In this section we will be profiling our members and their research. If you are a member and would like to be featured in our member showcase, please contact us at [email protected]
Pei-Che (Paige) Soon
Paige is a Ph.D. researcher in chemistry at New York University. Before coming to the Big Apple, she was a research engineer in DSO National Laboratories, located on a sunny island called Singapore. This is also where she completed her undergraduate studies in chemistry (summa cum laude), fully supported by a scholarship from the Defence Science and Technology Agency.
To date, Paige has 10 years of research and project management. She also has developed strong working relationships with internal and external collaborators, producing several peer-reviewed publications in reputable journals, and winning team awards. She is honored to receive the Women Chemists Committee/Eli Lilly Travel Award that covered the travel expenses to the bi-annual American Chemical Society meeting.
Paige has extensive training in multi-step synthesis, cell culture and materials engineering. Her research interests lie in designing smart molecular imaging probes and developing materials.
To date, Paige has 10 years of research and project management. She also has developed strong working relationships with internal and external collaborators, producing several peer-reviewed publications in reputable journals, and winning team awards. She is honored to receive the Women Chemists Committee/Eli Lilly Travel Award that covered the travel expenses to the bi-annual American Chemical Society meeting.
Paige has extensive training in multi-step synthesis, cell culture and materials engineering. Her research interests lie in designing smart molecular imaging probes and developing materials.
Tamica Collins
Tamica Collins is a PhD student from Chicago, IL. She received her B.S. in Biology cum laude in 2007 and M.S. in Biology in 2009 from Jackson State University. She is currently conducting her research under the guidance of Dr. Xin Zhang at Columbia University and will obtain her PhD degree in Medical and Molecular Genetics from Indiana University School of Medicine. The primary focus of Tamica's research is to study the role of adaptor proteins Crk and CrkL in FGF signaling-dependent lens development. While pursuing her PhD, she became the recipient of the Edward T. Harper Fellowship and the Carl Storm Underrepresented Minority Fellowship.
Although she enjoys conducting research, Tamica also has a passion for teaching science to minority and undergraduate students, as well as introducing them to STEM fields. She currently received the New York Academy of Science Teaching fellowship and teaching credential. She has volunteered for several STEM outreach organizations such as the BIOBUS and Curiosity Machine. She recently became a Faculty of 1000 (F1000) specialist, which give her the opportunity to connect students and faculty with the excellent opportunities that F1000 offers. As an F1000 specialist she helps organize local events, distribute information, and share ideas on F1000 services. Ultimately, one of Tamica's career goals is to become a STEM outreach director and develop an organization that encourages STEM education in underrepresented institution and communities.
When Tamica is not in the lab or doing outreach activities you can find her in vintage shops collecting unique and funky clothes and earrings. She is known as the fashionista of the lab!
Although she enjoys conducting research, Tamica also has a passion for teaching science to minority and undergraduate students, as well as introducing them to STEM fields. She currently received the New York Academy of Science Teaching fellowship and teaching credential. She has volunteered for several STEM outreach organizations such as the BIOBUS and Curiosity Machine. She recently became a Faculty of 1000 (F1000) specialist, which give her the opportunity to connect students and faculty with the excellent opportunities that F1000 offers. As an F1000 specialist she helps organize local events, distribute information, and share ideas on F1000 services. Ultimately, one of Tamica's career goals is to become a STEM outreach director and develop an organization that encourages STEM education in underrepresented institution and communities.
When Tamica is not in the lab or doing outreach activities you can find her in vintage shops collecting unique and funky clothes and earrings. She is known as the fashionista of the lab!
Hasti Amiri, PhD
Hasti is a recent graduate of Columbia University's Chemistry PhD program with particular interest in physical and materials chemistry as well as nanoscale science. She holds a Masters degree in Nanoscale Engineering from the College of Nanoscale Science & Engineering at SUNY Albany and a B.Sc. in Chemistry from Sharif University of Technology in Iran. Hasti’s PhD research experiments focused on investigating ion conduction characteristics in small diameter carbon nanotubes and their similarities to biological nanochannels. After cultivating great interest and skills in nanoscale science, Hasti hopes to continue her career as a scientist in the industry.
Hasti has been teaching chemistry to high school and undergraduate students for more than 10 years. In addition to being a teaching assistant at Columbia University, she had volunteered for the New York Academy of Sciences afterschool STEM program and found the experience quite rewarding. She was also the tutor to the only Gold Medalist of Team USA at 44th Int’l Chemistry Olympiad. In her free time, Hasti enjoys hiking with family and friends, cooking, reading nanotechnology and education news, and travelling with her husband. |