Congratulations to the Provost’s ECFI Ambassadors for the academic year 2023–2024! These exceptional faculty will serve as peer mentors to guide and inspire future cohorts, and provide valuable input for the ongoing development of ECFI programming.
Alden Lai
Alden Lai is Assistant Professor of Health Care Management at the NYU School of Global Public Health. Alden studies how the jobs and work environments of health care workers can be improved to increase employee outcomes (e.g., wellbeing, retention) as well as organizational performance (e.g., program implementation, patient safety). Alden currently serves as Executive Advisor to the Global Wellbeing Initiative, a collaboration between the Wellbeing for Planet Earth Foundation and Gallup Inc. to foster a more globally inclusive understanding of wellbeing for research, practice, and policy. In 2022, he published a book with Springer Nature titled “Survival Guide for Early Career Researchers.”
Alex Rojas Bie Thomsen
Alex Rojas Bie Thomsen is a Danish/Chilean biomedical scientist who investigates the structure and function of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), cell surface proteins that are extremely important drug targets. Alex received his B.Sc., M.Sc., and PhD. degrees from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, and conducted postdoctoral studies in Nobel Laureate Robert J. Lefkowitz’ laboratory at Duke University. As Assistant Professor at NYU, Alex runs a research laboratory that studies new signaling mechanisms of GPCRs and how to pharmacologically target them. Alex’ work has been published in prestigious scientific journals and is funded by several private foundation and government grants.
Claudia Passos Ferreira
Claudia Passos-Ferreira is Assistant Professor of Bioethics. She has a PhD in Human Sciences and Health Sciences in Public Health from Rio de Janeiro State University and a second PhD in Philosophy at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. She has published on neuroethics, neuro-enhancement, psychopathology, and more recently on empathy and moral development. In psychology, she has published on the topics of psychoanalysis, psychological models, and on moral psychology. Claudia is the Principal Investigator of the project “What do theories of consciousness predict about consciousness in animals, infants, and machines?” funded by Templeton World Charity Foundation.
Karyn Faber
Karyn E. Faber is an expert in program planning, implementation, management, and evaluation in community-based organizations and philanthropic entities. Dr. Faber earned a Bachelor of Arts in Women’s Studies from the University of California at Berkeley, a Master of Public Health in Sociomedical Sciences from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, and a Doctor of Education from Teachers College Columbia University. Her research focuses on improving the quality of life of minority elders living with chronic and/or serious health conditions. She has received grants from the Health Resource and Service Administration Special Projects of National Significance; the National Institute of Mental Health; and the National Cancer Institute.
Michelle Demeter
Michelle Demeter is the Head of Undergraduate and Instructional Services at New York University Libraries. In her role, she develops and facilitates in-person and remote instructional services that support faculty and students across campus. Her pedagogical approach emphasizes holistic student experiences and student engagement. Her research interests include library leadership, world’s fairs, and mid-century visual culture related to education and entertainment in the US context. Michelle earned her PhD in Art History and her master’s degree in Library and Information Studies at Florida State University, and earned her master’s degree in Religious Studies at the University of South Florida.
Raveesh Mayya
Raveesh Mayya is an Assistant Professor of Technology at the NYU Stern School of Business. His research focuses on platform governance and policies that regulate platforms, such as mobile app marketplaces, online food delivery platforms, and e-commerce platforms. He uses a combination of econometric analyses, field experiments and machine learning to study the impact of policy changes on all sides of the platform. His research has won awards and best paper nominations, and he has also received multiple small grants from various organizations and centers. He has also been awarded the prestigious Distinguished Teaching Award by the Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland.