Meet the team

Emilia Huerta-Sanchez
Host

Dr. Emilia Huerta Sanchez’s interest in creating this podcast stems from her own experience in academia, and because she likes to spend time with Rori.  She wants to learn from incredible women scientists who have mastered being in academia, and who have lots of advice to share with other developing academics. Emilia, is an Associate professor at Brown University, and a core member of the Center for Computational Biology within the Data Science Institute at Brown. Emilia spends most of her research time analyzing data from human genomes to understand how humans have evolved over time. Along with science, Emilia finds joy from meeting friends and sharing food and stories with them. ​

Rori Rohlfs
Host

Dr. Rori Rohlfs shows her age through her gender as a femme dyke (for the youth, that means she’s a political queer who finds power in feminine identity and presentation).  She spent her early career navigating academic computational science spaces, often with very few women and vanishingly few out queer and trans folks, particularly in positions of experience and power.  Now she works for a more inclusive culture in science as the Hildegard Lamfrom Associate Professor of Data Science at the University of Oregon.  She leads a fantastic research group in molecular evolution and population genetics.  Rori’s idea of a great time is walking with her partner, kids, Emilia, and her family to relax in a jardín with paletas.  ​

Maribel Quezada Smith
Producer

Maribel is a bilingual video and podcast producer and the founder of Diferente Creative. Her video credits include producing TV shows for Discovery Networks, Netflix, TLC and A&E, and digital content for brands like AARP, NBC GolfNow and SquadCast FM. Her podcasting credits include Sacred Scandal (iHeart), Birdies Not BS and Pulso Podcast, to name a few. In 2021, Maribel co-founded BIPOC Podcast Creators, an organization devoted to amplifying the voices and stories of people of color. Maribel’s passion is creating meaningful, standout content. ​

---

Mayra Bañuelos
​​Website Manager

Mayra is a first generation scientist and current graduate student in Computational Biology at Brown University. She is a recipient of the 2023 Gilliam Fellowship and the 2022 NSF GRFP. At Brown, Mayra is mentored by Emilia. They work together uncovering the secrets of our evolutionary past analyzing archaic, ancient, and modern human genomes. She is passionate about making science accessible to everyone and exposing students of color to computational research. Aside from science, Mayra enjoys exploring new parks and trails with her blue heeler Grey and her partner, debating the undebatable (CR7 vs Messi) and upgrading her Celica. 

Carol Adam
Social Media Manager

Dr. Carolina is a zoologist passionate about evolutionary biology and science communication. She is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Institute of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Oregon, mentored by Rori. Aside from using population genetics and comparative phylogenetic methods to explore primate evolution, together they aspire to motivate undergraduates from underrepresented groups to pursue STEM research and cultivate a diverse scientific community in their department. Outside the lab, Carol enjoys reading about dinosaurs and going on motorcycle rides in the countryside.