STPI Science Policy Fellows

Skandan Ananthasekar, B.A.
Skandan Ananthasekar joined STPI in 2023 after a fellowship with the Council on Strategic Risks, where he worked on biosecurity, biodefense and international cooperation. Prior to his time there, Skandan worked at the Mobile County Health Department’s Health Equity Office through a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. His work focused on leveraging community engagement to advance equity in areas such as COVID-19 vaccine uptake, food security, transportation access and environmental justice. Skandan graduated from Rice University in 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and cell biology. As an undergraduate, he conducted research at Baylor College of Medicine where he focused on molecular mechanisms and mouse models for better understanding of cardiac arrhythmia and heart failure. 

Sichen “Shawn” Chao, S.B.
Shawn Chao joined STPI in 2024 after graduating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and business analytics with a minor in political science. At MIT, Shawn’s research on health care venture capital finance and credit rating inflation was published in Nature and the Financial Times, respectively. He also presented about his NCAA March Madness prediction model at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference and on the CBS Morning Show. Shawn took three years off prior to graduating from university to work as a quantitative researcher at AQR Capital Management, operations analyst/software engineer at Astranis, chief of staff at Candidate Labs and product manager at Vividly. 

Victoria Dozer, B.A.
Victoria Dozer joined STPI in 2024 after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in astronomy and a minor in physics from Wesleyan University. Her undergraduate research focused on modeling collisional cascades in debris disks for better understanding of the destructive environments that induce planet formation. Victoria’s undergraduate studies also included STEM outreach, Dark Skies advocacy, and ethics and inclusion in astronomy. Prior to her time at STPI, she completed an internship at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine as a Lloyd V. Berkner Space Policy Intern for the Space Studies Board. 

Pragya Jain, B.A.
Pragya Jain joined STPI in 2023 after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in international studies and data science from American University. During her undergraduate career, Pragya completed a fellowship at American University's Center for Security, Innovation, and New Technology where she published articles related to automation and the future of work as well as encryption and data privacy. She then interned at the U.S. Senate and at the Council on Foreign Relations in the Digital and Cyberspace Policy Program where she published an op-ed on international cooperation and emerging technologies. Pragya wrote her senior year capstone on the critical minerals supply chain for renewable technologies and its environmental implications.

Hannah Kirk, M.S.
Hannah Kirk joined STPI in 2023 after graduating with a master’s degree in energy and environmental policy from the University of Delaware. Her background is in public policy, wildlife conservation, economics, Asian studies, and Mandarin. Her ecological research at the university was used to pass a statewide ban on the sale of invasive plant species. While there, she conducted research for several research centers, including the Center for Research on Wind, the Delaware Environmental Institute, the Climate Adaptation Policy Lab, and the Disaster Research Center. In 2019, she was awarded the Taiwan-United States Ambassador Scholarship to study Mandarin at National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan. Her master’s research on bird-window collisions was recently used as the basis for a bird-friendly buildings bill introduced to the Delaware House of Representatives.

Aisha Lakshman, B.A.
Aisha Lakshman has experience in the ethical, legal and social implications (ELSI) of small molecule therapeutics and emergent technologies. As an undergraduate, Aisha conducted interdisciplinary research at the Genomics Institute and the Science and Justice Research Center at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Aisha holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology with a minor in statistics. Her senior honors thesis examined ELSI of ribonucleic acid therapeutics, traditional and multidisciplinary research words, and ways to foster public trust in science.

Hannah Lu, B.S.
Hannah Lu joined STPI in 2024 after graduating from Harvey Mudd College with a joint bachelor’s degree in computer science and mathematics. Lu has experience in machine learning — particularly in applications to sustainability and climate — as well as public policy analysis. As an undergraduate, she interned at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, conducted research on computer vision explainability and investigated disparities in access to justice within consumer debt court cases.

Julia Oladipo, B.S.
Julia Oladipo joined STPI in 2024 after earning her bachelor’s degree in neuroscience from Yale University. She also minored in French, which she studied extensively abroad. Her senior thesis focused on neuroeconomics, exploring how anxiety influences decision-making under risk and ambiguity. Julia’s research experience spans improving functional deficits following spinal cord injuries and restoring post-mortem brain circulation. During her undergraduate years, she interned at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, volunteered at the HAVEN Free Clinic, and organized the first collegiate African Union-style conference hosted by a U.S. university on the African continent.

