MEET OUR TEAM
Executive Director
Kensey Bergdorf-Smith, PhD
Dr. Kensey Bergdorf-Smith is a native West Virginian with strong ties to Appalachia. She holds two bachelor’s degrees from West Virginia University: a Bachelor of Science in Immunology and Medical Microbiology and a Bachelor of Multidisciplinary Studies with emphases in Biology, Leadership Studies, and Political Science. She received her PhD in Pharmacology at Vanderbilt University, where she worked to improve treatment options for patients with aggressive cancers.
She was named a Nath Outstanding Graduate and a Foundation Scholar at West Virginia University. As a Milan Puskar Leadership Scholar, she presented original work on college graduate retention in West Virginia on a national platform. She served as a Washington Fellow with the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, during which she advocated for funding for the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health with members of Congress. She also served as a West Virginia Science and Technology Policy Fellow.
Outside of her science policy work, Dr. Bergdorf-Smith enjoys spending time with her husband, daughters, and dogs, traveling, painting, and photography. Several of the images on this website were taken by Dr. Bergdorf-Smith on her travels through West Virginia!
S&T Policy Fellow
Madison Flory, PhD
Dr. Madison Flory is originally from Defiance, a small town in northwestern Ohio. She attended Heidelberg University in Tiffin, Ohio for her bachelor’s degree in biology, also completing minors in music and chemistry. She has spent the past five years at the University of Kentucky working on her PhD in microbiology and immunology, where she studied how gut bacteria can impact colorectal cancer.
While in graduate school, Dr. Flory found science policy and loved being able to use data and science to help make decisions. She worked part-time as the science policy specialist for the Kentucky Academy of Science, helping scientists from all across Kentucky get involved in state policy. At the University of Kentucky, she served as the president of Kentucky Advocates for Science Policy and Research and represented her department on Graduate Student Congress. Dr. Flory was also a member of the inaugural class of Howard Garrison Advocacy Fellows, a program offered by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, where she learned how to advocate for science at the national level.
Outside of science policy, Dr. Flory likes to read, make music, and travel. She is also excited to explore West Virginia!
S&T Policy Fellow
Anika Zaman, PhD
Dr. Anika Zaman grew up in Queens, New York, and earned her bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from Hunter College. Before graduate school, she combined her interests in science and public engagement through roles at the New York Hall of Science and the Intrepid Air & Space Museum.
Anika received her PhD in Pharmacology from Stony Brook University, where she studied how the immune system responds to bacterial infections, and continued her research as a postdoctoral scientist. Throughout her training, she developed a passion for making science more accessible and relevant beyond the laboratory. She has written for SciCommBites and her graduate program’s blog and served as a Howard Garrison Advocacy Fellow with the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB). She has also supported science communication and advocacy efforts through the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB).
As a WV STeP Fellow, Anika is excited to support West Virginia policymakers with evidence-based scientific information and to learn more about how science can inform state policy. Outside of work, she enjoys baking, writing, hiking, and exploring new places, and is looking forward to discovering West Virginia’s trails and communities.
S&T Policy Fellow
David Ramotowski, PhD
