The STEM Ambassador Program began in 2016 as a training program for a small cohort of University of Utah scientists. Since then, we have grown to work with over 170 graduate students, post-docs, faculty, staff, and undergraduate students. Scroll down to learn about the scientists who have participated. Contact us if you would like to reach out to a STEM Ambassador.
Note that many Ambassador bios were uploaded when the Ambassador joined the program and may not be current.
Kathleen Ritterbush is a paleontologist at the University of Utah. She studies what ocean life was like during and before the time of the dinosaurs. Recent projects include modeling sea shells of extinct squid-like ammonite fossils to test if the animals could swim, and hunting for fossil sea sponges in ancient rocks. Because these ancient rocks are pushed into mountains by the Earth’s shifting surface, fossil hunting takes her across deserts of the American West and up into the Peruvian Andes. She is most interested in what animals flourish after global mass extinction events, and how this is related to world-wide environmental changes.
Victoria Russell works at the University of Utah where she studies biological fuel cells, which use catalysts derived from biological components to convert chemical energy into electrical energy. These catalysts include components from living cells (enzymatic fuel cells), or even entire cells (microbial fuel cells). Her research involves using genetic engineering to develop and improve upon biological catalysts used in enzymatic fuel cells.
A native of New York City, Victoria dove enthusiastically into all that Utah’s outdoors have to offer. She can often be found hiking, snowshoeing, backpacking, or canyoneering. She also enjoys reading and traveling, and is always up for planning her next adventure.
| Joanna Bettmann Schaefer is a Professor at the University of Utah College of Social Work. She received her B.A. with honors from Dartmouth College in 1993, her MSW from the University of Utah in 1999, and her Ph.D from Smith College School for Social Work in 2005. Dr. Schaefer has received numerous honors, including the 2013 Dean’s Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award, the 2011 Psychoanalytic Psychodynamic Research Society Award, a 2006-2007 fellowship with the American Psychoanalytic Association, and the 1993 Lawrence Marx Jr. Award of Dartmouth College.
She worked as a field staff, field therapist, director, and researcher at wilderness therapy and residential treatment settings for troubled youth from 1994 to 2016. She has also worked as a clinical social worker in several community mental health agencies, the University of Utah Counseling Center, and in private practice. She is trained in disaster response and served as a social worker for the American Red Cross response to Hurricane Katrina in Utah and Mississippi. Dr. Schaefer writes and researches on a range of topics, including nature’s impact on mental health, wilderness therapy, residential treatment, and attachment. She has published articles in Psychological Services, Journal of Child and Family Studies, Research on Social Work Practice, Journal of Counseling Psychology, International Journal of Emergency Mental Health, Journal of Experiential Education, Child and Youth Care Forum, Clinical Social Work Journal, Residential Treatment for Children and Youth, Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, the Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, the Journal of Teaching in Social Work, Smith College Studies in Social Work, and the Journal of Therapeutic Schools and Programs. She has presented her research nationally and internationally at professional conferences over the last 20 years. Dr. Schaefer has received grant funding to support her research agenda, including grants recently from the Sierra Club to investigate the mental health and psychosocial outcomes of peer-led immersive wilderness trips for military veterans. |
Emily works in Dr. Strayer’s Applied Cognition Laboratory studying how neural biomarkers of attention and physiological stress are modulated by exposure to natural environments. Using multiple methodologies in her research has also sparked her interest in the coupling between neurophysiological measures (e.g., EEG) and peripheral physiological measures (e.g., ECG) during restorative interventions.
Emily enjoys putting her research into practice by venturing outdoors as much as possible!
Dr. Olja Simoska received her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Bard College, NY, in 2015. She received her Ph.D. degree in Analytical Chemistry in 2019 from the University of Texas at Austin, working with Prof. Keith J. Stevenson. Her graduate research focused on the design, development, and application of ultramicroelectrode array platforms for the quantitative, real-time monitoring of dynamic metabolism and responses of pathogenic bacteria. At present, Olja is the ACS Irving S. Sigal Postdoctoral Fellow and working in the research group of Prof. Shelley D. Minteer at the University of Utah Department of Chemistry. Her postdoctoral research focuses on methodically exploring bioengineering approaches to improve extracellular electron transfer and performance of microbial-based electrochemical systems. She also a strong science outreach enthusiast and is excited to expand her science communications skills through the STEM Ambassador Program. In her free time, Olja enjoys jewelry design, baking, hiking, and skiing.
Abrianna, or “Abbey”, works with Dr. Phyllis Coley in the Biology Department at the University of Utah. She is a chemical ecologist broadly interested in plant-herbivore interactions, plant chemical defenses, botany, entomology, and defense sequestration. In the Coley lab, she helps investigate and identify defensive compounds found in the leaves of the tropical tree genus Inga.
