STPI Science Policy Fellows

Victoria Dozer, B.A.
Victoria Dozer joined STPI in 2024 after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in astronomy and a minor in physics from Wesleyan University. Her undergraduate research focused on modeling collisional cascades in debris disks for better understanding of the destructive environments that induce planet formation. Victoria’s undergraduate studies also included STEM outreach, Dark Skies advocacy, and ethics and inclusion in astronomy. Prior to her time at STPI, she completed an internship at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine as a Lloyd V. Berkner Space Policy Intern for the Space Studies Board. 

Hannah Kirk, M.S.
Hannah Kirk joined STPI in 2023 after graduating with a master’s degree in energy and environmental policy from the University of Delaware. Her background is in public policy, wildlife conservation, economics, Asian studies, and Mandarin. Her ecological research at the university was used to pass a statewide ban on the sale of invasive plant species. While there, she conducted research for several research centers, including the Center for Research on Wind, the Delaware Environmental Institute, the Climate Adaptation Policy Lab, and the Disaster Research Center. In 2019, she was awarded the Taiwan-United States Ambassador Scholarship to study Mandarin at National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan. Her master’s research on bird-window collisions was recently used as the basis for a bird-friendly buildings bill introduced to the Delaware House of Representatives. 

Stephanie Pokras, M.A.
Stephanie Pokras has expertise in research ethics, social sciences, disability and STEM education. Prior to joining STPI in 2024, she completed her master’s degree in social sciences at the University of Chicago, where she conducted work relating to the intersections of health policy, biosecurity and research ethics. Using preventative childhood irradiation as a case study, her  thesis explored the role of fear in facilitating both the standardization and reversal of medical practice. Stephanie formerly worked as a researcher for the Office of the President at the Johns Hopkins University, where her portfolio included projects on COVID-19, STEM education and workforce development.

Lena Rose, M.A.
Lena Rose joined STPI in 2024 after working at the National Democratic Institute of International Affairs, where she supported global civil society organizations in defending against mis-/disinformation and foreign influence operations. She previously worked at the MITRE Corporation, where she analyzed cyber threat intelligence data on a number of advanced persistent threat groups and supported government analysts in mapping threat behavior to the MITRE ATT&CK framework. Lena received her master’s degree in security policy studies from the George Washington University through the National Science Foundation’s CyberCorps: Scholarship for Service program and holds a bachelor’s degree in international studies from Fordham University with dual minors in cybersecurity and Arabic. 

Erin Saybolt, M.S.
Erin Saybolt joined STPI in 2022 after working as a program assistant at the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Center for Scientific Evidence in Public Issues. Some of her work at STPI includes research and writing on emerging technologies, evaluating federal government programs, and supporting efforts around pandemic preparedness. Erin holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from Ursinus College and a master’s degree in biomedical science policy and advocacy from Georgetown University.

Alec Weigel, B.A., B.S.
Alec Weigel joined STPI in 2024 after obtaining bachelor’s degrees in biochemistry, Portuguese, and liberal arts from the University of Texas at Austin (UT). His senior honors thesis examined how austerity policies in 2010s Brazil affected research publications and how the social role of science, as envisioned by policy planning documents, changed over this period. He also worked as an intern in a research laboratory investigating the commercial applications of biosurfactant molecules while studying abroad in Brazil. He served as a peer mentor in UT’s Freshman Research Initiative, guiding students through research in the differentiation and classification of wine varietals using peptide sensing ensembles.