Understanding Interventions That Encourage Minorities to Pursue Research Careers: Summary of a Workshop (2007)

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Appendix C Biographical Sketches of Planning Committee and Staff CO-CHAIRS Anthony L. DePass is the associate dean of research and associate professor of biology at the Brooklyn campus of Long Island Univer- sity (LIU). He is the principal investigator (PI) and director of the MBRS SCORE program at LIU; he is also the co-PI and a member of the administrative core of an NIH/NCI funded partnership between LIU and Columbia University that addresses cancer-related health disparities. Dr. DePass’ background in the areas of student and faculty development is quite extensive. He was the PI and co-director of the Multimedia and Interactive Learning (MIL) project. The NSF-funded MIL Project trained math and science faculty from five institutions in the New York metropolitan area in the development and utiliza- tion of multimedia applications designed to enhance the active role of students in the learning process. As chair of the Minority Affairs Committee for the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) and former chair of a similar committee for the American Society of Plant Biology, Dr. DePass has provided leadership in coordinating activities at the national level that are aimed at increasing under- represented minority representation within the scientific workforce. This work is supported by the respective societies in addition to a MARC grant from NIH/NIGMS awarded to ASCB for which he serves as the PI. Dr. DePass has served on several review panels and 77 

78 APPENDIX C advisory committees that focus on the issue of underrepresentation of minorities in the sciences. Originally trained as a plant biologist, Dr. DePass currently directs a funded research program that explores cancer-related gene regulation. His laboratory provides training for students at the high school, bachelor’s, and master’s levels, among which several stu- dents from underrepresented minorities have gone onto competitive doctoral programs. Larry V. Hedges is the Board of Trustees Professor of Statistics and Social Policy at Northwestern University, the university’s most dis- tinguished academic position. He is also a Faculty Fellow with the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern. He was previously the Stella M. Rowley Distinguished Service Professor of Education, Psychology, and Sociology at the University of Chicago. Dr. Hedges’ research straddles sociology, psychology, and educational policy. He is best known for his work to develop statistical methods for meta- analysis (a statistical analysis of the results of multiple studies that combines their findings) in the social, medical, and biological sci- ences. Examples of some his recent studies include: understanding the costs of generating systematic reviews, differences between boys and girls in mental test scores, the black-white gap in achievement test scores, and frameworks for international comparative studies on education. He has authored or co-authored numerous journal articles and five books, including the seminal Statistical Methods for Meta-Analysis (with I. Olkin) and The Handbook of Research Synthesis (with H. Cooper). He has been elected a member or fellow of numer- ous boards, associations, and professional organizations, including the National Academy of Education, the American Statistical Asso- ciation, the American Psychological Association, and the Society of Multivariate Experimental Psychology and chaired the Techni- cal Advisory Group of the U.S. Department of Education’s What Works Clearinghouse. Dr. Hedges holds a BA in mathematics from the University of California, San Diego, and an MA in statistics and PhD in mathematical methods in educational research from Stanford University. MEMBERS Daryl E. Chubin became founding director of the AAAS Center for Advancing Science & Engineering Capacity at the American Asso- ciation for the Advancement of Science in August 2004. Prior to that, he served more than three years as senior vice president, research, 

APPENDIX C 79 policy & programs at the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME) in White Plains, New York, after nearly 15 years in federal service. Government posts included senior policy officer for the National Science Board at the National Science Foun- dation (NSF) (1998–2001); division director for research, evaluation and communication in NSF’s Directorate for Education and Human Resources (1993–1998); and (on detail) assistant director for social and behavioral sciences (and education) at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (1997). He began his federal career in 1986 at the congressional Office of Technology Assessment. Dr. Chubin earned a PhD in sociology from Loyola University (Chicago) in 1973 and served on the faculty of four universities, including Georgia Tech, where he was promoted to full professor. He has published eight books and numerous policy reports, articles, and commentaries on issues in science policy, career development, program evaluation, and engineering education. Dr. Chubin’s hon- ors include AAAS Fellow, past chair of the AAAS section on Societal Impacts of Science and Engineering, Fellow of the Association for Women in Science, member of the National Academy of Engineer- ing’s Committee on Diversity in the Engineering Workforce, Inte- grator for BEST (Building Engineering and Science Talent), Quality Education for Minorities/Math Science Engineering 2006 Giant of Science, and Sigma Xi Distinguished Lecturer 2007–2009. Howard H. Garrison has been the director of the Office of Public Affairs at the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) since the office was created in 1996. He is also FASEB’s deputy executive director for policy. He previously directed FASEB’s Office of Policy Analysis and Research and was group man- ager for the Survey and Evaluation Services Unit for Aspen Systems Corporation, staff officer for the Institute of Medicine’s Committee on Biomedical and Behavior Research Personnel, and statistician with the Federal Personnel and Compensation Division for the U.S. General Accounting Office. Trained as a sociologist, Dr. Garrison has experience in biomedical research policy, statistical analysis, scientific workforce analysis, program evaluation, and surveys for agencies including NSF and NIH. He is currently vice president and member of the Board of Directors for the Commission on Pro- fessionals in Science and Technology, past president of the District of Columbia Sociological Society, and a former member of the NIH Minority Access to Research Careers Study Advisory Group. Dr. Garrison earned his AB from the University of Michigan and MS and PhD from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. 

