Your Organising Committee
From securing funding, to seeking out the best experts in the field, these are the volunteers that are making ComSciConCAN 2024 happen! Don’t hesitate to reach out to any one of us for a chat both during, and outside, the conference!
2024 Directors
President
Tara McDonnell (she/her)
External Director
Toby Le (he/him)
President, ComSciCon Canada Non Profit Organisation
Toby Le is Vietnamese Canadian and was born in Toronto, Canada. Toby's journey in science communication started during his undergraduate years when he participated in an internship in Tanzania, collaborating with local women to raise awareness about the science of fermented foods. Since then, Toby has actively collaborated with populations in East Africa, to promote equitable access to science and build trust between the general public and scientists.
As the 2024 External Director, Toby oversees actions involving external parties to the organising committee, including invited expert communications.
Internal Director (Admin)
Jolie Miller (they/she)
Director, ComSciCon Canada Non Profit Organisation
Tara M. is an Australian scientist and science communicator, currently completing her PhD in the Department of Cell & Systems Biology. She completed her BSc in Chemistry and Molecular Biology, and BSc (Honours) in Chemistry, at the University of New South Wales, Sydney. Tara has completed a wide range of research projects across five different labs, from looking at metal nanoparticle crystallisation mechanisms to deciphering how retinal progenitors decide their fate. In addition to research, Tara has a passion for science communication and outreach, and recently helped co-found ComSciCon Canada as a Non-Profit! Outside of science she is an avid video gamer, loves going hiking, and spends most of her time hanging out with her two cats; Mango & Declan.
As the 2024 President, she oversees operations of the entire organising committee. She also manages the Promotions and Attendee communications teams.
Secretary, ComSciCon Canada Non Profit Organisation
Jolie is from Bethesda, MD, and became involved in science due to their participation in the competitive club Science Olympiad. She received her B.Sc. degree in Chemistry from Carnegie Mellon University in May 2021. During their undergraduate career, Jolie helped organize the first three Science Olympiad competitions at CMU, hoping to inspire the next generation of scientists. In fall 2021, Jolie joined the Peng lab as a PhD student, where she is working on determining the molecular initiating events of organophosphate ester toxicity, which are commonly used in plastics and flame retardants. Outside of the lab, Jolie enjoys reading queer fiction novels, baking, and playing with their two cats.
As one of two internal directors for 2024, Jolie oversees back-end aspects of the conference organisation, with a focus on administration. They also act as a liason between ComSciCon Canada and the US ComSciCon teams.
Internal Director (Finance)
Elyse Letts (she/her)
Elyse has a background in kinesiology and is currently a PhD student in Medical Sciences at McMaster University. Her current research focuses on improving how we measure activity in toddlers and also looks at the impact of physical activity on toddler health outcomes. She is passionate about effectively sharing science ideas to a broad audience. She is involved in other science communication endeavours such as mentoring high school and undergraduate students with STEM Fellowship and sharing research with the larger community at Soapbox Science Hamilton. Outside of science communication and research, she loves to read and travel!
As one of two internal directors for 2024, Elyse oversees back-end aspects of the conference organisation, with a focus on finance.
2024 Executives
Francesco Zangari
Francesco is Ph.D. researcher at the University of Toronto within the Lunenfeld Tanenbaum Research Institute. He studies the intersection between RNA/Protein biology by building new tools to survey their interactions. These mapping efforts will serve as an atlas that can be referred to in diseased states when often these interactions are altered. When not doing experiments, he has spent time making science accessible through writing covering an array of topics like the microbiome, COVID-19 and Canada’s biotechnology sector for outlets like the National Association of Science Writers, Signals Blog and Massive Science. Through writing, Francesco has also become involved with science outreach groups, and currently works with both Scihigh and ComSciConCAN focusing on fostering scientific literacy throughout the education system. While he spends a lot of time in the scientific realm, Francesco gets away from it occasionally and likes to spend time watching sporting events, watching investigative documentaries or walking around Toronto. If you’d like to connect with me, DM me on Twitter @franthewriter1 or leave a message on my site.
Alex Innanen (they/them)
Alex is a planetary scientist completing their PhD at York University studying Mars’ atmosphere. They are a collaborator on the Curiosity rover and take part in science operations planning as well as being a lead on the environmental science team. Alex has also been helping to develop an instrument which will study the origins of mysterious Martian methane. They love to share their passion for delving into the mysteries of the universe with as many people as possible, whether that be through outreach or just chatting with friends.
Cathy Yan (she/her)
Cathy is a third-year PhD student in the Department of Genome Science and Technology at the University of British Columbia. Her research seeks to uncover how the DNA and RNA of individual tumour cells can inform personalized treatment for patients with cancer. Outside of academia, she is engaged in science policy initiatives. She is a volunteer for the Canadian Science Policy Centre, and an FSWEP student for the National Advisory Committee on Immunization. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking and traveling.
