STEM Events and Workshops Summer 2026
Engineering the Future of Immunology
Thursday, June 11, 2-3 p.m. (virtual)
Guest Speaker: Daniel McManus, PhD Postdoctoral Scholar, Stanford University
Daniel McManus, PhD, is an immunologist whose research focuses on how CD8 T cells make critical developmental decisions during viral infection and how these choices influence long-term immune protection. He earned his doctorate in Immunology from Emory University in the laboratory of Rafi Ahmed, where he identified an early precursor CD8 T cell population with remarkable developmental flexibility. His work demonstrated that these cells adapt their fate based on infection outcomes—forming long-lived memory cells when infections are rapidly cleared, or sustaining immune responses through a balance of self-renewal and effector function during persistent infections.
Planning for an Aging Population: Assessing Metropolitan Planning Organizations’ Approaches, Gaps, and Innovations
Tuesday, July 28, 1-2 p.m., Charlestown Campus, E-175
Guest Speaker: Sophia Ashebir, Graduate Research Assistant, MIT AgeLab
Sophia Ashebir is a researcher at the MIT AgeLab, where she contributes to projects focused on transportation, vaccine uptake and preventive health, and ageism. She manages the Lab’s 85+ Lifestyle Leaders panel as well as its Aging and Equity Speaker Series. Sophia’s research centers on mobility and transportation access, with a particular interest in how these factors evolve as people age and how they shape independence and quality of life. Her work emphasizes equitable and inclusive approaches to aging-related challenges.