Tara Thakurta
Graduate Community Fellow
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Tara is a second-year Biology PhD student. She graduated from Brown University in 2020 with a BS in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology. Before starting graduate school she worked in life sciences consulting at ClearView Healthcare Partners for two years in New York City. When not in lab, she enjoys reading and running, and can also be found teaching yoga at Corepower in Kendall Square!
Mikala Capage
Graduate Community Fellow
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Mikala is a second-year Biology PhD student. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Biology with a minor in Global Health in 2022. Mikala is passionate about cooking, tennis, and yoga. Her enthusiasm extends to her role with CAPD, where she aims to broaden career opportunities for graduate students.
Emma Dawson
Path to Professorship Graduate Community Fellow
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Emma is a fourth-year PhD student in the Biology Department at MIT. She works in the laboratory of Dr. Tyler Jacks in the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research where her research focuses on understanding tumor-immune cell interactions in pancreatic cancer. Emma previously completed her undergraduate degree in Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics at UCLA in 2020. Her favorite part of her GCF role is to plan and organize the Path of Professorship workshop to support graduate and post-doctoral women interested in pursuing faculty positions at academic institutions.
Madhurima Das
Path to Professorship Graduate Community Fellow
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Madhurima (Rima) is a fourth-year PhD candidate in Mechanical Engineering. Before embarking on her graduate studies, she worked as a K-12 design and engineering educator, where her responsibilities included running a school makerspace. She completed her undergraduate studies at MIT as well, also in Mechanical Engineering. In her free time, Rima loves reading and exploring various craft and maker skills; her current obsession is stained glass, pottery, and rug tufting.
Catherine Della Santina
Path to Professorship Graduate Community Fellow
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Catherine is a fourth-year PhD candidate in Biological Engineering. She graduated from Boston University in 2020 with a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering, specializing in Nanotechnology. Catherine’s mission is to empower students to explore competitive career paths by facilitating connections with leaders in their chosen fields.