Abbey also worked with Dr. Mark Hunter at the University of Michigan to study how dietary plant chemistry and environmental change affect flight ability in the monarch butterfly. She currently works as a lab tech for Dr. Coley, but hopes to move on to a PhD program in the near future and pursue a career in research and academia.
Abbey loves backpacking, camping, hiking, and generally appreciating in the natural world with her friends and dog, Korra. She also enjoys reading, writing, singing, live music, and good food.
Pratiti Tagore holds a bachelor’s degree in Architecture and a master’s degree in Urban Planning, both from India. Her work at the University of Utah focuses on human behavior and perceptions on western water conservation and conservation habits in general. She is interested in research on outdoor landscape and water use in single family homes. Pratiti is also interested in the built environment and human perceptions, and how the built environment influences conservation behavior. She is an active member in the Metro Water Lab. Her research is interdisciplinary, connecting planning, sociology, policy, and landscape architecture. Pratiti is enthusiastic about continuing to work on resource management and human perceptions with a multipronged approach.
Anna Vickrey works in Dr. Michael Shapiro’s lab at the University of Utah. She is interested in understanding the genetic, developmental, and evolutionary basis of variation. Birds in particular display an enormous amount of variation that has evolved under natural, sexual, and artificial selection. Relatively little is known about the molecular mechanisms that produce this variation. In order to identify genes, mutations, and developmental pathways that produce particular traits in birds, her lab studies the rock pigeon. Rock pigeons are an ideal species in which to study variation because of the tremendous phenotypic diversity present among over 350 breeds.
The lab is currently investigating a variety of traits in rock pigeons, including colors and color patterns, feather ornaments, and flying behaviors. Similar traits are present in wild species of birds, and learning about the molecular and evolutionary basis of these traits in pigeons helps her learn about the same traits in wild species.
Anna has about 40 pet pigeons, and loves birding, bird banding, road biking, trail running, and cooking in her free time.
Morgan Wambaugh works in the lab of Dr. Jessica Brown at the University of Utah. She is using a screening method to identify drugs that work synergistically (having a greater effect together) with the common antifungal fluconazole. She then investigates the mechanism of why these two drugs work better together to identify the potential new fungal target and more treatment options for invasive fungal infections.
Morgan enjoys craft breweries, hiking, and traveling with friends.
Dr. Bryan Welm is an Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Utah and breast cancer researcher at the Huntsman Cancer Institute. His laboratory is developing a method, called Functional Precision Oncology, where live cancer cells are removed from a patient and studied in the lab to evaluate therapeutic vulnerabilities. The goal of his research is to determine whether the response of a person’s cancer cells to different drugs can help physicians determine the best treatment for the patient. Dr. Welm is also an artist and builds metal sculptures that symbolize elements of science and biology. In his spare time, Bryan enjoys skiing and mountain biking in the mountains around Salt Lake City.
David Wheatley works with Dr. Marjorie Chan in the STAR (Sedimentary and Terrestrial Analog Research) group at the University of Utah. He studies sedimentology and planetary geology focused specifically on soft-sediment deformation within the Carmel Formation of southern Utah. Clastic pipes (a type of soft-sediment deformation) reveal ancient water table conditions and provide clues about past environments.
David uses these terrestrial analogs to inform interpretations of Martian environments and soft-sediment deformation to understand past groundwater conditions on Mars. David’s other research interests include geoarchaeology, GIS applications, and engineering applications to geology.
David enjoys exploring the outdoors through snowboarding, hiking, backpacking, rock climbing, and canyoneering.
Lauren Williams works in Dr. Trafton Drew’s Applied Visual Attention Laboratory at the University of Utah. She studies medical image perception, attention, working memory, and individual differences in cognition. She enjoys the opportunity to utilize many different techniques in her research, including eye-tracking and EEG. Recent projects include quantifying the cost of interruptions in diagnostic radiology and exploring novel interventions to help mitigate these effects.
Lauren enjoys traveling to new places, hiking around Utah, playing board games, and vegan cooking.
Under the direction of Dr. Leslie Knapp at the University of Utah, Michael Zaccheo is exploring the connection between genes, variation in the structure of neurons in the brains of primates and differences in the individual analytical and behavioral propensities of both humans and non-human primates. His work is focused on a small, hyper-variable segment of a gene called DRD4.
He also enjoys being with his family, making music and exploring the natural world.
Rebecca Goldstein Zitnay works at Huntsman Cancer Institute in the Lab of Michelle Mendoza She is interested in how the environment around cells informs and directs their behavior and is pursuing her PhD in Biomedical Engineering with an emphasis in biomaterials. In Dr. Mendoza’s lab she is investigating how features of the environment around a lung tumor instruct cancer cells to invade away from the tumor. Her favorite part of this research project is getting to observe fluorescently labeled cells moving around in 3-dimensions under the microscope. When she is not in the lab, she is likely talking about science, reading books about inspiring people, outside playing in the Wasatch mountains, or exploring the southern Utah desert.
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