Meet the Team

CuSTEMized is run by of a small group of loosely collaborating volunteers (and volunteers only)! We are also graduate students, medical students, working professionals, and more, so you can learn a bit more about us on this page. If you are interested in joining the CuSTEMized team, please see our Volunteer Opportunities.



Jean Fan

Founder, Director, Developer
jean@custemized.org

I am an Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins University in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. I received my PhD from Harvard University in Bioinformatics. I formerly served as co-chair of the Harvard Graduate Women in Science and Engineering student group, as a mentor-scientist for Science Club for Girls in Boston, and taught Computer Science Without Intimidation for 5th graders at The Innovation Institute.


Sayda Zelaya

Outreach Coordinator
sayda@custemized.org

I am an advocate for social justice and equality with a passion to get more young women and girls educated in the STEM fields. I am a recent transplant from Washington D.C. where I worked in various social justice-oriented organizations. In my spare time I like to cook and cuddle with my dog Duke.


Maria Cabrera Abad

Social Media Director
maria@custemized.org

I'm a research technician working in a synthetic biology lab at California Institute of Technology. My work involves genetically engineering cells so they can perform new functions. When I'm not in lab, I like to hike, paint, and help empower girls to pursue careers in STEM!


Kamil Slowikowski

Developer

I'm a graduate student studying bioinformatics and integrative genomics at Harvard. I spend most of my time developing free software for genomics research, with a current focus on autoimmune diseases. I also greatly enjoy teaching programming because I think it's a very empowering skill.


Kimberlyn Bailey

Social Media Assistant, Graphics Assistant

I am a post-baccalaureate research assistant in a computational neuroscience lab at the National Institutes of Health. Having first pursued a career in fashion magazines and encountered a number of roadblocks switching over to science, I am motivated to do what I can to make such pathways easier for girls.


Aeja Pinto

Social Media Assistant, Assistant Editor

I am an undergraduate student at the University of Florida (UF). I am the lead of altitude control payloads for UF’s Rocket Team and serve as the Director of Public Relations for Dream Team Engineering - an engineering organization that builds bio-medical systems for Shands Hospital. In fact, I am currently building a model MRI system! Moreover, I am used to being the only girl in the room, and because of that, I am passionate about encouraging young girls to envision themselves in any and all positions of STEM. With all of the studying and engineering involved in my daily life, I have one secret weapon: lots and lots of coffee.


Ivy Chen

Assistant Web/Software Developer

I'm an undergraduate student studying Computer Science and Operations Research at Columbia University. I'm driven to solve challenges at the intersection of technology and society and advocate for diversity in STEM disciplines. In my spare time, I can be found reading, exploring the great outdoors, or playing board games (Monopoly doesn't count!).


Janet Yu

Assistant Web/Software Developer

I am an undergraduate student studying Computer Science at the University of California, Irvine. When I am not playing around with code, I love to draw and create colorful illustrations, as I find imagining the different kinds of stories I can try to portray through art fun and relaxing. I also love to watch documentaries about nature and the variety of animals we can find around the world (especially in the ocean!).



Additional Contributors and Alumni

Jess Rice
Marketing Director

Ruoran Li
Data Analyst

Oana Livia Apostu
Developer, Editor

Elizabeth Fang
Editor

Mihai Sirbu
Editor

Sindhoora Murty
Editor

Katie Schmidt
Social Media Manager

Claire Hassen-Khodja
French Translator

Stella Bähr
German Translator


In addition, we thank Rebeca Borges Monroy, the Slowikowski family, and others for helping with the translations, Ka Moua and Gao Hilda Lee for their help with social media, and Jack Kosmicki for his help in beta testing. We also thank former volunteers Irene Chern, Mindy Wang, and Curry Chern for their contributions.