
AWIS
ASSOCIATION FOR WOMEN IN SCIENCE
Central Massachusetts Chapter
Past Events
Career Panel: Navigating Your Professional Growth
Do you ever wonder, “How do I get the next promotion or get to a higher management level?” Are you considering making a career change? Do you ever feel overwhelmed and like you're not sure what to do next? You're not alone!
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Panelists:
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Kathryn McCabe, Ph.D., Dir. Business Development, Eli Lilly and Company
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Kathrine Chen, Ph.D., Executive Dir, STEM Education Center, WPI
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Susanne Scesney, Global Preclinical Safety, AbbVie
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Tamarra James-Todd, Ph.D., MPH, Asst. Prof. Harvard School of Public Health
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MARCH 2018

This seminar will focus on how to highlight experiences and skills on a resume and cover letter and the importance of tailoring these documents for specific roles. Lauren Celano will provide:
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Examples of skills and experiences that should be emphasized for different types of roles (bench and non-bench research, business development, marketing, consulting, product/project management, and clinical).
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Advice and examples on resume formatting.
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Demonstrate how to write a tailored cover letter for a specific job description and what information a hiring manager looks for in this document.

APRIL 2018



Wednesday April 4, Gateway Park 1002, 60 Prescott St Worcester
Technical Specialist at Lathrop Gage
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Victoria Pedanou is a technical specialist on the firm's Intellectual Property Transactional team with a concentration in biotechnology and life sciences. Dr. Pedanou's expertise and background in biomedical science and biochemistry spans several sub-disciplines, including utilizing techniques in genome wide screening, deep sequencing, RNA interference, molecular biology, cell structure and animal models. Prior to joining the firm, Dr. Pedanou worked as a licensing intern for the University of Massachusetts Medical School. While there she evaluated the technology covered by current patents held by the University's medical school; composed targeted marketing disclosures for innovative life science technologies; and evaluated potential commercial interest in academic discoveries, as well as researched prior art to determine the patentability of technologies. She also served as a patent law intern for a large law firm in Boston, where she worked with patent attorneys to assist in drafting new patent applications.


Thursday April 12, UMass Medical School, Room S2-351
Sri Narasimhan, Ph.D.
Senior Editor, Cell Press
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Sri Devi Narasimhan joined Cell in 2012 after completing her doctoral training in the molecular genetics of aging at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and postdoctoral research at Harvard Medical School, where she investigated the link between longevity and energy metabolism. As Scientific Editor she handles all types of manuscripts across Cell's broad scope.
Tuesday April 17, Gateway Park 1002, 60 Prescott St Worcester
Anjali Arora, MCA
Chief Product Officer, Rocket Software
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Anjali Arora joined Rocket in 2017 as the company’s Chief Product Officer, responsible for driving Rocket’s product strategy and R&D roadmap. Prior to Rocket, she spent 3 years at Oracle as Global Vice President of Software Engineering. While at Oracle, Anjali managed R&D for the company’s Health Sciences Global Business Unit (HSGBU), with responsibility for a portfolio of 40+ products and 600+ people in locations around the world. She led a transformation of the organization by bringing new talent focused on end user experience, simplified interactive design, native cloud and micro-services based architecture, modern open source technology uptake, agile and quality and performance at all levels. Prior to Oracle, Anjali was Vice President of R&D at Allscripts, a top-5 healthcare IT company, where she led R&D for all Administrative and Financial Solutions (AFS). Earlier in her career, she spent over 12 years at CA in roles ranging from software engineer to Vice President of Software Engineering, as well as working at companies such as Digital Equipment Corporation and EMC.
Anjali was recognized by the Boston Business Journal in their 2009 40 under 40 list, and was also a 2015 India New England Woman of the Year Finalist. She served for multiple years as the Cultural Chair on the executive board of the India Society of Worcester (ISW), and organizes various cultural, social, educational and charitable events for the society throughout the year. Anjali holds a Bachelor of Arts and Mathematics degree from St. Stephen’s College in India, and a Masters in Computer Applications from the University of Delhi.
January 2019
We're on the radio!
Recently, our Chapter President, Snehalata Kadam, and Vice President, Robyn Marty-Roix, spoke on the Community Matters radio program on WCUW 91.3FM.
Listen to our chapter leaders speak about the creation of our Chapter, how we work to fulfill the need for a local women's professional STEM group, and how we strive for positive system transformation.

