Keynote Speaker – Maryellen Giger, PhD
Maryellen Giger, Ph.D. is the A.N. Pritzker Distinguished Service Professor of Radiology, Committee on Medical Physics at the University of Chicago. Her AI research in cancer, neuro-imaging, COVID-19, and other diseases for risk assessment, diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutic response has yielded various translated components, including “virtual biopsies”. She is contact PI on the NIBIB-ARPA-H-funded Medical Imaging and Data Resource Center (MIDRC; midrc.org). Giger has over 300 peer-reviewed publications, over 30 patents, and mentored over 120 graduate students, residents, medical students, and undergraduate students. Giger is a former president of AAPM and of SPIE; a past member of the NIBIB Advisory Council of NIH; and past Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Medical Imaging; member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), recipient of AAPM William D. Coolidge Gold Medal, recipient of SPIE Gold Medal, SPIE Harrison H. Barrett Award in Medical Imaging, and RSNA’s Outstanding Researcher Award, and Fellow of AAPM, AIMBE, SPIE, and IEEE. In 2013, Giger was named by the International Congress on Medical Physics (ICMP) as one of 50 medical physicists with the most impact on the field in the last 50 years. Giger was cofounder of Quantitative Insights, Inc., producing QuantX, the first FDA-cleared, machine-learning-driven CADx system to aid in cancer diagnosis.
Workshop Leader – Tessa Charlesworth, PhD
Tessa Charlesworth is an Assistant Professor and Drake Faculty Scholar in Management & Organizations at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. She leads the Change lab and co-directs a working group on social biases in algorithms and big data. Professor Charlesworth received her PhD from Harvard University in 2021, and has since been recognized with early faculty awards including the APS rising star award, and the Foundation for the Behavioral and Brain Sciences dissertation award. Professor Charlesworth’s research addresses how and why social stereotypes and attitudes change, across multiple levels of analysis (from the individual to the culture), and across both long and short timespans of history.
Career Panelist – Jun Ma, MD, PhD
Jun Ma, MD, PhD, is the Beth and George Vitoux Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Director of the Vitoux Program on Clinical Research for Equitable Health, and Vice Head of Clinical Research in the Department of Medicine at the University of Illinois Chicago. Dr. Ma’s scholarly work focuses on precision lifestyle medicine and translational research. Since 2008, Dr. Ma has led 16 efficacy and mechanistic randomized clinical trials of innovative behavioral and psychological interventions for adults in primary care settings who have or at high risk of multiple chronic conditions affecting cardiometabolic, respiratory, and mental health. Dr. Ma has held numerous national leadership positions, including currently being the chair elect of the Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health Council of the American Heart Association, an executive council member of the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research, and an associate editor of the Annals of Behavioral Medicine.
Career Panelist – Laura Appenzeller
Laura Appenzeller is the Executive Director of the University of Illinois Research Park and the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Innovation at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign supporting research commercialization and industry partnerships. The Research Park is located on the campus with mixed-use development of more than 800K square feet of constructed buildings, 120 companies (large corporations and startup companies), 2,000 employees including 700 students working year-round in internships. EnterpriseWorks incubator startup companies have raised more than $1.4 billion in venture capital and $200 million in SBIR/STTR awards since the incubator opened. Laura is on the leadership team of the EDA iFAB Tech Hub, which was awarded $51 million for the growth of precision fermentation and bioprocessing in Central Illinois. Laura was the founding Chief Operating Officer of the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park, working to facilitate the development and commercialization of quantum technologies in Chicago. Laura is active in numerous regional organizations and board roles.
Career Panelist – Emily Easton, PhD
Emily Easton is Director of Education and Workforce Development for the Chicago Quantum Exchange and co-lead for workforce development at the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park. She advances regional and national initiatives that connect education, research, and industry to build an inclusive quantum-ready workforce. Her work spans new degree and certificate programs, short courses, experiential learning, employer partnerships, and large-scale workforce strategies that prepare students and mid-career professionals for emerging roles in quantum and advanced technologies. With more than 20 years of leadership in education and career development, she brings both strategic vision and operational execution to complex, multi-institution collaborations across the Midwest. Emily has led major grant-funded efforts, cross-sector partnerships, and talent pipelines that broaden access to high-growth technical careers. She holds a Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Illinois at Chicago and M.A. and B.A. degrees in Sociology from the University of Chicago.