Christina Edholm
Math students from diverse groups attended the Field of Dreams Conference in St. Louis this month to hear about graduate opportunities in the mathematical sciences, and NIMBioS was represented as a part of its commitment to enhance diversity in the STEM fields.
The annual conference is organized by the National Alliance for Doctoral Studies in the Mathematical Sciences (or “Math Alliance”) whose goal is to build a national community of scholars from underrepresented groups in the mathematical and statistical sciences.
Christina Edholm, a postdoctoral teaching associate in UT’s math department, attended on behalf of NIMBioS and gave a talk entitled, “What Is Infectious Disease Modeling?”
Edholm has been particularly active at NIMBioS, having served as a mentor last summer for undergraduates in our Summer Research Experiences program. She has also participated in various NIMBioS workshops, tutorials, and other programs.
Her research focuses on mathematical biology, specifically infectious disease modeling and pest management.
“I was able to expose my area of research to many different students, in addition to discussing my path to a post-doc and providing advice I had for navigating through academia,” Edholm said. “Overall, the conference provided a setting that provided students with opportunities and professional connections they might not otherwise have had access to. I feel the conference encouraged students from underrepresented backgrounds to see their futures in the mathematical sciences, through the examples of those who came before.”