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WIA Committees

Mentoring

Annual
Symposium

Scientific Advice

Journal Club

Fundraising

Communications

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COMPASS

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MENTORING committee

Chair

Co-chair

Nathalia Chica

Nathalia Chica

Institute of Cancer Research, Radium Hospital, Oslo, Norway

Natalia Jimenez Moreno

Natalia Jimenez Moreno

University of Edinburgh - MRC IGMM/CRUK Edinburgh Centre

Goals

 

  • To foster activities to promote careers of trainees and young scientists interested in autophagy.

  • To generate a network of e-mentors all around the globe providing trainees with access to expert advice on autophagy-related topics, career development and work-family balance

 

Ongoing activities​

 

  • Yearly: Career Development Workshops/Panel Discussions

  • Monthly: Careers in Science Series​ (i.e., workshops on grant writing, teaching, job searches, scientific editing, leadership, DEI, etc.)

  • E-Mentoring: E-Meet and Match (i.e., ‘Office’ hours hosted by mentors for mentees to discuss career-related questions)

Malene Hansen.

Malene Hansen.

Buck Institute for Aging Research, Novato, CA, USA

Sue Lee

Sue Lee

St Jude Children’s Research Hospital, USA

Krenare Bruqi

Krenare Bruqi

University Claude Bernard, Lyon

Jin Meiyan

Jin Meiyan

University of Florida, USA

Maria Soledad Alvarez

Maria Soledad Alvarez

Institute of Earth and Environmental Sciences of La Pampa (INCITAP). CONICET – UNLPam

Salwa Sebti

Salwa Sebti

Institute for Regenerative Medicine and Biotherapy (IRMB), INSERM, France

Patricia Boya

Patricia Boya

Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas Margarita Salas, SPN

Carolina alquezar

Carolina alquezar

Research Institute Hospital 12 de Octubre (imas12)

Cristina Ramirez

Cristina Ramirez

MDEA NUTRICIÓN, Madrid

Muriel Mari

Muriel Mari

Aarhus University, Denmark

Caroline Mauvezin

Caroline Mauvezin

University of Barcelona, Spain

Alysia Vrailas-Mortimer

Alysia Vrailas-Mortimer

Oregon state University, USA

Maria Dimitriadi

Maria Dimitriadi

University of Hertfordshire, UK

Comms Liason

Chiamaka Linda Mgbechidinma

Chiamaka Linda Mgbechidinma

The Chinese University of Hong Kong, China

Mentoring
Annual Symposium

ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM committee

wia.annualsymposium@gmail.com

Faculty Chair

​

ALICIA

ALICIA

City University of New York, USA

Yan Zhao

Yan Zhao

Southern University of Science and Technology,Shenzhen, China

Faculty

Co-Chair

Fellow chair

Lorelei Ayala

Lorelei Ayala

Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico

Ruheena Javed

Ruheena Javed

University of New Mexico Health Science Center (New Mexico, USA)

Fellow Co-chair

​Ongoing activities

  • Organizing the 5th WIA Annual Symposium.

