Three Women Selected for Endowed Professorships in STEM Disciplines

Yashi Ahmed has been named the Oscar M. Cohn 1934 Professor of Molecular and Systems Biology in the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. A Dartmouth faculty member for over two decades, she focuses her research on the mechanisms that control Wnt signal transduction, a pathway that is critical for the development of all animals and for stem cell maintenance in adult organs.

Dr. Ahmed received her bachelor’s degree in biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She earned her medical degree and Ph.D. from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.

Jalene LaMontagne has been named the E. Desmond Lee Endowed Professor in Botanical Studies at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Her role comes with a joint appointment as principal investigator at the Missouri Botanical Garden. Prior to her new position, she was a professor of biological instruction at DePaul University in Chicago, where she taught for over a decade. As a population ecologist, she has conducted extensive research on white spruce trees and other boreal conifers in North American forests.

Dr. LaMontagne received her bachelor’s degree in ecology and a master’s degree in conservation ecology from the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. She earned her Ph.D. in environmental biology and ecology from the University of Alberta.

Beverly Magda has been named the Harmon Endowed Professor for Leadership in Technology and founding director of the Elaine and John Harmon Center for Leadership in Technology at Cedar Crest College, a women’s college in Allentown, Pennsylvania. She most recently served as associate provost for strategic partnerships at the Harrisburg University of Science and Technology. Earlier in her career, she served as associate dean, faculty director, and associate professor of technology management and systems engineering at Georgetown University.

Dr. Magda received her bachelor’s degree in computer and information systems and master’s degree in telecommunications management from the University of Maryland. She holds a Ph.D. in engineering management and systems engineering from George Washington University.