CRO, Research Director, and Co-Founder

Nationality:

USA

Location:

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Education:

• Harvard University, M.S. in Molecular and Cellular Biology, Quantitative Biology Fellowship Recipient
• University of Maryland Baltimore County, B.S in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Minor in Creative Writing, Valedictorian, Summa Cum Laude

Why Girls in Research:
I have always believed that “knowledge is freedom.” I grew up in a difficult and hyper-conservative household, where I had no control over my own future. The only way I could break away from that role was to teach myself knowledge/skills of every kind so that I had the freedom and ability to do whatever I wanted when I grew up. In other words, I forged the path to my own happiness. Once I became a college student, I reflected on how my path to success was a lonely and difficult journey, one that I never want others to go through. My wish is for every child fromdisadvantaged backgrounds to have the support and resources they need to rise above their circumstances and pursue their dreams. Girls in Research embodies the idea that a young student’s ambition, paired with outstanding mentorship, is the spark that enables them to see their potential as future scholars. We directly mentor young women at a crucial point, when they are just beginning their research journey, and that is an invaluable connection for both people, as we too were once in their shoes.

About Linda: Linda's passions are at the intersection of science, engineering, and art. She holds a Master's degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology from Harvard University. She has Bachelor's degrees in Biochemistry and Creative Writing from the University of Maryland Baltimore County, where she graduated as Valedictorian, was a recipient of the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and three consecutive Undergraduate Research Awards, and was a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship. By day, she works at an MIT biotechnology startup developing new imaging tools for fluorescence microscopy, and by night, she writes and publishes poetry/essays and mixed media art. She is passionate about visualizing science using art and making it dynamic and engaging. Linda has extensive experience as a leader and entrepreneur in STEM. In 2017, she launched City of Cells LLC, an organization with the mission of promoting science education for the public though interactive multimedia and creative consumer products; as a professionally-trained graphic designer and seamstress, she designed infographics, animations, and home furnishings inspired by concepts in biology, chemistry, and physics. She also served as a founding-stage Executive Council Member for the Goldwater Scholar Community Council, established in 2018 “by scholars, for scholars” to promote peer networking, professional development events, and career opportunities. Her earliest undergraduate leadership role was as the President of the American Chemical Society’s (ACS) UMBC Chapter, where she led Science Nights at local elementary schools, speaker seminars, undergraduate research panels, and participation in national ACS meetings. In her spare time, she hangs out with her cat Cookie, plays video games, and eats an unreasonable amount of mango sticky rice.

CFO, Financial Director, and Co-Founder

Nationality:

Denmark and United Kingdom

Location:

London, United Kingdom

Education:

• University of Cambridge, Ph.D, Machine Learning For Chemistry, SynTech CDT and UCB Pharma Scholar
• Imperial College London, M.Eng, Chemical Engineering
• Imperial College London, B.Eng, Chemical Engineering

Why Girls In Research: My journey into research began in high school when I participated in a Danish government-backed initiative called “Forsker Spirer” (literally: “Researcher Sapling”). Under the guidance of a clinical professor, I designed a study investigating the effects of caffeine as a performance enhancer. This early exposure ignited my passion for research and fueled my desire to create opportunities for others, much like the ones I had growing up. Girls in Research is more than just a program—it’s a platform where learning unfolds through the process of designing, building, and creating. Whether it’s delving into the impact of social connectedness on adolescents' emotions following social isolation, producing a short film on immersing oneself in Japanese culture, or developing an app that utilizes AI to identify weeds in crop fields, Girls in Research is dedicated to nurturing the next generation of innovators.

About Daniel: Daniel Wigh is Danish-born, and has lived in Denmark, Venezuela, Singapore, and for the past 8 years, in the UK. Daniel holds an integrated masters in chemical engineering from Imperial College London, and recently completed his industry-funded PhD in machine learning for chemistry at the University of Cambridge. Daniel’s academic focus is on modelling fundamental chemical processes. In his PhD he coupled mathematical modelling with quantum chemical calculations to predict the outcome of novel reactions. He also developed transfer learning as a strategy for chemical reaction optimization, and developed workflows for cleaning and curating big datasets in chemistry which he then used to train transformer models (same model architecture as ChatGPT, but applied to chemistry) and neural networks for various downstream chemical tasks. Daniel is currently exploring industrial applications of his academic work on chemical reaction optimization.

His PHD work has been streamlined into the successful deep-tech startup, ReactWise that has been backed by Silicon Valley magnate, Y Combinator in S24, in which Daniel is the CTO. Beyond academia, Daniel has interned at Bank of America in quantitative strategies, researching automation of trading signals in European bonds. During his undergraduate, he also interned at Barclays in Equity research, and at HSBC where he won the “Future Leader” award, being selected from a cohort of 120 interns. He has a small community of followers on Tiktok (@DanielWigh) where he teaches his followers about chemistry and mathematics, with 10 million+ video views. In addition, he also makes chemistry videos for online tutoring giant Chegg (@CheggChemistry) as their most viewed and longest running influencer with over 8 million+ in collective video views. In his spare time, Daniel enjoys rowing for his Cambridge college, running, and listening to jazz.

Director of Education and Culture

Nationality:

Fiji and United Kingdom

Location:

Cambridge, United Kingdom

Education:

• University of Cambridge, Education & Research
• Design Academy Eindhoven, Master's Degree, International Design & Architecture
• The University of Edinburgh, B.A. (Hons) in Design and Applied Arts

About Samuel: Samuel Selwyn-Bazeley was born in Fiji, South Pacific and was educated at the University of Cambridge. He is a British educator, artistic director, sculptor and philanthropist who is currently head of visual arts in Winchester, England. Primarily interested in the social practice of art, he has held several advisory positions, including chairman of Cambridge based AI for education think-tank and invests in global artistic projects that celebrate play and storytelling for children and adults. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and earned degrees from prestigious academies and universities including, Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Design Academy Eindhoven, University of Edinburgh and Central St Martins. Selwyn-Bazeley’s expansive, interdisciplinary practice includes public projects, monumental sculptures, immersive installations, pavilions and playgrounds to film, tapestry, drawing and painting. He takes on architectural spaces with work that combines epic scope and express the immensity of the Pacific Ocean and the thousands of islands settled by voyagers using only the wave patterns, bird flight and stars to navigate. He is working on a series of children’s books that explore the intersection between art, ecology and the rewilding of our habitats. Recent international commissions include A River Runs Through It, the design of a sculpture park in Newbury and State of the Union, a monumental sculpture that celebrates the history of debate and free speech at Cambridge University’s Union. His work is held in major private collections around the world and he continued to receive increasingly significant sculpture commissions. Selwyn-Bazeley will grow educational partnerships for Girls In Research and be pivotal in championing new ideas and fostering creativity.