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The Keystone Symposia Fellows Program

The Keystone Symposia Fellows Program graduated its inaugural class in June 2009. This highly unique, research-driven, diversity-centered program educates early career scientists regarding the inner workings of the life sciences community and provides a venue for high-level interaction with established and leading scientists nationally and globally. The Fellows Program provides context, understanding and insight regarding the development of high-powered research meetings, utilizing shadowing experiences with scientist organizers and key Keystone Symposia staff members. These experiences allow for learning how the research agenda is set, how to engage in high-level discourse on research topics and how to broaden perspectives in life science research.
Keystone Symposia Fellows Program Flyer

Fellows Class of 2011-2012

Blythe Janowiak, Ph.D.
Dr. Blythe Janowiak received her B.A. in Chemistry and Biological Sciences in 2000 from DePauw University and her Ph.D. in Biochemistry at the Medical College of Wisconsin in 2005. After completing a postdoctoral fellowship in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at Harvard Medical School, she joined the faculty of Saint Louis University as an Assistant Professor of Biology in 2010. Her research focuses on the role of bacterial antioxidants as potential new drug targets in antibiotic-resistant bacteria. She believes that having a laboratory composed of individuals with diverse backgrounds greatly enriches the scholarly, cultural, and social activities both inside and outside the lab.

Frederick Gregory, Ph.D.
Frederick Gregory is a postdoctoral scholar in Molecular Physiology and Biophysics at the University of Iowa. He earned a B.S. in Biology from Morehouse College and a Ph.D. in Neurobiology from UCLA. During the first phase of his postdoctoral training he was a science teaching and curriculum development fellow at Emory University. Currently, Dr. Gregory is investigating the regulatory mechanisms controlling Ca2+ channels in inner hair cells from the mouse cochlea. He believes that diverse approaches and people are required to elucidate the answers to the mysteries of life and our physical world. Multiple perspectives allow us to conceptualize problems in a way that permit finding the most creative solutions.

Kelly Jean Thomas, Ph.D.
Dr. Kelly Jean Thomas received her Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology from Georgetown University in 2009, studying mitochondrial dysfunction in Parkinson’s disease in the laboratory of neurogenetics under Dr. Mark R. Cookson at the National Institute on Aging. Building upon her training at the NIH, she now investigates the role of mitochondria in the etiology of lung cancer as postdoctoral fellow at the Saccomanno Research Institute at St. Mary’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center. Dr. Thomas also serves as an adjunct faculty member in the biology department at Colorado Mesa University.

Lydia Contreras, Ph.D.
Dr. Lydia M. Contreras was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and arrived in New York City in October of 1991. She obtained a B.S.E. in Chemical Engineering from Princeton University in 2003 and completed her PhD in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University in 2008, focusing on engineering bacterial cells for improved production of therapeutic proteins. In 2008, she joined the Wadsworth Research Center (New York State Department of Health) as an NIH Postdoctoral Fellow, where she worked on understanding mechanisms of infection in pathogenic bacteria. In January 2011, Dr. Contreras joined the Chemical Engineering Department at the University of Texas at Austin as an assistant professor to conduct fundamental research in the areas of RNA characterization and RNA-protein chemistry. Dr. Contreras has received several recognitions, most recently including a 2009 FASEB Postdoctoral Award, a Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) Young Investigator (2011-2013), and named as an Innovative Early-Career Frontiers of Engineering Educator (2011). She believes that enhancing diversity is essential to provide the types of creative solutions that are needed to solve complex and interesting problems in biology.

Manu Platt, Ph.D.
Dr. Manu Platt earned his BS in Biology from Morehouse College in 2001 and a Ph.D. from Georgia Tech and Emory University’s joint Biomedical Engineering program in 2006. After postdoctoral work at MIT, he returned to Georgia Tech/Emory as an assistant professor in 2009. There, his lab studies proteolytic mechanisms of sickle cell disease, HIV-mediated cardiovascular disease, and cancer metastasis with computational and experimental models. These diseases disproportionately affect minority populations which underscore Dr. Platt’s belief in diversity at the bench to solve health disparities with unique perspectives. His work is funded by NIH Director’s New Innovator Award, International AIDS Society, and Georgia Cancer Coalition.

See Fellows from prior years

Application Process

The application process for the 2012-2013 Keystone Symposia Fellows Program year will open June 1, 2012.

Applications must be submitted by September 1 of each calendar year, and notification will be made by October, with a start date of November 1. Application forms will be available for download starting on June 1.

