FASEB Announces the 2024 LEAD Mentoring Pairs

FASEB Announces the 2024 LEAD Mentoring Pairs

Thursday, January 23, 2025
FASEB is pleased to announce the 2024 cohort for the LEAD (Leadership Engagement and Appreciation of Differences) mentoring program. This program is designed to foster diversity, equity, and inclusivity within the biological and biomedical research community by establishing mentoring pairs that connect early-career researchers with senior leaders through a unique reverse mentoring approach.

LEAD is a component of FASEB's Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion program, which provides a platform for participants to exchange personal views and workplace perspectives in an open, respectful, confidential, and trusting environment. This collaboration encourages the sharing of insights and advances efforts toward equity within the scientific research community.

Meet the 2024 mentoring pairs:
Arielle Isakharov and Lori T. Raetzman

• Arielle Isakharov, Doctoral Candidate, Oregon Health and Science University (Reverse Mentor)
• Lori T. Raetzman, PhD, Professor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Reverse Mentee)

Chris Olalekan Akinsulie and Michael P. Maher

• Chris Olalekan Akinsulie, Doctorate Candidate, Washington State University Pullman (Reverse Mentor)
• Michael P. Maher, PhD, Scientific Director, The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson (Reverse Mentee)

Yu-Chieh David Chen and Thayumanasamy Somasundaram

• Yu-Chieh David Chen, PhD, F32 and K99/R00 Fellow, The Institutes of Health (Reverse Mentor)
• Thayumanasamy Somasundaram, PhD, Senior Research Associate, Florida State University (Reverse Mentee)

A. Nicole White and Linda Kusner

• A. Nicole White, PhD, Program Manager, University of Cincinnati (Reverse Mentor)
• Linda Kusner, PhD, Professor, George Washington University (Reverse Mentee)

Lara do Amaral Silva and Laura Miller

• Lara do Amaral Silva, PhD, Assistant Professor, Wake Forest University (Reverse Mentor)
• Laura Miller, PhD, Associate Professor, Kansas State University (Reverse Mentee)

Divya Sharma and Martine Dunnwald

• Divya Sharma, PhD, Lead Research Scientist, Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics (Reverse Mentor)
• Martine Dunnwald, PhD, Research Professor, University of Iowa (Reverse Mentee)

Pankaj Kumar Ahluwalia and Stephanie Bingham

• Pankaj Kumar Ahluwalia, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, Augusta University (Reverse Mentor)
• Stephanie Bingham, PhD, Biology Professor, Barry University (Reverse Mentee)

Keisha Smith Wade and Saroja Voruganti

• Keisha Smith Wade, PhD, Program Manager, American Institute of Biological Sciences (Reverse Mentor)
• Saroja Voruganti, PhD, Professor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Reverse Mentee)

Pradnya Bhattad and Yuan Gao

• Pradnya Bhattad, MD, Cardiology Fellow, Saint Vincent Hospital (Reverse Mentor)
• Yuan Gao, Director, Shanxi Medical University (Reverse Mentee)

Find out more about the LEAD program here.

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.