Our Team
Made up of professors, entrepeneurs, creatives, and students, our team is commited to local engagement and uplifting communities. The team intends to demonstrate the usefullness of synthethic biology to middle schoolers and wishes to have an impact on how individuals engage with their natural environments when seeking to solve problems in their communities.
Senior Personnel
Anja is a biologist, informal educator, and experience designer with a passion for building inclusive and impactful opportunities at the intersection of community, science, and creativity. Her work over the past 12 years has focused on envisioning, designing, and implementing novel life science experiences in a variety of informal learning environments. Recent projects have explored different community co-design approaches to support the creation of locally-relevant programming. In prior work at The Tech Interactive she co-created the award-winning Biodesign Studio exhibition and founded the Biotinkering Lab, a first-of-its-kind museum bio-makerspace. She holds a PhD in Developmental Biology from Stanford University.
Anja Scholze, Ph. D.
Corinne Takara
Corinne Takara is Honolulu based artist/STEAM educator who creates technology integrated art projects. Her public collaborative work explores the use of modern day artifacts to preserve cultural heritage and memory, and honors the colliding and merging stories that arise in rapidly shifting communities. The workshops Takara designs for museums, libraries, K-12 classrooms and colleges foster creative confidence; they encourage us to see ourselves as drivers of culture and technology. By engaging in maker activities taking shape in public spaces, we can share creative ideas that impact our world and increase our collective civic engagement.
Graduate Trainees
Agniprava Banerjee
PhD, Education
Dr. Agniprava Banerjee is a materials science engineer and educator exploring the integration of machine learning and artificial intelligence in materials research and in STEM education and teaching. He earned his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) in 2026, as well as an M.S. in Industrial and Systems Engineering. His research utilizes interpretable machine learning models to predict phase transformations and advance the design of high-strength alloys. Dr. Banerjee focuses on modernizing engineering curricula for freshman and early-career students. Dr. Banerjee is a former President of the UTEP Graduate Student Assembly, a member of the inaugural UTEP Sloan Center for Systemic Change cohort, and the author of multiple peer-reviewed publications. His work operates at the convergence of AI, materials design, and evidence-based education, with a focus on driving social mobility through inclusive student success.
Karen Del Rio
PhD, Education
Karen Del Rio has a biology, health promotion, and leadership studies background and is working towards her Ph.D. in Teaching, Learning, and Culture. Karen's current research project aims to increase the capacity of the UTEP Department of Computer Science to support Hispanic students, particularly Latinas, in obtaining computer science teacher certification. Karen is involved in implementing and evaluating the project. In the future, Karen plans to focus her research on computer science education, self-concept, and program evaluation.
Hasan Mahmud Prottoy
PhD, Human-Centered Computing
Hasan Mahmud Prottoy has a PhD student at Human-Centered Computing program. He is interested in exploring the intersection between culture, identity and technology using critical Human Computer Interaction approaches. His previous research in HCI involves aspects of after-use phase of technology (repair, recycling, e-waste), and religious media content sharing at Bangladesh. Before coming to UMBC, he earned his bachelor at Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology.
Avanish Singh
PhD Student, Education
Avanish Singh is an education researcher and practitioner currently contributing as a Research Associate to the SynBio and Me Project at the University of Maryland. His area of work cuts across science education, technology, and cognition. Before the current work, he was teaching science education courses and coordinating an education resource centre and design lab at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.
Lydia Stamato
PhD, Human-Centered Computing
Lydia Stamato is interested in how humans interact with living media interfaces and new possibilities for participation and creativity in technology design, especially explored through community, artistic, and activist perspectives. She is also interested in sociotechnical systems supporting free and open internet.
Krystal Zhang
PhD Student, Human-Centered Computing
Krystal Zhang is a PhD student majoring in Human-Centered Computing at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Her research explores the design of accessible, inclusive, technology-rich makerspaces and the role of DIY assistive technology (DIY-AT) in supporting inclusive participation. Her work examines how digital fabrication tools, emerging technologies, and community-driven practices can empower individuals with disabilities to create personalized solutions.
Consultants
Alisha Collins
As Senior Director of STEAM & Innovation, Alisha plays an integral role in disrupting traditional curriculum and assessment practices to expand access for diverse learners and works on new, innovative ways to use wearables and data to track health and wellness, reflect, and iterate further. Alisha is a designer, researcher, author, and educator with a strong background in maker education and experiential learning. She’s spent over 15 years teaching in diverse schools across India, the U.S., Canada, and Brazil, creating curricula and leading professional development workshops. Alisha has led numerous maker-based learning initiatives, focusing on integrating craft, wellness, play, identity, storytelling, and technology into creative learning experiences.