Juliet Rowe (she/her)
Juliet Rowe is a MSc student in Rehabilitation Research at Dalhousie University. In the Laboratory for Brain Rehabilitation and Function, Juliet researches how we learn/re-learn movements through the imagination of movement (motor imagery). Juliet started her science communication journey as the host and producer of Mind: The Gap – a podcast dedicated to discovering the minds behind the people bringing science to society. Since then, Juliet placed second in Dalhousie University’s 3-Minute Thesis Competition with her presentation “Does Size Really Matter?” and she co-founded Bright Club Halifax – the comedy club that organizes comedy events around Halifax for researchers and academics to perform stand-up comedy about their research/work. Alongside science communication, Juliet has a passion for rock climbing, Cape-Breton style fiddling, and playing complex co-op board games like Spirit Island.
Ashley Mickens (she/her)
Ashley is a Master's student in biology at the University of Victoria. Her research is focused on how cities are influencing aquatic ecosystems by looking ar water quality and a small fish called the threespine stickleback. She started engaging in SciComm near the end of her undergrad, but has loved SciComm since she was a kid running though the fossil beds in southwest Ohio. Since coming to Canada, she has written many SciComm posts, started a podcast and participated in regional SciComm events. Ashley is passionate about increasing representation in STEM and hopes to show that science is for everyone!
Mikey Jose (he/him)
Mikey Jose is a PhD Candidate in Neuroscience at UBC. Mikey’s research orientation lends itself well to multidisciplinary research, as he continuously strives to bridge the gap between the arts and health/medicine. Mikey is passionate about validating the crucial role that music plays in everyday life and clinical settings, and has received many opportunities to share this passion as a TEDx speaker, invited panelist and presenter at several international conferences, and Director of UBC Brain and Music Group (In Tune With Your Brain Symposia). Outside of academia, Mikey is a composer, songwriter, and musician, and has accumulated over 3 million streams in 176 countries through his solo project. His passion for creating music and deep interest in neuroscience intertwine, driving him to understand more fully the incredible holistic power of music.
Ben Davis-Purcell (he/him)
Ben is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the field of experimental particle physics at TRIUMF in Vancouver, where he makes precision measurements of the fundamental building blocks of the Universe. His PhD research also focused on measuring subatomic particles, except they were particles created by the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, the massive physics laboratory near Geneva, Switzerland. Before his postdoc, Ben worked as a Policy Analyst at NSERC, where he focused on modernizing research assessment and impact reporting. Ben loves communicating science to show that science is for everyone, including through podcasts, public presentations, teaching, and policy. He has been a member of the ComSciConCAN community for 4 years, beginning as an attendee, moving to the Organising Committee, and now graduating to the Advisory Board. In his spare time, he plays as many sports as possible, including hockey, squash, and ultimate frisbee, and has a (definitely not) degenerate fantasy football addiction.
2024 Advisory Board
Cissy Suen (she/her/elle)
Director, ComSciCon Canada Non-profit Organisation
Cissy is a joint PhD student with the Quantum Matter Institute at the University of British Columbia and the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research. She researches strongly correlated materials using different spectroscopic techniques, in particular angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES). Cissy's experiments take her all over the world, including a year long doctoral fellowship at the Advanced Light Source in Berkeley, California! Cissy is also incredibly passionate about science policy; she is interested in exploring how we can better communicate quantum advances to the broader public and bridging the frontiers of quantum research with policy.
Julie McNutt (she/her)
Julie McNutt is a PhD candidate in the Department of Chemistry at The University of British Columbia. She studies how drugs slow the progression of breast cancer cells using machines and techniques in chemistry. Julie has been involved with ComSciConCAN since 2020 and is pursuing a career in science communication and disciplinary-based education research. During her time as a graduate student, Julie was a graduate facilitator of Instructional Skills Workshops and the Certificate in Advanced Teaching & Learning. She was also a graduate peer reviewer of teaching and was the instructor for Scientific Thinking & Literacy as part of the first-year integrated science program called Science One. Currently, she is teaching Introduction to Chemical Analysis as a sessional lecturer to keep her busy while she finishes writing her dissertation.
Katie Pullella (she/her)
Katie is a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto in the Department of Nutritional Sciences. Her research focuses on understanding how exposure to environmental toxins, such as arsenic, impacts cancer risk in Canada. Katie's passion for #scicomm stems from working in a science museum, where she spent her time sharing her love of science with audiences of all ages! When she's not working on her research, Katie loves to hike, read and play tennis!