Cynthia Leifer is director of the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. She currently teaches as a full professor of microbiology and immunology in Cornell’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Earlier in her tenure with the university, she was director of graduate studies for the field of biomedical and biological sciences at the veterinary college.
Dr. Leifer received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland and her Ph.D. from Cornell’s Weill Graduate School of Medical Sciences. Before joining the Cornell faculty, she was a postdoctoral researcher with the National Cancer Institute.
Terri Poe has been named the inaugural chief nursing executive for the University of Alabama at Birmingham Health System. In this role, she will oversee nursing operations across all UAB Medicine entities. A faculty member since 2009, Dr. Poe has served in several prior leadership roles, including director of emergency services and assistant dean of nursing clinical practice and partnerships for the School of Nursing.
A three-time graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Dr. Poe holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing, a master of public administration degree, and a doctor of nursing practice degree.
Laurie Leshin has joined the Arizona State University faculty as the University Professor for Space Futures. She most recently served as the Bren Professor of Geochemistry and Planetary Science at the California Institute of Technology and director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. From 2014 to 2022, Dr. Leshin served as the first woman president of Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts.
Dr. Leshin is a graduate of Arizona State University, where she majored in chemistry. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in geochemistry from the California Institute of Technology.
Molly Schotzko recently began a three-year term as the faculty athletics representative at Washington State University. An assistant professor in the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication, she previously served as the university’s executive director of marketing. Her work focuses on crafting unique brand experiences while fostering inclusivity and belonging.
Schotzko holds a bachelor’s degree in communication and a master’s degree in sports management from Washington State University, where she was a member of the track and field and cross country teams.
Karen Bales was named director of the California National Primate Research Center at the University of California, Davis. Dr. Bales has been affiliated with the center since she joined the university’s faculty in 2004. Earlier in her tenure, she was the head of the center’s neuroscience and behavior unit. In her lab, Dr. Bales studies the physiology, neurobiology, and development of social bonding, particularly in monogamous species.
Dr. Bales earned her bachelor’s degree in anthropology from the University of New Orleans. She holds a master’s degree in anthropology from the University of Tennessee, and a doctorate in biology from the University of Maryland.
Grete Pedersen is the principal conductor of Yale Schola Cantorum and professor in the practice of conducting at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music and Yale School of Music. She comes to Yale from the Norwegian Academy of Music, where she spent over three decades on the conducting faculty. In 2025, she concluded a 35-year tenure as artistic director of the Norwegian Soloists’ Choir, one of Europe’s leading ensembles.
Pedersen was originally trained as an organist and church musician at the Norwegian Academy of Music.