Theme: For Women in Life Science
Date: May 4, 2019
Time: 09:00 am – 02:00 pm
Location: University Hall 4116, Montclair State University
Organizers:
HeaYeon Lee, Ph.D., Founder/CEO of Mara-Nanotech New York, Inc.
Sung Eun Choi, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Queens College
Yeon Bai, Ph.D., Professor, Montclair State University
Yuen Mi Cheon, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow, Fordham University

Summary:
The 2019 KWiSE New York/New Jersey Chapter Regional Conference was held on Saturday, the 4th of May, 2019 at Montclair State University. Under the theme of “For Women in Life Science,” this year’s conference featured three scholars from the fields of Environmental and Occupational Health, Family Science and Human Development, and Psychology. The organizers were Drs. HeaYeon Lee (Founder/CEO of Mara-Nanotech New York, Inc.), Sung Eun Choi (Associate Professor, Queens College), Yeon Bai (Professor, Montclair State University), and Yuen Mi Cheon (Postdoctoral Fellow, Fordham University). A total of 12 members were in attendance.

This year’s conference started with greetings of the new Chapter President Dr. HeaYeon Lee. In her greetings, Dr. Lee thanked the former Chapter President Dr. Bae for her accomplishments and services and emphasized one of the missions of KWiSE New York/New Jersey Chapter to support one another for the pursuit of both personal and professional excellence and happiness. Next, a member introduction session was held in a roundtable setting. During this session, each member had a chance to introduce themselves to the group and share any updates about both their personal and professional lives. Topics covered a wide range of life experiences, including changes in work settings, professional achievements, academic interests, family transitions, immigration, marriage and children, just to name a few.
Then, the three speakers took turns to present on topics of their specialties. The first speaker was Dr. Mingzhu Fang, Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at the School of Public Health, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. The title of her presentation was “Adverse Impact of Night-Shift Work and Light-at-Night on Breast Cancer Risk.” Various research methods and the roles of sleep, light and circadian rhythm were actively discussed amongst the members. The second speaker was Dr. Soyoung Lee, Associate Professor in the Department of Family Science and Human Development at Montclair State University. Dr. Lee’s presentation was an interactive session titled, “Reflective Discussion on Cultural Sensitivity as Human Services Professionals.” Through various activities, such as “community maps” and “the penny story,” the members had a chance to reflect on their biases, appreciate diversity and get to know one another at a deeper level. Bringing the prior two presentations—one on sleep and the other one on diversity—together, in the third presentation, Dr. Yuen Mi Cheon discussed on the topic of “Ethnic/Racial Disparities in Children’s Sleep: Possible Causes, Consequences, and Solutions.” During this talk, issues regarding diversity, ethnic/racial discrimination experiences, and how they may impact children and adolescents’ sleep were discussed along with innovative contemporary research methods to measure various aspects of sleep and biomarkers. The new and the old members varying in age and academic disciplines and levels of experience enthusiastically engaged in discussions and generated potential interdisciplinary research ideas.

After the three presentations and discussions, all of the members took a group photo and went out for lunch. Conversations on both personal and professional lives as well as discussions on potential research ideas continued throughout lunch time and the following teatime. Upon the completion of the conference, one of the members remarked, “It was a great time spent with good people. I feel supported by the time we shared together during the conference.” A visiting undergraduate student from Korea also commented, “Thank you for making my time today so meaningful! It was an unforgettable experience!”