  • Expanding into Asia and Africa

Inmaculada Tasset Cuevas

Inmaculada Tasset Cuevas

University of Cordoba, Spain

Olaya Santiago-Fernandez

Olaya Santiago-Fernandez

Albert Einstein College of Medicine, USA

Thabata-Duque

Thabata-Duque

University of New Mexico,USA

Rebecca Sereda

Rebecca Sereda

Albert Einstein College of Medicine, NY, USA

Paloma Liton

Paloma Liton

Duke University, North Carolina, USA

Floralba Gjergjova

Floralba Gjergjova

Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York

Susmita Kaushik

Susmita Kaushik

Albert Einstein College of Medicine New York, USA

Thuy Nguyen

Thuy Nguyen

Harvard Medical School Boston, MA, USA

Aurora Scrivo

Aurora Scrivo

Ilias Moraitis Spain

Amruta Singh

Amruta Singh

National Institute of Technology Rourkela, India

Eunice A. Domínguez-Martín

Eunice A. Domínguez-Martín

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)/NIH

Sandra Pelka

Sandra Pelka

Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York

Mika Minami

Mika Minami

Ayca Sezen Us

Ayca Sezen Us

Istanbul University, Turkey

Patricia Gonzalez Rodriguez

Patricia Gonzalez Rodriguez

University of Oslo, Norway

Danyelle Amaral

Danyelle Amaral

University of Campinas,  Laboratory of Neuroproteomics

Elly Lewerissa

Elly Lewerissa

Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Netherlands

Ligia  Ramos dos Santos

Ligia  Ramos dos Santos

Albert Einstein College of Medicine, NY, USA

Marisa Di Monaco

Marisa Di Monaco

University of Dundee, Scotland

Kajal Kamble

Kajal Kamble

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC, USA

Marti Cadena

Marti Cadena

Universidad Nacional Autónoma De México, Mexico

Teresa Monkkonen

Teresa Monkkonen

San Diego State University, USA

Neha Quadri

Neha Quadri

Manipal Academy of Higher Education, India

Comms Liason

Ainhoa Plaza-Zabala

Ainhoa Plaza-Zabala

Virginia Tech, Virginia, USA

​Abstracts committee

Ana Maria Cuervo - Albert Einstein College of Medicine (New York, USA)

Sophie Pattingre - Inserm (Paris, France)

Maho Hamasaki - Osaka University (Osaka, Japan)

Marja Jäättelä - University of Copenhagen (Copenhagen, Denmark)

Maria Ines Vaccaro - University of Buenos Aires (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Patricia Boya - University of Fribourg (Fribourg, Switzerland)

Laura Delgui - National University of Cuyo (Mendoza, Argentina)

Mondira Kundu - St Jude Children's Research Hospital (Tennessee, USA)

Tassula Proikas-Cezanne - University of Tübingen (Tübingen, Germany)

Sharon Tooze - The Francis Crick Institute (London, UK)

Salwa Sebti - UT Southwestern (Texas, USA)

Congcong He - Northwestern University (Evanston, USA)

Alicia Melendez - CUNY (New York, USA)

Scientific Advice

SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY committee

wia.scientificadvice@gmail.com

Muriel Mari

Muriel Mari

Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Denmark

Ghada Alsaleh

Ghada Alsaleh

Botnar Institute for Musculoskeletal Science, University of Oxford

Fellow chair

Fellow Co-chair

Marta Martinez

Marta Martinez

Senior Researcher Neurodegenerative Diseases Group Vall d'Hebron Research Insitute (VHIR), Barcelona, Spain

Anna Lechado

Anna Lechado

Postdoctoral fellow Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen,Germany

Juliet Goldsmith

Juliet Goldsmith

Assistant Professor Thomas Jefferson University. Philadelphia, PA, USA

Pavani Rekulapally

Pavani Rekulapally

PhD student, Aarhus University, Denmark

Irene Sambri

Irene Sambri

Clinical Biochemistry Researcher CNR-IGM, Pavia, & Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine (TIGEM),

Raquel Gomez Sintes

Raquel Gomez Sintes

Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas “Margarita Salas” CSIC Madrid, Spain

Rut Valdor

Rut Valdor

Professor University of Murcia-Biomedical Research Institute (IMIB).

Virginie Hubert

Virginie Hubert

Postdoctoral fellow Medical University of Vienna, Department of Pathology, Währinger

Shirin Pourteymour

Shirin Pourteymour

Senior Researcher University of Oslo, Faculty of Medicine

Kajal Kamble

Kajal Kamble

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA

Comms Liason

Ariadna Sancha Velasco

Ariadna Sancha Velasco

i+12 Research Institute, Spain

​Goals

 

  • Organize high-quality technical workshops focused on specific aspects of autophagy and related research areas, facilitating knowledge exchange and methodological training.

