Women in STEM series V
On the 31st of January we will be starting with the new series of our very successful Women in STEM online talks.
Series V will have a great line up of speakers:
- 31st January: Kopila Shrestha
- 7th February: Shobha Poudel
- 14th February: Laura Moya Borrego
- 21st February: Bimala Dhakal
Please find below more information about the speakers.
All talks will be at 8.30 am UK time/ 2.15 pm Nepal time.
Please get in touch if you would like to attend any of the talks and we will send you the zoom link.
Kopila Shrestha is a Golden Jubilee Scholarship Awardee from the Indian Government for a graduate scholarship. After completion of her undergraduate as Microbiology majors, Kopila worked as a Microbiologist at D.A.V. College, where she assisted and supervised students in their work. She became an intern at Center for Molecular Dynamics Nepal where she mastered her skills in PCR and IHC. She is now currently a student at the Central Department of Biotechnology, Tribhuvan University, working on Cancer Biology (Leukemia). She has also been awarded with a Dr. L Sreerama Scholarship for her outstanding performance in academics and the Chinese Academy of Science Scholarship Program (2024) for Excellent Student Thesis Grant.
Dr. Shobha Poudel is a Marie Curie Research Fellow at the Fondazione Eni Enrico Matte (FEEM) Milano, Italy. She has been working in the interdisciplinary field of Climate change adaptation, Vulnerability and risk assessment, Agriculture and Food security, Disaster risk management and Environmental Economics, Public Policy across South Asian countries (Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka) through collaborative research. She holds a PhD in Global Environmental Studies from Kyoto University, Japan and a Master’s and Bachelor’s Degree in Management from Tribhuvan University Nepal. She was awarded the Japanese Government Monbukagakusho (MEXT) Scholarship and the Kyoto University GSS research grant for her doctoral studies in Japan. She has received several prestigious awards and honors including being recognized among the 50 Influencing Women of Nepal 2024 and 10 Inspiring Nepalese Women from Abroad 2024. She was also awarded the Seal of Excellence in 2021 from the European Commission, the Collaborative research grant from the Asia Pacific Network (APN) for Global Change Research 2021 and the OWSD Early Career Women Scientists Fellow 2018. She co-leads working group V (Nature based resilence) for the South Asia Alliance for Disaster Research Institutes (SAADRI). She is a founding member of the Organization of Women Scientists Nepal (OWSN-OWSD Nepal Chapter) and the Women Humanitarian and Disaster Risk Reduction Platform Nepal (WHDRRP). She has been serving as a Guest Editor in Frontiers in Environmental Economics and has published several research papers including policy briefs and book chapters as well as she voluntarily reviews scientific articles in number of reputed journals. She aims to bridge the gap between scientific research and policy. She prioritizes inclusiveness in all her research and project activities and is particularly interested in building resilient and inclusive societies where all citizens have access to nutritious food, healthcare, and education, enabling them to live with dignity.
Laura Moya Borrego graduated in Biomedical Sciences from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and got a master’s in Molecular Biotechnology from Universitat de Barcelona. She’s currently finishing her PhD in the Cancer Virotherapy and Immunotherapy Group at Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL). Laura’s research focused on evaluating oncolytic adenoviruses as anticancer agents for various solid tumors. In particular, her doctoral work aimed to address some limitations derived from this kind of treatment, such as the restricted intratumoral virus spreading and the potent antiviral immune responses elicited, to enhance their therapeutic efficacy. Outside the lab and her vocation to science and the immunotherapy field, Laura is passionate about music and takes singing lessons. She also loves having an active lifestyle and being connected with nature, surfing or hiking often.
Dr. Bimala Dhakal obtained her PhD in Medicine in 2022 from the University of Adelaide, Australia. The scholarship was funded by Schlumberger Foundation Faculty for Future Fellowship to investigate a potential/new therapy for intestine cancer. Before that she worked as a researcher at the Center for Molecular Dynamics Nepal, after obtaining her Master of Science (M.Sc) in Biotechnology From the Central Department of Biotechnology, when she received the Dayananda Bajracharya Research Award for her Master’s Thesis. Bimala studied B.SC in Chemistry at the Trichandra Campus (Nepal) with a scholarship from the Government of India, the Golden Jubilee Scholarship. Bimala currently works as a Study Director in Agilex Biolabs (Adelaide, Australia) characterising with new drugs before coming to the market for diseases like cancer, inflammatory diseases and other autoimmune diseases. She enjoys working in the lab and spending time exploring new places.
We hope to see you there!