Our ever-expanding panel of experts has some of the most illustrious and highly-acclaimed names from diverse backgrounds. They offer industry-relevant knowledge to our students and mentor them at different stages of the DiscoverSTEM program. Hailing from different domains, the experts guide students at several stages of the program. They resolve any queries, or doubts and help students gain better insights into their subjects.
These experts also guide our students in choosing better career opportunities and assist them in charting a plan to achieve their career goals. Interested and bright students also get this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have one-on-one mentoring sessions with the assigned expert.
Dr. Gregg is an avid researcher and has served on the review panel with the National Institute of Health, mentored several post-doctoral fellows across the globe, published over 45 research papers, written, edited, or co-edited over 11 textbook chapters, invited speaker at 140+ research events worldwide
More recently he contributes to clinical practice guidelines and national policies that focus on the introduction of genetic and genomic technologies into clinical practice. These contributions led to an invitation to Capitol Hill and an opportunity to speak at a hearing devoted to prenatal carrier screening in the US.
Dr. Gregg is committed to nurturing the next generations of Genomics and Genetics experts. Our Genomics, Biotechnology, and Health Sciences research labs run under his esteemed guidance.
Dr. Peter Guida is a NASA-based molecular biologist who specializes in the field of radiation biology. He graduated from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1999 with a Ph.D. in developmental and molecular biology. He then completed a 3-year post-doctoral fellowship at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) in New York in the field of accelerator-based radiation biology.
In 2003 he joined the scientific staff at BNL and is currently a Full Scientist running a laboratory that investigates the effects of radiation on human neuronal cells. In addition, he serves as NASA’s Liaison Biologist for the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory Program, which examines the potential health risks to astronauts from exposure to the charged particle radiation that is found in space. He has published many research papers and is a peer-reviewer for numerous journals in the radiation and neuroscience fields. Dr. Guida brings extensive knowledge of molecular signaling pathways and DNA repair to DiscoverSTEM.
Babar is Principal, AI Customer Success at IBM. Babar is co-founder of Dallas AI, a non-profit dedicated to education and networking of AI, a meetup group of over 3,000 AI professionals.
Babar also serves co-chair of Tech Titans AI Forum. Babar regularly speaks about Artificial Intelligence to executives and professionals. He has spoken and presented at Tech Titans Executive Programs, Harvard Club of Dallas, DFW Executive Connection, University of Texas at Dallas (Computer Science, School of Management), MIT Club of DFW, MIT Professional Development, Financial Executives International (FEI) and multiple Dallas AI events.
Babar was co-founder and CEO of MutualMind, a social media analytics company that served global brands such as IBM, American Airlines, Nestle, and Hilton. After MutualMind was acquired by Shapiro+Raj, he served as there as the Head of Digital. Babar is an advisor and mentor to many organizations. He has served as chairman, MIT Enterprise Forum of Dallas Fort Worth. He was author of a chapter in the book Cyber Security Standards, Practices and Industrial Applications. Babar holds dual MS from MIT in Civil and Environmental Engineering and Technology and Policy. Our “AI-ML and Autonomous Technology” research lab runs under his inspiring and able guidance.
He also founded Si2 Microsystems, a leading Indian manufacturer of high-end electronics for space and defense applications, and Hughes Precision Manufacturing Pvt. Ltd., India’s first manufacturer of military-caliber ammunition.
Mr. Sanjay has several innovations and achievements to his credit. He led his companies to be among Deloitte Fast 50 Company and Financial Times’ Fastest 1000 growing companies in Asia Award. He received a letter of commendation from Shri Rajiv Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India in 1989, for his book on Computer Science for college students.
He is the Member of Defence Advisory Committee – CII South India and Member of MSME Advisory Committee – FICCI South India. Mr. Sanjay is fond of mentoring students on topics like Startup, Business Management, and Growth Strategies.
Dr. Bashoo Naziruddin is a translational research scientist with more than 30 years of experience in academia, the biotech industry, and the healthcare system.
Dr. Medhat Askar, MD, Ph.D., MSHPE, FRCPath, is a Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Texas A&M College of Medicine, the Director of Transplant Immunology, Hematopoietic Cell Processing and COVID-19 laboratories at Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
Dr. Askar is the President of The American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics (ASHI), Immediate Past President of The American Board for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics (ABHI), and a member of the Executive Committee of the National Boards of Directors of United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) and Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN).
He is also a Councillor to The Transplantation Society (TTS) representing North America, the Co-Chair of the TTS Education Committee, a member of the Laboratory Practice Committee of the International Society of Cell and Gene Therapy, and a Principal Investigator on several study protocols through the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR).