  • Showcase cutting-edge research through expert interviews and “Elevator Pitch” sessions featuring leading scientists, early-career researchers, and trainees.

  • Create interactive forums such as roundtables for PhD students and postdoctoral fellows to discuss scientific challenges, discoveries, and career development.

  • Promote the dissemination of experimental approaches and best practices through the coordination of the WIA Q&A and protocols portal for members.

  • Strengthen the visibility and accessibility of autophagy research through digital outreach and community-driven initiatives.

​

Ongoing Activities

​

  • Technical Workshops: Up to three per year, with high participation (~150 attendees per workshop).

  • Expert Interviews: Featuring leading autophagy scientists, accessible via WIA social media and website.

  • Elevator Pitch Series: Short, engaging talks shared on social media.

  • NEW! PhD & Postdoctoral Fellows Roundtables: Online sessions to discuss the challenges, discoveries, and experiences of your scientific journey.​

Journal Club

JOURNAL CLUB committee

wiajournalclub@gmail.com

Chair

Aurore Claude-Taupin

Aurore Claude-Taupin

Institut Necker Enfants Malades (INEM) - INSERM U1151 Paris

Karla Alvarez Valadez

Karla Alvarez Valadez

Centre de Recherche des Cordeliers Paris - France

Co-chair

Myra Chavez

Myra Chavez

Uppsala University, Sweden

Head of Communications

Goals

  • To review articles to foster scientific discourse amongst WIA members

  1. To acquire deeper understanding of autophagy.

  2. To learn technical skills.

  3. To discuss review process of articles.

  4. To present and promote publications of WIA members.

Comms

Liaison

Swathy Krishna

Swathy Krishna

Iowa State University, USA

Carlos Alarcon

Carlos Alarcon

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Rabia Khawaja

Rabia Khawaja

Albert Einstein College of Medicine New York, USA

Prasoon Jaya

Prasoon Jaya

Albert Einstein College of Medicine New York, USA

Christin Naumann

Christin Naumann

Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry Halle, Germany

Marie Nollet

Marie Nollet

C2VN, France

Pamela Mattar

Pamela Mattar

UCLA

Eugenia Almacellas

Eugenia Almacellas

Institute of Photonic Sciences, Spain

Carine Joffre

Carine Joffre

Inserm, CRCT

Faculty

Advisor

​Ongoing activities

FUNDRAISING committee

wia.fundraising@gmail.com 

Chair

G-Ghislat

G-Ghislat

Imperial College, London, United Kingdom

Stephanie Kermorgant

Stephanie Kermorgant

Barts Cancer Institute, QMUL, London, UK

Co-chair

Goal

  • To find opportunities and plan activities to raise money in order to support WIA activities, including travel grants for fellows.

Patricia Gonzalez Rodriguez

Patricia Gonzalez Rodriguez

University of Oslo

Smriti Parashar

Smriti Parashar

Immunology Center of Georgia

Els-Kuiper

Els-Kuiper

Max Planck Institute of Biophysics

Valérie Pierrefite-Carle

Valérie Pierrefite-Carle

UMR E4320 CEA - Université Côte d'Azur Nice, France

Natalia Reglero

Natalia Reglero

Queen Mary University of London London, UK

Clara Sokn

Clara Sokn

IBioBA-CONICET-MPSP Buenos Aires, Argentina

Inmaculada Tasset

Inmaculada Tasset

University of Córdoba Córdoba, Spain Albert Einstein College of Medicine New York, USA

Jin Zhou

Jin Zhou

Duke NUS Medical School Singapore

​Ongoing activities

  • Identifying funding sources.

  • Contacting research agencies, companies and journals.

  • Planning activities for promoting private donations.

