Association for Women in Science Announces 2022 Scholarship Recipients

Congratulations to these passionate and inspiring AWIS members

WASHINGTON DC, June 2, 2022 – The Association for Women in Science (AWIS) announces its 2022 Scholarship Awards recipients. The AWIS Distinguished Doctoral Research Scholarship is awarded to Maya C. Schumer to support her living expenses and professional development. The AWIS Career Re-entry Scholarships are awarded to Martine Wagstaff and Laiba Bilal. The Dr. Vicki L. Schechtman Scholarship is awarded to Daniela Galvez-Cepeda.

“It’s wonderful to see so many women committed to pursuing their careers in science and STEM. This year’s recipients have conveyed passion through their stories, and AWIS is delighted to support the next steps in their career,” stated Meredith Gibson, Interim CEO of AWIS.

AWIS supports women in their STEM career journeys and advocates for equitable and safe workplaces. Organizations function more effectively with diversity of thought and the inclusion of varying voices. The innovations and discoveries of dedicated and diverse staff will benefit all of society.

Meet the 2022 AWIS Scholarship recipients:

Maya C. Schumer is a PhD candidate in neuroscience at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. She is mentored by Dr. Mary L. Phillips, Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Clinical Translational Science. Her research uses functional neuroimaging, meta-analysis, and machine learning to detect risk for Bipolar Disorder, focusing on neural mechanisms underlying emotion-driven impulsivity that predispose young adults to mania, yielding neural markers that can aid earlier risk detection, improve diagnostic accuracy, and inform treatment.

Martine Wagstaff, PhD is from the UK and came to the U.S. to work in Environmental Education. She earned her PhD at UMass Boston in Environmental Biology, focusing on Marine Ecology and Evolution. Her work on shallow subtidal habitats in the Gulf of Maine focused on identifying ecological processes that structure the balance between algae and sessile invertebrates, how invasive species have disrupted community structure through time, and how invasive species themselves evolve once they enter new habitats.

Laiba Bilal is a Ph.D. candidate at Stony Brook University, born and raised in Pakistan. She will complete her doctoral research phase as a Research Assistant at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Currently, Bilal is working on Nanoparticle synthesis, analyzing various materials, and focusing on silicate nanocages to be tailored for isotope production and nuclear application. This includes experimenting with trapping noble gases for intended purposes in Nuclear Physics and Clean Energy Revolution.

Daniela Galvez-Cepeda is a Psychology and Mathematics major at Williams College. After graduation (2024) she plans to pursue a PhD degree in Developmental Psychology focusing on the cognitive development of children, gender identity, stereotypes, and biases. She envisions her research will influence schools and parents to reduce the perpetuation of gender stereotypes. Currently, Daniela works in Dr. Eliza Congdon’s lab at Williams College and Dr. Andrei Cimpian’s lab at New York University. She is also the Vice President of the Williams College chapter of the Association for Women in Mathematics, as well as the Natural Sciences & Mathematics Editor in Chief of the Williams Undergraduate Research Journal.

Learn more about AWIS’ scholarships and awards.