Assistant Director Polar Rock Repository, Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center, The Ohio State University I study the past Antarctic Ice Sheet through seafloor mapping, dating of glacial deposits and integration of remote sensed data. At the Polar Rock Repository, I look after the long term acquisition of samples and connect with the scientific community to encourage creative use of over 60,000 polar rock samples held in our collection.
Professor Emeritus of Criminal Justice, University of Alabama at Birmingham John J. Sloan III is Professor Emeritus of Criminal Justice at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). During his 28-year career at UAB, he served in various administrative positions, including department chair, program director of two different graduate programs and as a research center co-founder, associate director, and director. His work has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, the Office of Justice Programs, the Bureau of Justice Assistance, and by state and local agencies in Alabama. His research interests include crime and related issues on college campuses, specialized police agencies, professional ethics, and criminal justice policy.
PhD Student, Sociology, University of Victoria My research focuses on the intersection between labour rights and climate justice, precarious work, gendered roles, and green jobs. Beyond academia, I was the climate and labour project coordinator with the Worker Solidarity Network. In this role, I conducted community outreach, hosted educational workshops, and advocated for improved labour standards in the face of climate change - specifically collaborating with non-unionized workers in British Columbia.
Assistant Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington Joan A. Casey received her doctoral degree from the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in 2014. Dr. Casey is an environmental epidemiologist who focuses on environmental health, environmental justice, and sustainability. Her research uses electronic health records and spatial statistics to study the relationship between emerging environmental exposures and population health. She also considers vulnerable populations and the implications of health disparities, particularly in an era of climate change. Dr. Casey investigates a range of exposures including unconventional natural gas and oil development, coal-fired power plants, and concentrated animal feeding operations. Dr. Casey also holds a BS in Biological and Environmental Engineering from Cornell University and an MA in Applied Physiology from Teachers College at Columbia University.
Assistant Professor of Hematology, University of Florida My name is John A. Ligon, MD, and I am an assistant professor in the department of pediatrics at the University of Florida College of Medicine. I earned my medical degree from the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, completed my residency in pediatrics at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, and pursued a fellowship in pediatric hematology and oncology at Johns Hopkins University and the National Cancer Institute in Maryland. In the following years, I completed a senior fellowship in pediatric immunotherapy at the National Cancer Institute and another in pediatric sarcoma at Johns Hopkins University. I knew I wanted to be a pediatrician from a young age, as I loved going to my own pediatrician as a kid. This passion for caring for children persisted through medical school and into my residency training, where I was inspired by my amazing mentors and the strength of their patients to pursue additional training in hematology and oncology. I am board-certified in both general pediatrics and pediatric hematology and oncology by the American Board of Pediatrics. In addition to my numerous original research publications and editorial review appointments, I am a member of various professional societies, such as the Children’s Oncology Group and the American Association for Cancer Research. I have been honored with a variety of awards for my research skills and academic excellence, and my research interests include immunotherapy, tumors and bloodstream infections. I am a member of the Pediatric Cancer Immunotherapy Initiative (PCI2) at the University of Florida. I serve as a translational partner with my collaborators, Drs. Elias Sayour and Paul Castillo, to advance new treatments which harness the power of the immune system into early phase pediatric clinical trials. My work is supported by a number of foundations and organizations including the V Foundation, Hyundai Hope on Wheels, the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer, the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation, the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation, MIB Agents and the Children’s Miracle Network. My goal as a physician is to discover new treatments that will allow more children to be cured of their cancer than could be with currently available treatments. I want my patients to know that rather than focusing on one specific type of cancer, I am interested in using the immune system to find ways to cure all kinds of pediatric cancer. The immune system is the same across all kinds of cancer and I believe there is a way to unlock it for many diseases that we currently have trouble treating. When I’m not practicing medicine, you can find me watching San Antonio Spurs basketball games, playing Magic: the Gathering trading card game and taking care of my three small children.
Professor of Anthropology, Middlebury James L. Fitzsimmons is a Professor of Anthropology at Middlebury College, where he delivers courses on the anthropology of death, the rise of complex societies in Mesoamerica, and the origins of writing. As an epigrapher and an archaeologist, Fitzsimmons has more than 25 years of experience studying ancient Maya politics, religion, and social organization. He has either directed or been a member of several archaeological projects in Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and the United States. Fitzsimmons holds a BS in Anthropology and Latin American Studies from Tulane University as well as an MA and PhD from Harvard University; he is also the author or editor of six books on the ancient Americas on topics ranging from death to politics to war.
