All ages welcome!
Young Women in Bio – Connecticut is the newest chapter to join Young Women In Bio (YWIB) and the YWIB team is excited to elevate the numerous STEM opportunities that await young girls in Connecticut! Connecticut has a bustling community of impressive women with careers in science, technology, engineering, and math. YWIB-CT will kick off its inaugural event during YWIB’s annual Spring Into STEM event by introducing the three leaders who will lead the chapter. Join us to meet this team and learn about ways you can get involved in the CT STEM Community!
YWIB-CT Co-Chairs include:
Speaker Bios
Candy Hwang, PhD – Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Southern Connecticut State University
Dr. Candy Hwang is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, CT. She received her B.A in Chemistry and B.S. in Biology from Pepperdine University and her Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Southern California. During her postdoctoral training, she worked on creating vaccines to combat opioid addiction, including drugs like heroin and fentanyl. Now, she primarily researches new antimicrobial therapies specifically looking into Lyme Disease and disrupting bacterial communication (i.e., quorum sensing).
Kat Kyser-Bricker, PhD – Chief Scientific Officer, Halda Therapeutics
Dr. Kat Kayser-Bricker is Chief Scientific Officer at Halda Therapeutics. She is an accomplished drug discovery leader with 12+ years of experience across several therapeutic areas including oncology and neuroscience. She received her B.S. in Biochemistry at the University of Maryland College Park and Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the laboratory of Prof. Andrew Hamilton at Yale University. Following her postdoc in the laboratory of Prof. Scott Miller at Yale University, she joined FORMA Therapeutics. During her 10 years at FORMA, she executed across all stages of drug discovery while focusing on medicinal chemistry, technology advancements, project leadership, and strategic partnerships. After FORMA Kat joined Halda Therapeutics, a New Haven, CT based stealth biotech company founded by Craig Crews. She currently leads the scientific strategy for advancing the portfolio and platform for this innovative start-up.
Kate Jopling – Vice President of Operations, Clinical Trials at Cogstate
Kate Jopling is Vice President of Operations for Clinical Trials at Cogstate, a leading cognitive science company focused on optimizing the measurement of cognition to guide decision-making in clinical trials, academic research, and healthcare. She has been at Cogstate since 2009 and has led the global Clinical Trials Operations division since 2014. In her role, Kate sets the strategic direction for delivery of products and services aimed at helping pharmaceutical clinical trials sponsors, Clinical Research Organizations, and research institutions optimize the measurement of cognition with eClinical technologies. Kate has nearly 20 years of clinical research experience. Having worked in many types of organizations, she brings a diverse perspective and hands-on experience in various industry settings. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Physiology and Neurobiology from the University of Connecticut.