Aaron Ouyang, B.A.
Aaron Ouyang has experience in life science research and health policy. His senior thesis investigated the effects of fragrant compounds on serotonin receptors. He has also conducted research on Alzheimer’s disease, aging, and olfaction at the University of California, Berkeley, and the National Institutes of Health. As an undergraduate, Aaron helped coauthor white papers on mental health insurance and digitization for the Visiting Nurse Service of New York and on 311 platforms for the City of Worcester Office of Urban Innovation. Aaron received a bachelor’s degree in biology from Columbia University in the City of New York with departmental honors.

Kush Patel, B.A.
Kush Patel has experience in analyzing how emerging technologies will impact the U.S. national security enterprise. His past experience includes internships with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. His work there dealt with refining analytic simulations on technology-enhanced foreign influence operations as well as analysis on effective open-source intelligence strategies for the U.S. Intelligence Community. Kush has also been involved with the University of Texas at Austin’s Inventors Program, where he facilitated hackathon-style events for STEM students to connect with government and corporate sponsors. Kush holds a bachelor's degree in history with a minor in entrepreneurship from the University of Texas at Austin.

Stephanie Pokras, M.A.
Stephanie Pokras has expertise in research ethics, social sciences, disability and STEM education. Prior to joining STPI in 2024, she completed her master’s degree in social sciences at the University of Chicago where she conducted work relating to the intersections of health policy, biosecurity and research ethics. Using preventative childhood irradiation as a case study, her thesis explored the role of fear in facilitating both the standardization and reversal of medical practice. Stephanie formerly worked as a researcher for the Office of the President at the Johns Hopkins University where her portfolio included projects on COVID-19 in the context of STEM education and workforce development.

Lena Rose, M.A.
Lena Rose joined STPI in 2024 after working as a project assistant on the Democracy and Technology Team at the National Democratic Institute of International Affairs, where she supported civil society organizations in addressing issues related to information integrity, internet freedom and foreign influence operations. Prior to that, she interned at the MITRE Corporation, where she researched various cybercrime groups and supported government analysts in their ability to map and track adversary behavior to the corresponding tactics and techniques from the MITRE ATT&CK framework. Lena received her master’s in security policy studies from the George Washington University through the National Science Foundation’s CyberCorps: Scholarship for Service program, and she holds a bachelor’s degree in international studies with double minors in cybersecurity and Arabic.

Katherine Ross, B.A., B.S.
Katherine “Kate” Ross joined STPI in 2023 after graduating with bachelor’s degrees in civil engineering and liberal arts from the University of Texas at Austin. Her minors were history and Russian language, which she studied extensively abroad. Her senior honors thesis evaluated barriers to climate change adaptation in delta regions. Kate was an undergraduate research assistant for a National Science Foundation program, where she experimented with plasma-based treatment of water contaminated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). She has a strong interest in emerging environmental contaminants and regulation.

Erin Saybolt, M.S.
Erin Saybolt joined STPI in 2022 after working as a program assistant at the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Center for Scientific Evidence in Public Issues. Some of her work at STPI includes research and writing on emerging technologies, evaluating federal government programs, and supporting efforts around pandemic preparedness. Erin holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from Ursinus College and a master’s degree in biomedical science policy and advocacy from Georgetown University.

Alec Weigel, B.A., B.S.
Alec Weigel joined STPI in 2024 after obtaining bachelor’s degrees in biochemistry, Portuguese, and liberal arts from the University of Texas at Austin (UT). His senior honors thesis examined how austerity policies in 2010s Brazil affected research publications and how the social role of science, as envisioned by policy planning documents, changed over this period. He also worked as an intern in a research laboratory investigating the commercial applications of biosurfactant molecules while studying abroad in Brazil. He served as a peer mentor in UT’s Freshman Research Initiative, guiding students through research in the differentiation and classification of wine varietals using peptide sensing ensembles.