OPD and GWIS always want to help you expand your career options. If you would like to learn more about the AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowships and Congressional Fellowships, and how they inform careers in academia, non-profits, government and industry, please make sure you attend this event! A panel of advanced degree holders (mechanical engineering, molecular biology, neuroscience, resource economics) will discuss their fellowships in the executive and congressional branches of government and describe how these experiences led to current roles at Biogen, the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, and the Center for Clinical and Translational Science (UMass Med). Registration required – we hope to see you there!
When: Friday September 25, 12:00-1:30pm
Where: Campus Center 126
Registration: http://bit.ly/1Evs3in
For more information about the panelists, please see the short bios below.
Briana Tomboulian
Briana Tomboulian is an American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Congressional Engineering Fellow working in the Office of Senator Edward Markey. She previously was a Senior Engineer at Boston Electrometallurgical Corporation and during her doctoral training was a NASA Space Technology Research Fellow working on in-space nuclear electric propulsion. Briana also served as an environmental engineering consultant as a Staff Engineer for Tighe & Bond and a Research Assistant at R. Hyers & Associates.
Briana was a Teaching Assistant and Research Assistant at both the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Smith College. She holds degrees from Smith College (BS, Engineering Science) and University of Massachusetts Amherst (PhD, Mechanical Engineering)
Melanie Leitner
Melanie Leitner is currently the Associate Director at Biogen Idec. Prior to her current position, Melanie served as a Research Specialist consultant for Target ALS, Chief Scientific Officer and Chief Operating Officer for Prize4Life, Inc., focusing on accelerating treatments and cures for ALS. She also worked as a Program Officer for a boutique consulting firm focusing in the neuroscience and mental health space, a Program Director for a non-profit organization, FasterCures, and the Director of the Department of Educational Programs for The Society of Neuroscience.
Melanie was both an AAAS Diplomacy Fellow at the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and a AAAS Congressional Fellow in the US Senate Office serving on the staff of Senator Richard Durbin. She holds degrees from Brown University (Sc.B. Neural Science) and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis (PhD, Neuroscience).
Nate Hafer
Nathaniel (Nate) Hafer is the Director of Operations for UMass Center for Clinical and Translational Science (UMCCTS) based at the UMass Medical School in Worcester. UMCCTS accelerates clinical and translational research in order to improve the health of patients and communities. Nate coordinates overall activities and assists in the implementation of sponsored programs associated with the UMCCTS. In this role he serves as the UMCCTS Research Navigator, acting as a contact person to extramural resources, communicating resources to researchers, aiding in the development of projects, and maintaining a working knowledge of all UMCCTS services, programs, operations, and personnel.
Nate has been the director of all UMCCTS Pilot Programs since 2012 and has served on the Scientific Review Committee since 2010. Prior to these roles, Nate was a AAAS fellow for National Institutes of health in the Radiation/Nuclear Medical Countermeasures Development Program, a Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Graduate Fellow and a Biology Research Associate for the Federation of American Scientists. He holds degrees from Penn State (BS, Biology) and Princeton University (PhD, Molecular Biology).
Dwayne Breger
Dwayne Breger is the Director of the Renewable and Alternative Energy Division at the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER). His Division is responsible for the implementation of the state’s Renewable Energy Portfolio Standards, and policy and programs related specifically to solar, wind and biomass energy, combined heat and power, and alternative transportation. At DOER, Dwayne has led the development of the state’s Solar Carve-Out program, analysis and rulemaking on biomass energy, and the original development of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).
Dwayne has been actively engaged with renewable energy for over 30 years. Prior to joining DOER in 2002, he served as a research associate at UMass Amherst, as a U.S. participant in the International Energy Agency, an AAAS/EPA Environmental Fellow, and as a faculty member Lafayette College. He holds degrees from Swarthmore College (BS, Engineering), MIT (MS, Technology and Policy), and UMass Amherst (PhD, Resource Economics).
