CHOICES Day 2026 | November 7th

Anna Hurlock completed her BS in biochemistry at Purdue University in 2011 and then went on to graduate with her PhD in biochemistry and molecular biology from Cristoph Benning’s lab at Michigan State University in 2017. She continued some work in the Benning lab until moving to a Clinical Affairs Scientist position at BioFire Diagnostics (now bioMérieux) in March of 2018. In that position, she led a small team of research associates working on clinical studies for validation of in vitro diagnostic products focused on infectious disease diagnosis. In 2023, she took an Associate Director position focused on leading a larger team of research associates and scientists through analytical validations for the same line of in vitro diagnostic products at bioMérieux. At the beginning of 2026, Anna was appointed the Director of Clinical Affairs Lifecycle Management at bioMérieux which is a newly created position leading a new global department focused on maintaining clinical regulatory compliance across the entire global product range of bioMérieux. In her current position, she leads teams of scientists in Salt Lake City, UT, St. Louis, MO, and Marcy-l’Étoile, France.

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Anna Sonnenschein is a Senior Bioinformatics Scientist at Tempus AI and a technical lead for the team supporting a clinical liquid-biopsy assay. She earned an undergraduate degree in general biology from Arizona State University, and a PhD in Genetics from Michigan State University with Dr. David Arnosti, where Dr. Sonnenschein used machine learning approaches to study gene regulation in Drosophila. After two years as a postdoctoral scholar at Chapman University working on educational curriculum projects, she moved into precision oncology. Over the past seven years at Tempus, she has contributed to clinical sequencing pipelines, assay development and validation, regulatory documentation, and algorithms for detecting clonal hematopoiesis variants across multiple cancer assays. 

Matt Davenport is senior public relations representative for the University of Michigan, covering stories about science and the environment. He graduated from the Science Communication Program at the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2014, after earning his doctorate in condensed matter physics at UC Irvine. As a writer, his work has appeared in Scientific American, Chemical & Engineering News and the YouTube series, SciShow. Prior to joining the University of Michigan, Matt covered science stories for Michigan State University.

Dr. Caitlin Thireault prepares and prosecutes U.S. patent applications and assists with the preparation and prosecution of international and foreign patent applications as an Associate at Klarquist. She focuses primarily on patents in the biotechnology and plant fields. Caitlin’s IP practice is informed by both her legal expertise and her hands-onexperience in the field. She has over ten years of experience in academic research with a particular focus on plant molecular biology. Most recently, her projects related to plant innate immunity and the plant microbiome. Caitlin also has a thorough understanding of the complex world of intellectual property her clients must navigate: As an IP commercialization intern at Michigan State, she examined intellectual property assets generated at the university and determined commercial potential and market structure, as well as validated licensing leads. Caitlin joined Klarquist as a full-time employee in 2020 after completing an associateship in 2019.

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Dr. Aaron Stone is a AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Basic Energy Sciences (BES), where he helps evaluate emerging research, assists in program management for several BES programs, and develops long-term strategy for the office. He was previously an ORISE Fellow in the DOE Office of International Affairs, where he supported advancing international collaboration on industrial decarbonization and standards that govern low-carbon steel, cement, and concrete. He earned his PhD in Chemistry from Northwestern University in 2023, where he studied metal–organic frameworks as scaffolds for light-emitting and photocatalytic nanomaterials. Prior to his PhD, Aaron received BAs in Chemistry and Mathematics with a Certificate in Environmental Studies from Wesleyan University, where he graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. Outside of work, Aaron is a former NCAA Division III soccer player who still plays in several recreational leagues in DC, a former competitive collegiate Spikeball player, an avid recreational pickleball player, and an enthusiastic strategy-game competitor.

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Dr. Sheril Kirshenbaum is Chief External Relations Officer at the Food Bank Council of Michigan, where she works with food banks, policymakers, community leaders, and philanthropic partners to advance food security across Michigan and in Washington, DC. A scientist, author, and Emmy Award-winning host and writer, her career has focused on how evidence informs public decision-making and how research, communication, policy, and public engagement can strengthen communities. At Michigan State, she is an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Community Sustainability. Her research examines how senior congressional staff make decisions about science and policy, with a particular focus on trust, relationships, expertise, and the role of evidence in Congress. She also created the PBS series Serving Up Science and co-founded the ngo Science Debate (now Science of the Ballot).

