Board of Directors
Maika Graceina Mitchell
Executive Director/Chair
Dr. Mitchell is a distinguished translational research scientist focused on precision medicine and health systems. She leads NITR with a vision of global scientific empowerment.
Mary Thomas
Board Member
Mary Thomas brings extensive experience in community health advocacy and nonprofit governance, ensuring NITR's programs prioritize equitable impact and engagement.
Preciosa Elizabeth Akinbo
Board Member
Preciosa Elizabeth Akinbo is an advocate for STEM equity and infectious disease research protocols, creating pipelines for early-career scientists.
Advisory Board
Expert advisors providing strategic guidance and domain expertise in infectious disease research and health equity.
ADVISOR
JANELLE LINTON-Ramsay, MPH
Mentorship and Engagement Advisor
Janelle Linton is a distinguished public health leader with specialization in Long COVID research and community-based participatory models within the NIH RECOVER Initiative. Her career is dedicated to health systems strengthening, fostering diversity and inclusion, and enhancing global health equity. Janelle is highly regarded for her unique ability to translate complex laboratory research into actionable public health communications that empower communities and inform evidence-based health policy.
ADVISOR
Shen Cheng, PhD
EquiSci TM Sr Research Data Scientist & App Advisor
Dr. Cheng brings deep data science experience and will provide feedback on scientific workflows, documentation, and feature priorities aligned with NITR’s mission and program goals.
ADVISOR
Judy Kwak
EquiSci™ , TrialNexus™ Regulatory Advisor, Clinical Research & App Advisor
Judy Kwak will help NITR build and maintain a strong regulatory infrastructure for clinical research applications, with a focus on Coordinating Center regulatory sections. Your expertise in IRB management and regulatory compliance will be invaluable as NITR develops its translational research programs, including EquiSci™ and TrialNexus™—an open-source AI platform developed by NITR that applies natural language processing and machine learning to identify sex-disaggregated patterns, outcome disparities, and research gaps in Long COVID and infectious disease research. The platform is designed to support researchers, clinicians, and policymakers through curated datasets, bias-detection tools, and public-facing analytical workflows.
Student Interns — 2026 Inaugural Cohort
Advancing Science. Empowering the Next Generation.
Grace E. Mitchell
Social Media & Outreach Intern / Research Assistant
| Incoming Stony Brook University Freshman, Major: Health Science, Fall 2026
Grace supports NITR's/NSS digital presence and community outreach efforts. A volunteer at NYU Langone Health and Johns Hopkins-trained in Chemistry in Medicine, she is an emerging STEM advocate and peer ambassador in NITR's Pilot Mentorship Program.
Carmen M. Mitchell
Research Computer Science Assistant
Rising Junior at City University of New York, Hunter College, Yalow Scholar, She is majoring in Physics with a minor in Computer Science. Carmen supports NITR's/NSS's computational biology efforts with the Principal Investigator and the Senior Research Data Scientist.