For general information regarding the Keystone Symposia on Molecular and Cellular Biology Fellowship Program, please contact:

Ms. Bridget Stacy
Administrative Assistant
Diversity in Life Science Programs
Keystone Symposia
Silverthorne, Colorado 80498
bridgets@keystonesymposia.org
Tele: 970-262-1230 Ext. 133

Dr. Laina King
Director, Diversity in Life Science Programs
Keystone Symposia
Silverthorne, Colorado 80498
lainak@keystonesymposia.org

The Keystone Symposia Perspective on Diversity
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Longitudinal Parameters of the Keystone Diversity Perspective
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History of Keystone Symposia Diversity Initiatives
Keystone Symposia Initiatives in Diversity
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Download the poster presented on the Keystone Symposia Fellows Program at the 4th Conference on Understanding Interventions (2.9MB)
Download The Poster Summarizing Our Initiatives In Diversity (291k)

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	Blythe Janowiak, Ph.D. Dr. Blythe Janowiak received her B.A. in Chemistry and Biological Sciences in 2000 from DePauw University and her Ph.D. in Biochemistry at the Medical College of Wisconsin in 2005. After completing a postdoctoral fellowship in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at Harvard Medical School, she joined the faculty of Saint Louis University as an Assistant Professor of Biology in 2010. Her research focuses on the role of bacterial antioxidants as potential new drug targets in antibiotic-resistant bacteria. She believes that having a laboratory composed of individuals with diverse backgrounds greatly enriches the scholarly, cultural, and social activities both inside and outside the lab.
	Frederick Gregory, Ph.D. Frederick Gregory is a postdoctoral scholar in Molecular Physiology and Biophysics at the University of Iowa. He earned a B.S. in Biology from Morehouse College and a Ph.D. in Neurobiology from UCLA. During the first phase of his postdoctoral training he was a science teaching and curriculum development fellow at Emory University. Currently, Dr. Gregory is investigating the regulatory mechanisms controlling Ca2+ channels in inner hair cells from the mouse cochlea. He believes that diverse approaches and people are required to elucidate the answers to the mysteries of life and our physical world. Multiple perspectives allow us to conceptualize problems in a way that permit finding the most creative solutions.
	Kelly Jean Thomas, Ph.D. Dr. Kelly Jean Thomas received her Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology from Georgetown University in 2009, studying mitochondrial dysfunction in Parkinson’s disease in the laboratory of neurogenetics under Dr. Mark R. Cookson at the National Institute on Aging. Building upon her training at the NIH, she now investigates the role of mitochondria in the etiology of lung cancer as postdoctoral fellow at the Saccomanno Research Institute at St. Mary’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center. Dr. Thomas also serves as an adjunct faculty member in the biology department at Colorado Mesa University.
	Lydia Contreras, Ph.D. Dr. Lydia M. Contreras was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and arrived in New York City in October of 1991. She obtained a B.S.E. in Chemical Engineering from Princeton University in 2003 and completed her PhD in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University in 2008, focusing on engineering bacterial cells for improved production of therapeutic proteins. In 2008, she joined the Wadsworth Research Center (New York State Department of Health) as an NIH Postdoctoral Fellow, where she worked on understanding mechanisms of infection in pathogenic bacteria. In January 2011, Dr. Contreras joined the Chemical Engineering Department at the University of Texas at Austin as an assistant professor to conduct fundamental research in the areas of RNA characterization and RNA-protein chemistry. Dr. Contreras has received several recognitions, most recently including a 2009 FASEB Postdoctoral Award, a Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) Young Investigator (2011-2013), and named as an Innovative Early-Career Frontiers of Engineering Educator (2011). She believes that enhancing diversity is essential to provide the types of creative solutions that are needed to solve complex and interesting problems in biology.
	Manu Platt, Ph.D. Dr. Manu Platt earned his BS in Biology from Morehouse College in 2001 and a Ph.D. from Georgia Tech and Emory University’s joint Biomedical Engineering program in 2006. After postdoctoral work at MIT, he returned to Georgia Tech/Emory as an assistant professor in 2009. There, his lab studies proteolytic mechanisms of sickle cell disease, HIV-mediated cardiovascular disease, and cancer metastasis with computational and experimental models. These diseases disproportionately affect minority populations which underscore Dr. Platt’s belief in diversity at the bench to solve health disparities with unique perspectives. His work is funded by NIH Director’s New Innovator Award, International AIDS Society, and Georgia Cancer Coalition.