Virginia McDonough is a molecular biologist with a career dedicated to undergraduate education, mentorship, and lipid biology. As an undergraduate, Dr. McDonough a;ended Cook College at 
Rutgers University where she majored in Biology. ACer working in industry for three years, her work in lipid biology began during her graduate training at Rutgers University with Dr. Chuck 
Martin, in the department of Cell and Developmental Biology, where she studied the molecular biology of unsaturated fatty acid metabolism. She con6nued the focus on lipids as a postdoctoral 
fellow with Dr. George Carman, inves6ga6ng the biochemistry of phospholipid metabolism. In 1995. she obtained a tenure-track position in the Department of Biology at Hope College, a 
private liberal arts institution, from which she very recently retired afer 31 years. Using the eukaryote baker’s yeast as a model, research in the McDonough lab focused on understanding 
the regulation of lipid metabolism, using unsaturated fatty acid metabolism as a model system. She has mentored dozens of undergraduates through independent research projects and into 
their graduate, professional, and scientific careers, and has taught genetics and molecular biology across all levels of the curriculum. During her time at Hope, she was also chair of the Biology Department for five years. Dr. McDonough’s greatest success has been her long-standing partnership with Dr. Joseph Stukey—sharing a life centered on their science and their family.

Joseph has worked in the biology department at Hope College since 2003. His two main responsibilities are both centered on teaching: one as a course instructor and the other as a research mentor, working with students doing scientific research in his laboratory. 

Dr. Stukey’s research area of interest is bacteriophages, or phages, which are viruses that infect bacteria. He studies a particular diverse group of phages known as the mycobacteriophages, investigating how they infect a common host bacterial cell and how their genomes evolve. Dr. Stukey is broadly trained in the areas of molecular biology, genetics, microbiology, biochemistry and bioinformatics and has teaching experience in all of those disciplines. His specific areas of greater expertise are bacteriophage biology and genomics, and yeast lipid metabolism. In a four-year period between earning his B.A. and Ph.D. degrees, he also worked in the pharmaceutical industry as a bacteriologist.

Dr. Sarathi Weraduwage is a full professor at the Department of Biology and Biochemistry, Bishop’s University, Canada. She has a B.Sc. Hons. degree in Botany from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka and a Ph.D. in Plant Agriculture from the University of Guelph, Canada. After getting her Ph.D., Dr. Weraduwage joined the Sharkey Lab at the Plant Research Laboratory and the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University as a Postdoctoral Research Associate. She was later promoted to a fixed-term Research Assistant Professor. During her time in the Sharkey lab, she studied the relationship between photosynthesis and plant growth in the model plant Arabidopsis. Her publication on the Arabidopsis Leaf Area Growth Model (2015) was recently recognized by the Frontiers in Plant Science as one of the most highly cited articles of that journal. Dr. Weraduwage also helped secure US $ 898,946 in NSF funding for isoprene research in the Sharkey lab and her findings have helped redefine the role of isoprene as a signaling molecule. She has contributed to over 15 isoprene-related publications over the past 7-years, some which have been recognized as top viewed articles by the publishers. Dr. Weraduwage also served as the representative of the PRL to the MSU College of Natural Science Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Advisory Committee.   

 

Since being appointed as an Assistant Professor at Bishop’s University in 2022, Dr. Weraduwage has been able to establish a highly collaborative research program investigating strategies to optimize leaf architecture to maximize photosynthesis, plant growth and productivity under future environmental conditions. She is also studying novel roles of isoprene and its signaling pathway. Her recent findings reveal how isoprene primes the endosomal proteome and plasma membrane protein composition against impending stress. Dr. Weraduwage has secured close to CA $1 million in external funding to support her research program including a Canada Foundation for Innovation Grant of CA$ 604,365 to develop a Controlled Environment and Biochemistry Research Facility at Bishop’s University. Dr. Weraduwage is also a strong supporter training highly qualified personnel. She has mentored over 4 master’s students, two who have already graduated, and 15 undergraduate students at Bishop’s University. In 2025, Dr. Weraduwage was awarded the Bishop’s University’s prestigious Emerging Scholar Award for her contributions to research on isoprene, student mentorship, and leadership. She has also received a Women's Young Investigator Travel Award from the American Society of Plant Biologists in 2024. Dr. Weraduwage teaches several courses at Bishop’s University and has also developed outreach programs to promote networking between university researchers and the general public. 

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