80 APPENDIX C Carol B. Muller is the founder, president, and chief executive officer of MentorNet, The E-Mentoring Network for Diversity in Engineering and Science. MentorNet (www.MentorNet.net) is a nonprofit organi- zation headquartered in San José, California. Founded in 1997, its mission is to further the progress of women and others underrepre- sented in scientific and technical fields through the use of a dynamic, technology-supported mentoring network; and to advance individ- uals and society, and enhance engineering and related sciences, by promoting a diversified, expanded, and talented global workforce. She is responsible for establishing and implementing the vision for the organization and its programs, developing needed resources, and managing those resources with the help of staff, volunteers, and partners to produce services of high quality and to deliver results. In addition to serving as MentorNet’s president and CEO, she is a consulting associate professor of mechanical engineering at Stanford University. Both Dartmouth’s campus-wide Women in Science Proj- ect, which Dr. Muller co-founded and developed when she served as associate dean for Thayer School of Engineering, and MentorNet have been recognized with the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring. She earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and English from Dartmouth Col- lege, and master’s and doctoral degrees in education administration and policy analysis from Stanford University. Karen Kashmanian Oates is the immediate past provost at Har- risburg University of Science and Technology. In August 2007, she became deputy director for the Division of Undergraduate Educa- tion at the National Science Foundation. She previously spent 15 years on the faculty at George Mason University after a successful career as a research scientist in both private industry and at the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute, where her research focused on the active effects and characterization of thy- mic hormones in immune restoration and cancer therapy. During her tenure at George Mason, Dr. Oates held several key leadership positions, including associate dean for the College of Integrative Studies (New Century College). She is co-PI for the National Center for Science and Civic Engagement, co-PI for Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities (SENCER), and senior science advisor for the International Women in Science and Engi- neering program. She conducts faculty development workshops on topics including assessment strategies, service learning, commu- nity- and discovery-based undergraduate research, using research to inform curricular design, and pedagogies associated with learning 

APPENDIX C 81 communities. Dr. Oates was previously senior science fellow for the Association of American Colleges and Universities. She received her BS in biology from Rochester Institute of Technology and her PhD in biochemistry from George Washington University. STAFF Adam P. Fagen is a program officer with the Board on Life Sciences of the National Research Council. He came to the National Acad- emies from Harvard University, where he most recently served as preceptor on molecular and cellular biology. He earned his PhD in molecular biology and education from Harvard, working with phys- icist Eric Mazur on issues related to undergraduate science courses. His thesis focused on mechanisms for assessing and enhancing the introductory science course in biology and physics to encourage student learning and conceptual understanding. Dr. Fagen also received an AM in molecular and cellular biology from Harvard, based on laboratory research in molecular evolutionary genetics, and a BA from Swarthmore College with a double-major in biology and mathematics. In addition to genetics and molecular biology, he is interested in improving undergraduate and graduate science edu- cation and other scientific workforce and policy issues. He served as co-director of the 2000 National Doctoral Program Survey, an online assessment of doctoral programs organized by the National Associa- tion of Graduate-Professional Students and supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Since coming to the National Academies, Dr. Fagen was study director for Bridges to Independence: Fostering the Independence of New Investigators in Biomedical Research (2005) and co-study director for Treating Infectious Diseases in a Microbial World: Report of Two Work- shops on Novel Antimicrobial Therapeutics (2006). He is study director or staff officer for several ongoing projects, including the National Academies Summer Institute on Undergraduate Education in Biol- ogy, A Leadership Summit to Effect Change in Teaching and Learn- ing: Undergraduate Education in Agriculture, the National Acad- emies Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research Advisory Committee, Biomolecular Materials and Processes, and Research at the Intersec- tion of the Physical and Life Sciences. Tova G. Jacobovits was a senior program assistant with the Board on Life Sciences of the National Research Council until June 2007. She joined the National Academies with an interest in science policy after an internship at the Department of State in the Office of Sci- 