Veena Vijayakumar
Veena Vijayakumar is an educator, community organizer, and nonprofit administrator who has been advocating for equitable and accessible science learning and engagement for the last 13 years. Her research, programs, and writing over the last decade primarily highlight the value of interdisciplinary education, namely its potential to make learning richer and more accessible to non-expert audiences. Veena studied Biology and Art History at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and received an MA in Museum Studies from San Francisco State University. Since then, she has focused on audience development and public programming at major museums such as The Exploratorium and the Museum of Modern Art as well as at small nonprofits including Genspace, a community biology laboratory based in Brooklyn, and Biodesign Challenge, an organization that empowers students to harness the powers of biotechnology and design to envision a more ecologically sustainable future for humans and our planet. She currently serves as Director of Ecosystem at Unitary Foundation, a nonprofit that is focused on making quantum technology accessible to the most people possible.
Evaluators
Daniel Bernal
Daniel Bernal has had a passion for exploring the world through patterns & numbers his whole life, whether as the captain of his high school math team or, more recently, by pursuing a certificate in data analysis & visualization. This passion led him to become a math teacher, peer coach, and eventually a program director, where his data analysis skills helped educators gain insights into their classrooms and learning environments. In 2016 he attained a master’s of education in Learning Design & Technology, and now he incorporates design thinking at the core of all his work. Since starting Daniel Bernal Consulting LLC in 2021, Daniel has enjoyed working with a variety of clients on a wide range of projects. While no day as a consultant is ever the same, Daniel consistently appreciates being able to provide clients with reliable data management, insights, and strategic recommendations.
Kavita Mittapalli, Ph.D.
Kavita Mittapalli, Ph.D., brings over 20 years of experience in conducting research and evaluation for various programs and initiatives. She worked at several consulting firms before founding MN Associates, Inc. in 2005. Kavita began her career in Agricultural Science before transitioning into an Applied Sociologist and mixed methodologist with a strong interest in research design. She holds a Ph.D. in Research Design and Methodology (Education) from George Mason University and brings her multidisciplinary skills and knowledge to all the work she leads.
Leadership
Foad Hamidi, Ph. D.
Project Leadership, Associate Professor
Dr. Hamidi is an Associate Professor in the Information Systems Department at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). His research focuses on participatory design and the evaluation of emerging systems, with an emphasis on inclusive and sustainable maker practices for diverse communities. He has led international research and design projects across the United States, Canada, Kenya, Mexico, Bhutan, and Spain, and holds a PhD in Computer Science from York University.
Lisa Scheifele, Ph. D.
Project Leadership, Professor
A molecular biologist at heart, Dr. Scheifele focuses on the "why" behind genome structure and how it actually makes cells tick. Much of this work happens through the Synthetic Yeast Project, where she has teamed up with students to build custom chromosomes—everything from the tiny synI to the massive synIV—to see how 3D organization changes the way cells grow. Beyond the lab, she headed up the Build-a-Genome Network and helped launch COVID-360 to give teachers better tools for explaining the pandemic. She also runs the Baltimore Underground Science Space (BUGSS), a nonprofit community lab where she helps artists, entrepreneurs, and students experiment with DNA in a way that’s more creative and personal than a typical classroom.
Alysha Swann, M. B. A
Project Leadership, Vice President of Community Transformation
Alysha Swann is an El Paso native and currently the Vice President of Community Transformation at La Nube. With over 12 years of community service and partnership experience that encompasses over 10 years of management and leadership experience, she has lead organizations such Insights Science Discovery, United Way of El Paso, and other organizations in the right direction to empower our community through education. Beyond her professional endeavors, she is deeply engaged in board memberships and advisory roles. As a board member for Success Through Technology Education (STTE) Foundation, she actively contributes to changing lives through STEAM and entrepreneurship initiatives, fostering direct impact on youth and adults.
Justice T. Walker, Ph. D.
Principal Investigator, Assistant Professor
Dr. Walker is an Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland whose research focuses on how students and teachers engage with biotechnologies and computer science-enabled data science tools in STEM learning environments. His work draws on constructionism, design, and literacy-based approaches and is informed by over a decade of K-12 teaching experience. He has received more than $4.2M in funding from the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Education and holds both an M.S. in Engineering Biotechnology and a Ph.D. in Teaching and Learning from the University of Pennsylvania. He is the founder and Principal Investigator of the ABC Learning Lab.