Comms

Liaison

Maryam Borhani-Haghighi

Maryam Borhani-Haghighi

Washington University

​Sponsors:

CFATG.png
Fundraising
Communications

COMMUNICATIONS committee

womeninautophagy@gmail.com

Laura Poillet

Laura Poillet

UMR1037 Inserm - Université Paul Sabatier/CNRS - Centre de Recherches en Cancérologie de Toulouse, France

Beatriz Dias

Beatriz Dias

Inserm U1231 Universite de Bourgogne Dijon, France

Chair

Co-chair

Ariadna Sancha Velasco

Ariadna Sancha Velasco

i+12 Research Institute, Spain

Lucy Jones

Lucy Jones

Cardiff University, UK

Ainhoa Plaza Zabala

Ainhoa Plaza Zabala

University of the Basque Country, Spain

Chiamaka Linda Mgbechidinma

Chiamaka Linda Mgbechidinma

The Chinese University of Honk Kong, China

Élise Jacquin

Élise Jacquin

Université de Bourgogne, France

Maryam Borhani-Haghighi

Maryam Borhani-Haghighi

Washington University

Thanh Nguyen

Thanh Nguyen

Steffi Reji

Steffi Reji

INRAE, France

Letizia Brogi

Letizia Brogi

Scuola Normale Superiore Pisa, Italy

Malena Herrera Lopez

Malena Herrera Lopez

University of Buenos Aires - CONICET - IBIMOL Buenos Aires, Argentina

Swathy Krishna

Swathy Krishna

Iowa State University Ames, USA

Roxana Resnik

Roxana Resnik

University of Buenos Aires, CONICET-IBIMOL Buenos Aires, Argentina

Satya Surabhi

Satya Surabhi

Albert Einstein College of Medicine New York, USA

Juan Zapata Munoz

Juan Zapata Munoz

University of Dundee, UK

Robert Kinobe

Robert Kinobe

The City University of New York

Tuhina Khan

Tuhina Khan

University of Antwerp, Belgium

Faculty

Advisors

Prof. Anne Simonsen

Prof. Anne Simonsen

University of Oslo, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences

Prof. Yan Zhao

Prof. Yan Zhao

Southern University of Science and Technology Shenzhen, China

Goals

  • Communicate and disseminate WIA activities across the scientific community, using the website, blog and social network tools.

  • Connect scientists within the network to member resources through the webpage Member Portal.

  • Coordinate with all other WIA committees through committee liaisons.

​Ongoing activities

  • Webpage management development.

  • Social media promotions (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram).

  • WIA monthly newsletter and mailing list.

  • WIA blog publications.

  • Mentoring, Annual Meeting, Scientific Advice and Journal Club liaison organization.

COMPASS committee
(Community and mentorship for African Scientists)

Support Committee

Muriel Mari

Muriel Mari

Department of Biomedinine, Aarhus University, Denmark

Caroline Mauvezin

Caroline Mauvezin

University of Barcelona, Spain

Naomi Okugbeni

Naomi Okugbeni

South African Medical Research Council and Stellenbosch University, South Africa

Alysia Vrailas-Mortimer

Alysia Vrailas-Mortimer

Linus Pauling Institute, USA

Els Kuiper

Els Kuiper

Max Planck Institute of Biophysics, Germany

Goals

  • Establish a strong mentoring community in sub-Saharan Africa

  • Develop tailored mentorship programs addressing the specific needs of African scientists

  • Create sustainable tools and infrastructure to support long-term mentoring and career development

African Expert Committee

Lydia Marie Joubert

Lydia Marie Joubert

Stellenbosch University, South Africa

Ben Loos

Ben Loos

Stellenbosch University, South Africa

David Nkwe

David Nkwe

Botswana International University of Science and Technology, Botswana

Claudia Ntsapi

Claudia Ntsapi

University of the Free State, South Africa

Michael Okwute

Michael Okwute

Nigeria/Baze University Abuja, Nigeria

​Ongoing activities

  • Organization of panel discussions and workshops addressing challenges faced by researchers across sub-Saharan Africa including:

    • research and education environments

    • laboratory establishment and development 

    • grant writing and manuscript preparation

wia.compass@gmail.com

COMPASS
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