Newswise — Rockville, MD (July 24, 2024) — Matthew Yousefzadeh of Columbia University Medical Center, Amy Engevik of Medical University of South Carolina, Kevin Gries of Concordia University of Wisconsin, and Saranya Radhakrishnan of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) were named FASEB Early-Career Representatives (ECRs). Yousefzadeh and Engevik are ECRs to the FASEB Board; Gries and Radhakrishnan are ECRs to the FASEB Science Policy Committee (SPC). They began their two-year terms July 1.
Early-career scientists make up a significant portion of the biological and biomedical sciences community. The FASEB Board created the ECR positions to foster dialogue between current and future generations of researchers. As voting members of the FASEB Board and SPC, these newly named ECRs will share unique insights and opinions of early-career scientists.
FASEB Board ECRs
Amy Engevik, PhD, is an assistant professor at the Medical University of South Carolina in the Department of Regenerative Medicine and Cell Biology. She says, “I’m delighted and honored to represent early-career researchers on the FASEB Board of Directors. I look forward to advocating for the interests and needs of early-career scientists within the scientific research community.”
Engevik is a cell biologist. Her research interests center around understanding how epithelial cells of the gastrointestinal tract function in health and disease states. She is a member of two FASEB member societies: the American Society for Investigative Pathology and the American Physiological Society. She is also a two-time recipient of the FASEB BioArt Award (2018 and 2020).
A specialist in aging, Matthew Yousefzadeh, PhD, holds dual appointments as assistant professor of medical sciences at Columbia University Medical Center and a member of the Columbia Center for Translational Immunology. His research interests are in cellular senescence and age-related tissue dysfunction.
“I am excited to serve and bring the perspective and concerns of early-career researchers to the Board of Directors at FASEB to make positive changes for those early in their careers. And I look forward to contributing to advancing FASEB’s mission and goals,” he says. An advocate for early-career researchers, Yousefzadeh also serves as a senior trainee advocate on the Board of Directors for the American Aging Association, a FASEB member society.
FASEB Science Policy Committee ECRs
Kevin Gries, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Physical Therapy Department at Concordia University of Wisconsin. His research interest involves how exercise can be prescribed to enhance skeletal muscle metabolic fitness and function, particularly in the aging population.
Gries is an active member of the American Physiological Society and recently completed a Science Policy Fellowship in the FASEB Office of Public Affairs. His science policy interests lie in enhancing science communication between scientists, government, and the lay community. “It is our duty as scientists who receive funding to make sure the public sees the benefits of these taxpayer (or charity) dollars. I enjoy being a bridge between lawmakers across the political spectrum and scientists to promote funding and sound policy,” he says. “In addition, I am an advocate for scientists to speak with the community on scientific findings and the importance of scientific research. By enhancing communication and promote trust between parties, we can use science to discover means to enhance all of our lives.”
Saranya Radhakrishnan, PhD, is a visiting postdoctoral fellow at the NIH’s National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), where she investigates neuronal glutamate transporter trafficking and regulation.
Scientific societies play a crucial role in advancing the work of early-career researchers, who are the backbone of the scientific enterprise. Recognizing the importance of this support, Radhakrishnan chairs the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET) Young Scientists Committee. She is also involved in the NIH Fellows Committee, the Global Mental Health Team at NIMH, and the ASPET Animals in Research Science Policy subcommittee.
As an early-career representative in FASEB’s Science Policy Committee, Radhakrishnan aims to leverage her interdisciplinary expertise and advocacy experience to influence policies impacting biological and biomedical research. Her goal is to ensure that the voices of early-career scientists are effectively represented in the legislative arena.
She is participating in FASEB’s SPC in a personal capacity; therefore, her views and contributions do not represent those of NIMH or any federal government agency.
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