BOARD OF OFFICERS

The present board is very pleased to have a full complement of officers for the year.  However, fresh voices are always welcomed and needed, and if you have any suggestions and/or wish to be an officer or know someone who does, please let the board know.

Dixie Fisher, Ph.D. PRESIDENT	Specialty : Academic Medicine e-mail :   Dr. Dixie Fisher received her B.A. in Microbiology/Chemistry and her M.S. in Veterinary Science from the University of Nebraska.  She received her doctorate in Education from the University of Southern California (USC), specializing in Higher, Adult, and Professional Education with a focus on research methodology.  She has taught the Master’s Research Seminar for the Division of Medical Education since 1993.  She served as a mentor in the Professionalism and the Practice of Medicine course for first and second-year medical students. Dr. Fisher's research is in the area of the development of clinical reasoning in medical students.  She is certified by Multi-Health Systems, Inc. Toronto, Canada to administer the MSCEIT emotional intelligence ability test, and to deliver the Emotional Intelligence Critical Skills for Success workshop.  Prior to joining the Division of Medical Education, she directed the Veterinary Diagnostic and Disease Surveillance Laboratory at USC.  She isolated, characterized, and named the marine bacterium Vibrio damsela as reported in the research journal, Science.  She has peer-reviewed publications in the areas of animal, fish, reptilian, and educational research. Among her favorite pastimes are playing USTA tennis and training her dog, KayDee.
Virginia Carson, Ph.D. VICE PRESIDENT	Specialty : Biology, Psychopharmacology  e-mail :
Margaret Carson, B.A. TREASURER	Specialty : Earth Science e-mail :   Margaret Carson earned a double major Bachelors degree in Geology and Biology from Mount Holyoke College. She enjoys knitting and swimming.  She also enjoys her travels to Ecuador, where she also owns a home.
Amelia Russo-Neustadt, M.D. Ph.D. SECRETARY	Specialty : Neuroscience, Psychiatry e-mail :
Helen Clucas, Ph.D. LIAISON	Specialty : Mathematics, Higher Education e-mail :   Dr. Helen Clucas holds an A.A. from Fullerton College, and both an A.B. from the University of California-Los Angeles and M.A. from the University of Oregon in Mathematics.  She received her Ph.D. from the University of Southern California for Higher Education and is currently Professor Emeritus at Fullerton College in Fullerton, CA. The thirty years that Helen Clucas taught mathematics at Fullerton College was a very fulfilling experience for her.  However, the discrimination against women students in the awarding of scholarships, that she observed there, motivated her to do as much as she could to promote the recognition of women, whether science student or professional scientist.  She feels very fortunate that she was invited in 1992 to join GWIS, because its goals of "advancing the participation and recognition of women in science" are so important to her personally. The OC GWIS Sigma Chapter has had at least one science conference at which women scientists were featured speakers every year since its inception in 1987.  Student scientific presentations were added to the 1996 conference, when 14 presentations were given.  At the 18th Student Research Conference in 2007 a high of 31 presentations was reached.  The total prizes awarded grew from $200 the first year to $1500 in 2007, with a total of $8200 being awarded in prizes over all those years.  This triumph for OC GWIS Sigma Chapter has been very meaningful to her.  Since joining GWIS in 1992, Helen has served in many differing capacities on the board of officers, including president of OC GWIS Sigma Chapter from 1996 to 1997. Helen's family, which includes her husband, Ted, their children, spouses, and grandchildren, have occupied all her "spare" time, and continue to do so.  She enjoys RV trips together to national parks and forests, with fishing, hiking, photography, and boating being important activities.
