Sumaira is a member of the Bargaining Committee and the Executive Board of our Union 4100 at Columbia. Originally from Islamabad, Pakistan, she conducted her undergraduate studies at Stony Brook University in Long Island. She then pursued her PhD at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She eventually landed at Columbia as a Postdoc research scientist in 2019 to study the neural circuits that control walking behavior in drosophila. Sumaira is a mom to 2 elementary school aged girls who love to play soccer. She loves cooking Pakistani food, as it reminds her of home.
Rafa is an Associate Research Scientist in the Division of Nephrology and a member of the Bargaining Committee for Union Local 4100. He rejoined Columbia in 2020 after relocating from Stanford, California. Originally from Madrid, he completed his Ph.D. there before moving to the United States to pursue a postdoctoral fellowship in embryonic stem cells. Currently, he is involved in clinical studies related to kidney diseases. Rafa was one of the co-founders of our Union and, following his return to Columbia, he expressed a desire to organize with the Union once again. He has been actively involved in a working group focused on authorship and intellectual property.
Georgia is a member of the Bargaining Committee of Union 4100 at Columbia. Born and raised in Athens, Greece, Georgia got her Bachelor degree in Biology and Master’s degree in Biological Sciences at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. She then pursued her Ph.D. in Neuroscience in the Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens before joining Columbia as a Postdoctoral Fellow in 2016. She is currently an Associate Research Scientist studying the effect of RNA metabolism defects in neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disorders.
Stefano (he/him) is an Associate Research Scientist and member of the Bargaining Committee of Union local 4100 at Columbia. Born and raised in Gallipoli, a small beach town in Southern Italy, Stefano pursued a Pharmacy degree in Ferrara, Italy, lived in Salamanca, Spain, and obtained a PhD in Neuroscience in Vancouver, Canada. He moved to New York in 2018 and joined Columbia to study the role of dopamine function in motor learning and skill acquisition.
Thiago was born and raised in Curitiba, Brazil, up until he finished high school and had the opportunity to move to the U.S. First to study biochemistry at the University of South Florida, then to pursue a neuroscience Ph.D. at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Currently, he is a postdoctoral scientist at Columbia University’s Zuckerman Institute, studying the neurodevelopment aspects of how traumatic experiences get passed down through multiple generations.
Enrica (she/her) is a Postdoctoral Research Scientist and member of the E-Board and Bargaining Committee of the Union local 4100 at Columbia. From a tiny village in a northern region of Italy, Franciacorta or “short France”, where they produce excellent wines, she moved to Boston during her last year of Med School to conduct research in the field of pediatric immunology. She then pursued her PhD in Bethesda and lived few years in DC, then landed in NYC because she “could do the thing I love the most in one of the most magical city in the world”.
Erica is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow and member of the Bargaining Committee of Union local 4100 at Columbia. Born and raised in Queens, New York, Erica pursued Biology/Neuroscience and Psychology degrees through Macaulay Honors College at CUNY Queens College. She then obtained her Ph.D. in Neurobiology at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. She is currently a postdoctoral research fellow at Columbia University’s Zuckerman Institute, studying how social sensory cues shape motivational/emotional behavior in mice.
Pierre-Jacques is an Associate Research Scientist and an alternate member of the Bargaining Committee of Union local 4100 at Columbia University. He was a member of the previous Bargaining Committee during the negotiations of the first Union Contract in 2020. Born and raised in Lyon France, Pierre-Jacques came to Portland Oregon as an exchange student to study Biochemistry, he then pursued his PhD in Connecticut and moved to New York in 2009 for his postdoctoral studies. He has been studying the role of retinoic acid signaling in pancreatic diseases ever since.
Federico (he/him) is an Associate Research Scientist and member of the E-Board and Bargaining Committee of the Union local 4100 at Columbia. He was born in Palermo, Sicily, which has always been a melting pot of cultures and where the first western democratic parliament was installed. After graduating in Biomolecular Chemistry, he enrolled in a joint PhD program in Biochemistry and Biophysics between Italy and Germany, where he defended his thesis. He landed in NYC in 2017 and started a postdoc at NYU pursuing basic science. At the end of 2020, he joined Columbia University with a new direction towards translational science.
Cora (she/her) is the President and founder of CPW-UAW local 4100. Born and raised in Madrid, Spain, she moved to the US in 2012 with a suitcase full of hopes, energy and ideas. After spending six years in the Department of Genetics and Development at Columbia University and publishing groundbreaking studies on Cell Competition in Science, she now dedicates her full time to the success and growth of our Union as member of the E-Board and Bargaining Committee.
