Join the AAAS S&T Policy Fellowships (STPF) on October 17 at 1 p.m. ET to “Ask a Fellow Anything!” This is your last chance to ask STPF fellows your questions before the November 1 application deadline! All questions welcome! Don’t have one? Tune in to hear last-minute valuable application advice from a panel of STPF fellows and alumni. View the full chat schedule and watch previous chats on-demand here.
CHAT PARTICIPANTS
MODERATOR
Mehrab Sarwar, Recruitment Director
FELLOWS
Jaclyn Brennan, 2021-22 American Society of Mechanical Engineers Congressional Science & Engineering Fellow, Office of Rep. Anna Eshoo, 2022-23 Executive Branch Fellow, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
Jaclyn is a biomedical engineer with a passion for developing data-driven solutions for a more equitable, healthier world. She is currently serving as a data scientist at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in the same office where she recently completed her AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowship. There, she supports monitoring, evaluating, and learning the efforts of life-saving humanitarian assistance, thus helping the U.S. government to effectively respond to global disasters, while also establishing foundations for long-term recovery, risk reduction, and the journey to self-reliance. Before joining the 50th class of fellows, Jaclyn was a 2021-2022 Congressional Science and Engineering Fellow for Representative Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA), Chairwoman of the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee. In this role, she helped formulate and advance the Congresswoman's public health and health care legislative priorities and establishing the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). Jaclyn earned her Ph.D. from George Washington University and M.S. from the University of Oklahoma, specializing in cardiac electrophysiology and innovative treatments for heart disease. She is also a proud Hokie, having received her B.S. from Virginia Tech.
Georgia Lagoudas, 2019-20 American Association for the Advancement of Science Congressional Science & Engineering Fellow, Office of Sen. Edward J. Markey, 2020-22 Executive Branch Fellow, U.S. Department of State
Georgia recently served as the Senior Advisor for Biotechnology and Bioeconomy at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. As Senior Advisor, she coordinated a variety of initiatives, including drafting and implementation of an Executive Order on Advancing the American Bioeconomy, as well as launching a White House Initiative to improve indoor air quality. Prior to OSTP, Georgia was a AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow at the Department of State in the Office of Biological Policy Staff. She worked on international and domestic biological policy, helping to coordinate U.S. involvement in the Biological Weapons Convention and leading efforts in biosecurity and biosafety policy and programs. In 2019, Georgia served as a AAAS Congressional Science & Engineering Fellow in the U.S. Senate and worked on climate policy, air pollution, bioeconomy, and the COVID-19 response in Senator Markey’s office (D-MA). She led the writing and introduction of three bills in the Senate, one of which has become law through the CHIPS and Science Act. Before coming to D.C., Georgia worked as a scientist in the DSM Innovation Center in Boston, leading an initiative to develop products to reduce antibiotic usage in animal agriculture. Georgia received her PhD in Biological Engineering from MIT, working at the intersection of infectious disease, genomics, and microfluidics at the Broad Institute.