DiscoverSTEM students have this distinguished opportunity to carry out research activities at Dr. Medhat Askar’s Transplant Immunology Lab. We have signed a research agreement (MoU) with Dr. Medhat Askar, which allows our students access to world-class research facilities.
He has previously worked with the Confederation of Indian Industries, and Public Policy Research Centre in New Delhi. He has also worked with CDU Fraktion in the Berlin Parliament, and with a few Members of Parliament in India.
Mani is a trained Lawyer from Amity Law School, Delhi, and has completed his Master’s in Public Policy from Willy Brandt School of Public Policy, Germany with a specialization in Public, Non-profit management, and International Political Economy.
Mani is from Madhubani, Bihar. He loves traveling, reading, and volunteering.
Omar has also been involved with several startups, including the first matrimonial website and the first stock sentiment analysis website. In early 2016, he started Unblocked Inc., a blockchain consultancy company. In 2017 he organized the Shardus project to build a linearly scalable blockchain.
Omar holds a B.S. and M.S. from Case Western Reserve University with a specialization in Artificial Intelligence. Omar, along with his son, Aamir invented the strategy board game Arimaa and offered the Arimaa Challenge Prize to promote breakthrough research in AI.
With an incredible track record of 20+ years in leadership, team, and organization transformation, Jyoti has held various academic, corporate & partnership positions across diverse industries including Healthcare, Education, and Finance. She currently mentors the Innovation & Start-Up Taskforce, Co-Chairs the Social Impact Taskforce, and is an elected State Council Member for the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Gujarat. She is on several advisory & mentorship boards and is a sought-after Speaker & Advisor.
He has many awards and recognitions to his name. In the year 2021, he was honored with the “International Achievers Award” for his outstanding contributions. Earlier he was “Ernst & Young – Entrepreneur of the Year”, a finalist in the years 2008, 2011, and 2013.
In his previous professional career in investment management, he focused on investing in companies that enable the energy independence of North America. He has also worked in various roles at firms like Bear Steans and Citadel Investment Group.
He has an MBA in finance and accounting from Cox School of Business at SMU. He started his career as a marine engineer and has worked out at sea in the capacity of marine and naval engineer. He grew up in India, is an IIT JEE rank holder, and received his bachelor’s degree in marine engineering.
He made a small camera as a hobbyist and indulged in science experiments with a lab set at home from his pocket money. He led the science society at school and college. Usman became a staunch follower of NASA and collected materials related to the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs, sharing it further with his school and college mates and teachers. Later, he donated all the materials to the college.
Fast Forward: Usman acquired 3 Master’s degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology within three years, one of these being Management of Technology with his deep interest in Aeronautics and Astronautics. He is a long-standing member of AIAA, AOPA, and EAA and an avid reader of Scientific American. Usman loves to mentor young minds keen on scientific inquiry and method and sees the future through his advisees’ eyes.
While pursuing his bachelor’s in mechanical engineering, he set up a Science & Technology Society and established an AIAA Chapter. He later assisted in setting up a Gas Dynamics laboratory and designed Aeronautics and Astronautics experiments for seniors.
Currently, Dr. Iqbal is the Senior Vice President of Global Operations at BioGX, responsible for overall Operations, Manufacturing, Quality and Regulatory, Product Delivery, Product Development, Purchasing and Inventory Management, Business partnerships, and Human Resources. Before this role, he was responsible for designing and developing FISH automation systems at Abbott Molecular. Before joining Abbott, Dr. Iqbal was head of operations, quality, systems development, and IHC systems manufacturing at BioGenex in California.
Dr. Iqbal has an MBA and Ph.D. as well as a Masters in Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Texas in San Antonio.
Additionally, he has a strong educational foundation in finance, data science, and engineering. He earned his MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management; MS in Industrial and System Engineering from The Ohio State University; and BS in Chemical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay.
Sandy is the Founder & President of InventIndia Innovations Pvt. Ltd. focused on taking new product ideas right through to prototype development and manufacturing. He is also the Founder of the Indian Inventors Association, a global platform for bringing all inventors & innovators together. Sandy’s patented product On2Cook – World’s fastest Cooking Device onboarded to BRINC Food Tech Accelerator in Hong Kong has been the most celebrated invention at CES 2022, Las Vegas.
Sandy is the mentor to several start-ups, mid-sized and large corporations; a reason why Invent India is known as the Start-up of Startups. InventIndia is an Industry leader focused on filling the gaps that are essentially intellectual property, Crowdfunding, Certification, and Manufacturing as well as Logistics.