Fleur Tehrani, Ph.D. MEMBERSHIP	Specialty : Electrical Engineering e-mail :   Dr. Fleur Tehrani holds a B.S. degree in electrical engineering from Arya-Mehr (Sharif) University of Technology, Tehran, Iran, a graduate diploma from Imperial College of Science and Technology, London, and an M.S. and Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from University of London, UK. She is currently a Professor of Electrical Engineering at California State University, Fullerton. Dr. Tehrani has published numerous articles in the field of biomedical engineering and is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of California. She is the inventor of several respiratory assist devices including one of the most advanced respiratory control systems in the world known as “Adaptive Support Ventilation,” and metabolic rate monitors. She has two issued US patents and several pending patent applications on her inventions. Both of her issued patents have been commercialized successfully and are licensed and used in practice worldwide. She has been a reviewer of many books and scientific journals and has repeatedly served as an invited panelist for the National Science Foundation. She has received two NASA fellowships and a number of awards at the local and national levels for her research contributions. Dr. Tehrani is a national life member of GWIS and has been a subject of biographical records in many of the Marquis Who’s Who publications including Who’s Who in the World and Who’s Who of American Women.  She enjoys poetry, literature, music, and stamp collecting.
Mitra J. Hooshmand, B.S. MARKETING	Specialty : Neuroscience e-mail :    Mitra graduated in the fall of 2002 from UC Irvine (UCI) with a Bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences and a minor in Philosophy. During her undergraduate studies, she conducted research in areas of Down syndrome and Alzheimer disease. Additionally, Mitra was highly active within her residential community, serving as a community programmer, program advisor, and resident advisor.   After a short break during which she worked at Wells Fargo Bank, Mitra began her graduate career at UCI in the department of Anatomy and Neurobiology. She joined Dr. Aileen Anderson’s laboratory in the spring of 2004. Her dissertation study investigates the effect of the microenvironment after spinal cord injury, specifically the fate of human central nervous system stem cells and the ability of transplanted cells to promote functional recovery. Mitra is also the co-founder of the department-wide Anatomy and Neurobiology Journal Club (established in 2005) which allows graduate students the opportunity to critically read, interpret, and present scientific literature to fellow peers, post-doctoral fellows, and faculty.   Additionally, Mitra is the founding president of Dialogue Society, a student-run organization with numerous chapters and affiliates (established in 1998). The Dialogue Society dedicates itself to exploring ethical, moral, and humanistic aspects of various schools of thought including the sciences and the arts.   Mitra participated in the 2008 OC GWIS Student Research Conference and was awarded the first-place prize in the PhD category. She has been an official OC GWIS member since 2008.   When not in the laboratory, Mitra volunteers her time at the Orangewood Children’s Foundation, a non-profit organization with the vision to reduce child abuse and neglect, especially within the foster youth community. She is also addicted to exercise, spending most of her evenings swimming, biking, doing yoga, Pilates, or lifting weights.
Viorela Pop, B.S. WEBSITE MANAGER	Specialty : Neuroscience e-mail :   Viorela Pop received her Bachelor’s degrees in 2002 as a double-major in Neuroscience and English at the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA).  During her undergraduate career, she particpated in laboratory research and in the Neuroscience Undergraduate Society (NUS), which provided a forum for students and faculty to interact on a number of academic and social levels.  During her one-year tenure as President of NUS, she began the first annual Art of Science event, in which science majors were given the opportunity to display their works of art in the university gallery. Currently, Viorela is a graduate student for the Ph.D. in Biological Sciences with the department of Neurobiology and Behavior at the University of California-Irvine (UCI).  Her thesis project focuses on the effects of natural interventions, such as diet and environment, on the brain.  Specifically, she is investigating the production, accumulation, and clearance of the beta-amyloid protein in the brain of young and aged canines. Viorela is a member of the UCLA Alumni Association and has served on their scholarship committee since 2005.  She is also an active member of the Society for Neuroscience (SfN) and has taken part in Brain Awareness programs for elementary school kids.   Her involvement with GWIS dates back to 2004, and she twice won the first prize in the PhD category for student oral research presentations.  She has been an official member of OC GWIS since 2007, helping with various chapter events and serving on the annual national GWIS Scholarship Committee. Apart from science, Viorela enjoys spending time with her husband and daughter.  Together with other relatives and friends, she also enjoys travelling, excursions to local beaches and parks, tropical vacations, hiking, tennis, movies, board games, cooking parties, and exploring her artistic talents in a variety of areas.