82 APPENDIX C ence and Technology Policy Adviser. At the State Department, her research focused on the methods used by the U.S. government to monitor international human subjects research. Ms. Jacobovits was first introduced to science policy through an internship with the American Association for the Advancement of Science in the Sci- ence, Freedom, Responsibility and Law Program shortly after she graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where she earned her BS degree in biology and Hebrew language. Since her arrival at the National Academies in January 2006, Ms. Jacobovits helped support numerous projects and reports, including the U.S. National Committee within the International Brain Research Organization and the 2007 NRC report The Role of Theory in Advanc- ing 21st Century Biology: Catalyzing Transformative Research. Ms. Jacobovits left the Academies in June 2007 to pursue a PhD in nutrition at the University of Maryland. Her research inter- ests include energy regulation, metabolism, and obesity; food and drug interactions; food safety; and domestic food and agricultural policies. Jay B. Labov serves as a senior advisor for education and com- munications for the National Research Council. He also served for three years as deputy director of the NRC’s Center for Education and was the study director and responsible staff officer for the NRC reports Evaluating and Improving Undergraduate Teaching in Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology (2003); Learning and Under- standing: Improving Advanced Study of Mathematics and Science in U.S. High Schools (2002); Educating Teachers of Science, Mathematics, and Technology: New Practices for the New Millennium (2000); Transform- ing Undergraduate Education in Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology (1999); Serving the Needs of Pre-College Science and Math- ematics Education: Impact of a Digital National Library on Teacher Educa- tion and Practice (1999); and Developing a Digital National Library for Undergraduate Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology Edu- cation (1998). He has served as director of the Center for Education’s Committee on Undergraduate Science Education and Committee on Science Education K-12, and of the National Academies’ Teacher Advisory Council. Dr. Labov is currently the co-PI for a multiyear grant from the National Science Foundation to the Center for Educa- tion and an NSF grant to offer workshops to grantees of the NSF’s Math/Science Partnership Initiative that will enable them to better understand and implement the recommendations in NRC reports on education. He also currently oversees the NRC’s and National Academy of Science’s efforts to improve the teaching of evolution 

APPENDIX C 83 in the public schools and a recently expanded effort of the National Academies to work more closely with disciplinary and professional societies on education issues. Prior to assuming his position at the NRC in August 1997, Dr. Labov was a member of the faculty in the Department of Biology at Colby College (Maine), where he served two terms as chair of the Division of Natural Sciences, associate chair of the Department of Biology, and member of numerous college committees and panels. He taught courses in introductory biology, mammalian anatomy and physiology, animal behavior, and neurobiology. His research and publications in the life sciences have dealt with physiological and behavioral aspects of reproduction in mammals. He was responsible for developing and overseeing a partnership program for Colby sci- entists and teachers in four local school districts. Dr. Labov also has worked with many national organizations and professional societies to improve science education for both pre-college and undergradu- ate students. He received a BS in biology from the University of Miami and a MS in zoology and PhD in biological sciences from the University of Rhode Island. Rebecca L. Walter is a program assistant with the Board on Life Sci- ences of the National Research Council. Ms. Walter is interested in biodiversity, conservation, and education. She joined the National Academies in 2007 after working as a zookeeper and lecturer for Clyde Peeling’s Reptiland in Pennsylvania. Prior to living in Penn- sylvania, she worked as a field instructor in Costa Rica, where she taught rainforest ecology and sea turtle ecology to high school stu- dents. Before moving to Costa Rica, she spent two years teaching English at an immersion school in Mexico. She worked for one year as a zookeeper in the Baltimore Zoo’s Reptile House after earning her BA in biology at the University of Virginia in 2001. CONSULTANTS Steven Olson is the author of Mapping Human History: Genes, Race, and Our Common Origins (Boston: Houghton Mifflin), which was one of five finalists for the 2002 nonfiction National Book Award and received the Science-in-Society Award from the National Asso- ciation of Science Writers. His most recent book, Count Down: Six Kids Vie for Glory at the World’s Toughest Math Competition (Boston: Houghton Mifflin), was named a best science book of 2004 by Dis- cover magazine. He has written several other books, including Evo- lution in Hawaii and Biotechnology: An Industry Comes of Age. He 

84 APPENDIX C has been a consultant writer for the National Academy of Sciences and National Research Council, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, National Institutes of Health, The Institute for Genomic Research, and many other organizations. He is the author of articles in The Atlantic Monthly, Science, Smithsonian, The Washington Post, Scientific American, Wired, The Yale Alumni Magazine, The Washingtonian, Slate, Teacher, Astronomy, Science 82-86, and other magazines. In September 2004 he published with two co-authors an article in Nature that pre- sented a fundamentally new perspective on human ancestry. From 1989 through 1992, he served as special assistant for communica- tions in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. He earned a bachelor’s degree in physics from Yale University in 1978. Paula Tarnapol Whitacre has served as a consultant writer and editor for more than 10 years, working on print and online publica- tions for organizations that include the National Research Coun- cil, National Institutes of Health, Resources for the Future, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and The World Bank. Previously, she developed an international resource center for GreenCOM, an environmental education and communication project funded by USAID, and was director of communications for the Society of American Foresters. Ms. Whitacre is a former Foreign Service Officer with BA and MA degrees in international studies from Johns Hopkins University.