Black Holes, Galaxies and the Evolution of the Universe
has discovered several black holes. During the presentation, she discussed her research on black holes and advocacy for advancing women in STEM.
About the Speaker
Meg Urry is the Israel Munson Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Yale University, Director of the Yale Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, former Chair of the Yale Physics Department, and former President of the American Astronomical Society. Dr. Urry earned her Ph.D. in Physics from Johns Hopkins University and her B.S. in Physics and Mathematics from Tufts University.
Her scientific research on active galaxies appears in over 330 refereed research papers, including one of the most highly cited review papers in astronomy. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and National Academy of Sciences, and received the Annie Jump Cannon and George van Biesbroeck prizes from the American Astronomical Society.
A Lab of One’s Own: One Woman’s Personal Journey Through Sexism in Science
shared stories from her new memoir, . The book documents Colwell’s journey through six decades in science, from sexual harassment in the lab to obscure systems blocking women from leading professional organizations or publishing their work.
About the Speaker
Colwell is a groundbreaking microbiologist and the first woman to lead the National Science Foundation, where she served as the director from 1998 to 2004. She is a distinguished professor at the University of Maryland at College Park and at Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health.