August 2019

Come talk to us and know more about our association at our Booth at the DCU center during the
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India Day 2019 Celebration
Clink on the link below for more details about the event
September 2019

Start off the new year right by grabbing a beer and making new connections!
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Meet local STEM professionals and broaden your network
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Bring a business card for a chance to win door prizes
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Interested in adding leadership experience to your CV/resume? Ask about volunteering opportunities or how to join our board!
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Learn more about the benefits of becoming an AWIS member and our upcoming events
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Converse with us about how we can better suit your professional needs
November 2019

February 2020

June 2020

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Discussion webinar via zoom
18th June 2020
6:30 - 7.30 pm
After braving through the storm a pandemic has imposed on us, AWIS is excited to host our first virtual discussion webinar “From challenges to achievements during COVID-19”.
Our AWIS board consists of postdocs, industry professionals and professors, and we are hosting a discussion on how to deal with new challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic.
We would like to hear from you as well as offer tips on how to deal with shifting career progression, how to deal with multitasking one’s personal and professional life under a single roof and how to juggle many zoom meetings.
October 2020

Interested in knowing how you can transition to your dream job during the pandemic? How to build your profile? How to stand out as an applicant? What do the hiring managers look for? How to network effectively? What are the online tools available?
Panelists for the event:
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Cynthia Fuhrmann, Asst. Dean of Career and Professional Development, UMass Medical School
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Sri Narasimhan, Deputy Editor, Cell
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Danika Khong, Co-founder, Scismic
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Seemin Ahmed, Research Investigator, Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR)
December 2020

Interested to know how to build your resume for the job market? Need tips to crack the interview?
Join us to learn from the expert, Lauren Celano, Founder and CEO of Propel Careers as she will guide you the process in this interactive workshop.
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December 10th, 2020, 6.30 pm
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Zoom event
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June 2021

Ever wondered how AWIS Central MA was born!
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A special chance to meet our founding members, advisory members, past board members, collaborators and more!
Join us for this affinity networking free online session on June 17th, 6-7.30 pm
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Zoom link upon registration
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November 2021

Meet a mentor
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Join us for an interactive and insightful mentoring event where our speakers from diverse career paths will share their experiences as mentors and mentees.
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Amy Gancarz-Kausch, Associate Professor of Neuroscience, Department of Psychology at California State University
Ellen Leinfuss, Lead Commercial Officer, Certara Simcyp division
Paromita Gupta, Scientific Operations Lead, Brigham and Women's Hospital
Ranjith Anand, Associate Director, Pig engineering, eGenesis Inc.
Adriana Bankston, Principal Legislative Analyst, University of California Office of Federal Governmental Relations, Washington, DC.
This event is FREE. Please register using the register button to the left
Nov 4th, 2021, 6-7:30pm EST
April 2022

Dr. Joanne Kamens will share her thoughts on how to respond to bullying in Science. She has been advancing diversity and inclusion for decades. She was the founder of the Boston Chapter of AWIS (Mass AWIS) and currently serves on the AWIS National Board of Directors.
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Dr. Kamens served as the Executive Director of Addgene and the Interim Executive Director of the Bentley University Center for Women and Business. She is currently the senior consultant of The Impact Seat and helps organizations to develop and maintain inclusive cultures.
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Date and time
Tue, April 5, 2022
6:30 PM – 7:30 PM EDT
June 2022

Join us to hear from Trudi Veldman, PhD, Executive Director, Discovery, AbbVie, about her insights on mentorship, career development and research.
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An interactive evening with Trudi where we can learn what it takes to be a biologics drug discovery expert leader in biotech and pharma industry!
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June 2nd, 2022; 6-7 pm EST
Zoom link upon registration
October 2022

Come for our fall networking event to meet AWIS alumni and former board members!!! We have 3 new board members as well.
When: Thursday 20 October 6:00pm EST.
Where: Redemption Rock Brewing Co. 333 Shrewsbury Street, Worcester MA
April 2023

Join our event to get professional feedback on your resume from AWIS alumni and current board members!!
When: Friday 14 April 6:00pm EST.
Where: Wormtown Brewery, 72 Shrewsbury Street, Worcester MA
January 2024

Join us for A Night for Women in Science to listen to two inspirational guest speakers, Dr. Mary Munson from UMass Chan Medical School and Dr. Catherine Whittington from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and network with event attendees.
When: January 17th, 2024 6:00pm EST.
Where: Worcester Polytechnic Institute
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October 2024


10th Geek is Glam STEM Expo to bring STEM opportunities to girls from 4th to 8th grade and show them that science, technology, engineering and math can be exciting, fulfilling and fun!
Workshop Title: The Magic of Light
When: October 13th, 2024 11:20am EST.
Where: Worcester Polytechnic Institute​​
November 2024

Join us for the 2nd Annual "A Night for Women in Science" to listen to two inspirational guest speakers, Dean Jean King from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Dr. Senegal Carty from Nature Reviews Endocrinology, and network with event attendees.
When: November 18th, 2024 6:00pm EST.
Where: Worcester Polytechnic Institute
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January 2025

Joint Coffee Hour with UMPA (UMass Chan Medical School Postdoc Association) to promote women in STEM and network with peers.
When: January 30th, 2025 10:00am EST.
Where: UMass Chan Medical School
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February 2025

Are you looking to pivot from an academic setting to a STEM job in industry but not sure the first steps to take and how to design your CV/resume? Join AWIS Central Massachusetts for an insightful career development workshop featuring Dr. Liz Hileman as she presents “Resume DNA for PhDs: Landing Your First Industry Job.”
Discover how to transform your academic CV into a standout resume that catches the eye of industry recruiters. Plus, gain valuable tips on how to prepare for interviews and make a lasting impression. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from an expert with many years of experience and a passion for helping early career scientists and take the next step toward your industry career!
When: March 19th, 2025 6:00pm EST.
Where: Zoom
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