Out in Science: Being Queer in a Digital Age

Ron Buckmire, PhD (he/him)
Ron Buckmire is a professor of mathematics at Occidental College in Los Angeles, California, where he has been on the faculty since receiving a PhD in mathematics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1994. He has served as a program officer at the National Science Foundation twice.

Buckmire published articles in an eclectic collection of peer-reviewed journals such as Data, Notices of the American Mathematical Society, Numerical Methods for Partial Differential Equations, Journal of Humanistic Mathematics, and Albany Law Review. In 2023, he was named a Fellow of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, the first person from a small liberal arts college, the fourth Black person, and the first openly LGBTQ+ person to receive this prestigious honor.

Alana Chin, PhD (she/her)
Alana Chin is a product scientist at 23andMe who develops new health reports and features for the consumer genetic testing product. As a science writer, she educates and inspires people to take an active role in their health and wellness.

Before working at 23andMe, Chin earned a PhD in developmental biology from the University of Michigan and a BS in developmental, molecular, and cellular biology from UCLA. A Bay Area native and proud member of the LGBTQ+ community, she has been an advocate for many facets of diversity, equity, and inclusion in work and in life.

Bonnie EJ Maven, PhD (she/her, they/them)
Bonnie EJ Maven is a computational biologist who applies her expertise of bioinformatics and stem cell biology to the exciting field of immuno-oncology. Maven has always held much interest in understanding how cells change (or differentiate) as they grow and encounter new elements. Now, she’s channeling that curiosity toward understanding the fascinating connection between immunology and cancer.

Previously, Maven completed her PhD in developmental and stem cell biology at Gladstone Institutes and UC San Francisco, studying how the heart develops. She is also passionate about advocacy, and is generally an open book when talking about her own experiences of being queer and disabled in science.

Jamie Lee Twist Schroeder, MD, DPhil (she/her)
Jamie Lee Twist Schroeder is a radiologist specializing in cardiothoracic imaging who holds bachelors and masters degrees from Stanford University, a DPhil from University of Oxford, and a MD from Johns Hopkins. She is an assistant professor at UC San Francisco and previously was staff radiologist at the Stanford-affiliated VA hospital.

Schroeder has published on topics including clinical radiology, cardiovascular disease, and novel imaging technologies. She is a two-time Olympian, on Team USA in 2004 and 2008, living in San Francisco with her wife and their four children.

Stephanie Miller, PhD (she/her, they/them)
Stephanie Miller is a postdoc and systems neuroscientist in the lab of Jorge Palop at Gladstone Institutes, studying the breakdown of brain waves in mouse models for familial and late-onset Alzheimer's disease. After conducting post-baccalaureate research at NASA, they earned a PhD in biophysics at the University of Maryland, College Park while studying cortical synchrony and neuronal avalanches at the National Institutes of Health. Miller has worked to support the LGBTQ+ community since 2005 with a focus on transgender advocacy. They have also spoken on the topic of scientific mentorship and advocated for scientific funding on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.