Ave Bisesi

They/Them

I am queer and trans and I am an evolutionary biologist and diversity educator.//

Despite a life-long love of biology, my experience in STEM as a queer and trans person has, at times, left a lot to be desired, ranging from outright harassment to insidious unwillingness to adhere to the correct pronouns. Without the incredible and unending support of my mentors and fellow students at Oberlin College while I was an undergraduate, I probably would not have continued in the sciences. In college, my research focused on mitochondrial genome evolution, and for a while after graduating I worked at a lab at the Ragon Institute in Boston studying HIV genome evolution and pathogenesis. These days I’m back at Oberlin as a fellow, working in STEM diversity and inclusion. I hope to continue to help create and sustain the same type of environment for other under-represented students in the STEM departments that allowed me to flourish as a young scientist.

Instagram @avethesciencebabe