The STEM Womxn of PathAI: Celebrating the 2025 International Day of Women and Girls in Science

This year is the 10th anniversary of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science (IDWGS), a celebration of gender diversity in STEM fields and a call to action for continued progress. While there have been many improvements over the decades in bringing more women into scientific fields, there is still work to be done.?

In fact, UNESCO estimates just 1 in 3 scientists are women. During last year’s IDWGS event, the organization issued a rallying cry of “Closing the Gender Gap in Science.”?

In honor of IDWGS 2025, we’re highlighting insights from five women in science working at PathAI in a variety of ways. We asked them what inspired them to get into science, what they love about the field, and their hopes for their scientific work at PathAI—read on to hear more in their own words.

Christina Jayson, Ph.D. , Associate Director for Inflammation & Immunology, PathAI

Having completed undergraduate research in a mitochondrial lab at UCLA, Christina pursued her Ph.D. at Harvard University in cell biology. Once she completed her degree, Christina joined PathAI as a Translational Science Lead, moving over to AI Product and advancing through roles to her current position as Associate Director of Inflammation & Immunology. Today she leads a team of data managers, data scientists, pathologists, and engineers to build and launch AI-powered digital pathology tools.?

“In high school, I read a newspaper article about a girl with a mitochondrial disease for which there was no treatment or cure. I was curious and inspired to pursue a career in the sciences to uncover insights that could help people like her.? As the first in my family to pursue a PhD in science I was in uncharted territory, and I didn’t have an idea of what being a scientist looked like, particularly beyond schooling. After pursuing a career in science, I’ve realized there are many ways to make an impact on patients beyond the bench, and you can push the edge of the field both behind a microscope and away from one.?

My favorite moments throughout my scientific training were behind the microscope—seeing beyond what the naked eye can capture has always filled me with excitement, like peeking into a hidden world. Today, I get to bring that fascination to work. There are insights waiting to be uncovered in precious patient biopsies that could potentially unlock new treatments, new understanding of inflammatory and immunology diseases, and precision medicine for patients with chronic illnesses. Being a part of the discovery and tackling hypotheses previously unanswerable gets me incredibly energized.”

Ylaine Gerardin PhD, Principal Biomedical Data Scientist, PathAI

After completing her Ph.D. at Harvard University in systems biology and her post-doc at MIT in the Physics of Living Systems Group, Ylaine made the move into industry as a computational biologist at a biotech startup trying to create new drugs to treat gut disease. Ylaine joined PathAI in 2022, where she helps in the analysis of patient data and improves and benchmarks our machine learning models.

“I was lucky to have excellent science and math teachers in high school whoshowed me how scientific concepts aren’t just a collection of facts, but build on one another to make a coherent theory of how the world works. I love digging into datasets and seeing if I can apply mathematical tools and scientific knowledge to make sense of unusual patterns. My goal at PathAI is for AI-powered pathology tools to have a strong statistical and biological backing to aid in drug discovery and optimizing patient treatment.”

Jacqueline Brosnan-Cashman, Ph.D., Senior Scientific Writer, PathAI

Jackie completed her Ph.D. in pathobiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and she continued at Hopkins for her post-doc in the department of Pathology. After completing her academic work, Jackie joined the scientific editing team at Clinical Cancer Research before joining PathAI in 2022. As a scientific writer, Jackie works across PathAI’s teams to publish results from both internal and partnered research projects.?

“As a child, I was drawn to an old book on my parents’ bookshelf filled with children’s science experiments. Reading about these experiments and then actually doing them filled me with joy and sparked my desire to continue learning more about science and the natural world.? Later, while earning my Ph.D. in pathobiology and completing my postdoctoral fellowship, I found myself drawn to the process of sharing the story of my projects just as much as the research. Why was I doing these experiments, and why do the results matter? Communicating high-impact results of PathAI’s digital pathology approaches to the scientific community, particularly through manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals, has the potential to build evidence of the benefit of AI-powered pathology. Especially given that this field is still in its relatively early days, clarity on what is being done in each publication is essential. “

Shima Nofallah , Biomedical Data Scientist, PathAI

Once she completed her Master’s degree in Iran, Shima applied for an advanced degree program in the United States and made the move to Seattle, WA to pursue her Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering at the University of Washington. She first joined PathAI as an intern and, after completing her Ph.D. program, joined the company full-time. Today, Shima develops tools and products at PathAI as a biomedical data scientist.

“I’ve been passionate about math and science for as long as I can remember. My favorite hobby was solving puzzles, and my favorite subject was math, closely followed by science. The excitement I felt from solving an algebra problem or watching the color change on a pH strip when I added an acid or base was unmatched. I always had a sense that I’d end up doing something related to STEM.? It’s been an exciting journey in science, working on cancer research and applying my data science and computer vision knowledge which I gained through my STEM education.

Abigail Emerson , Senior Manager, PMO, PathAI

While pursuing her BE in biomedical engineering and MS in finance from Stevens Institute of Technology Abby had the opportunity to work on multiple engineering projects both academically and as a co-op, such as building a robot that can autonomously navigate a maze; collaborating with a women’s medical device manufacturer to redesign a device; and helping develop a new knee replacement implant. After graduating, Abby worked for a surgical robotics company as a reprocessing & sterilization validation engineer. She joined PathAI in 2022 and today leads our team of program managers.

“When I was a child I was obsessed with animals and thought I wanted to go into veterinary medicine. Over time my interest shifted from veterinary medicine to human medicine, thinking I’d become a doctor. Then in high school I took a computer-aided design class which sparked my interest in engineering. At this point I decided I wanted to be a biomedical engineer, and I haven’t looked back! I have worked in medical device development since college, and I am forever inspired and driven by the ability of new medical technology to positively impact so many patient lives.? While I am no longer an engineer by title at PathAI, I play a key role in the company’s progress towards the future of AI-powered pathology. Many of the AI Software Medical Devices we’re developing need to go through extensive testing and regulatory approval , and it’s exciting to manage these programs so that our products can ultimately be used by doctors and labs to improve patients’ lives.”

International Day of Women and Girls in Science: An Opportunity for Reflection, Celebration, and Progress

From famous names like Marie Curie to those who have contributed without credit, women have been an integral part of scientific fields for generations. The 10th anniversary of IDWGS offers us an opportunity to reflect on and celebrate their work—and appreciate all the benefits advanced medical treatments and technology offer us today.?

It’s also an opportunity to look deeper, ask important questions, and think about diversity in STEM and ways to bring more women and other minority groups into the field. Together, we can build—and already are building!—a more healthy, happy, and safe world for all through scientific contributions.