About the Founder
Carina S. Minardi, PhD MPH
Carina S. Minardi was born and raised in Yorba Linda, California. She stayed within the Orange County area when she went to college for her bachelor’s in Chemistry and Molecular Biology, from 2005-2010 at Chapman University. That is when Dr. Minardi discovered her love for research and asking curiosity-based questions that she could delve into via scientific instrumentation. Upon receiving her bachelors degrees, Dr. Minardi also received two awards, the CRC Press Chemistry Achievement Award and the Gamma Beta Phi National Honor Society National Scholarship in May 2010.
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To continue her pursuit of scientific curiosity, Dr. Minardi travelled outside of the Southern California bubble to further obtain her education on the East Coast. At Georgetown University, she obtained a Master's and PhD in 5 years in Analytical Chemistry. During her time there, she received an award from the Society for Applied Spectroscopy in June 2012 and various other awards through associations to travel and present her research at various conferences. The opportunities to talk to fellow researchers and gain insight into recommendations they have in taking the methods and results to the next level was invaluable to Dr. Minardi. It also provided her the ability to forge collaborations with other laboratories who had interests in similar research endeavors and access to alternative research instrumentation.
Also, Dr. Minardi received a prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship from 2012-2015. This fellowship was given to Dr. Minardi to conduct research on single cell analysis using novel UV ionization mechanisms. The program is for high achieving graduate students with full stipend support for three years along with research funding to conduct their research. To learn more about the NSF GRFP visit here.
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A few years later, she received the Georgetown Environmental Initiative Award in June 2015 for Research Fellowship, and Conference Travel Support. This honor was due to the work she did in understanding the elemental characterization of environmental and food contaminants.
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In July 2015, Dr. Minardi was a part of the 60 person American delegation to Lindau, Germany. In this capacity she joined 600 fellow graduate students from around the world to the annual Lindau Nobel Laureates Conference. This conference, commonly known as Lindau, is designed for the once in a lifetime opportunity for the most promising graduate researchers to interact with Nobel Laureates in and outside of their specific areas of research. In 2015, because the conference was a hybrid offering of laureates from Chemistry, Physics, and Medicine/Biology, Dr. Minardi was able to interact, discuss, and laugh with all of the various Nobel Laureates present. To learn more about Lindau Nobel Laureate Conference visit here.
As Dr. Minardi neared the end of her chemistry training, she began to ponder what industry she could potentially make a difference in and forge her career. An alignment to the health industry has always been a focus to Dr. Minardi from her father who was a primary care physician to her Fellowship on single cell analysis. But what she lacked was a formal education of the health industry and health care. Following her successful PhD defense, she decided to further her education by earning a Master’s in Public Health at Yale University with a focus on health administration and policy. In the accelerated program for PhDs and MDs, Dr. Minardi was able to understand the intricacies of health policy decision-making, the cost benefit analysis for health research, and the macroeconomic necessities which dictate health policy in America.
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In July 2019, Dr. Minardi was selected as one of Kappa Alpha Theta's 35 Under 35. This award is to honor those under 35 for their outstanding accomplishments after college. Since her selection year, she has been a part of the reviewing committee to select the subsequent awardees. It has been an honor to continuously contribute to her fraternity, read about all of the woman who are making a tremendous difference in all of their respective industries, and to participate in making the challenging decision of selecting future awardees.
Throughout all of this, Dr. Minardi wished she had a roadmap, or a list of things one can do with a STEM career. Afterall, you don’t have to be a researcher or scientist after your PhD in order to make a difference no matter how large or small. Dr. Minardi hoped to bring awareness that people could and should approach problems in that way.
With over two decades of experience in a STEM field (Chemistry), working in Corporate America, and being an integral player in tech start-ups, she has interacted with many individuals in various roles and is on a mission to share her experiences with all of those to help navigate them in the complexities of their respective STEM industry. Whether you are looking for a career in academia, industry, research, or technology, she is here to provide support and advice to you and your team.
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Dr. Minardi founded STEM From because she believes that there is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to finding your path. She is committed to helping you and your team reach your goals and feel confident in your decisions. She founded the organization to provide guidance on whatever STEM-related journey you, your team, your community or your organization is embarking on.
Education
Chapman University: Bachelor's in Chemistry and Molecular Biology
Georgetown University: Masters and PhD in Analytic Chemistry
Yale University: Masters in Public Health
Accomplishments
Here are a few notable accomplishments of mine. Remember to celebrate what you accomplish!
My Awards
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In May 2010, Gamma Beta Phi National Honor Society National Scholarship
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In May 2010, Student Ambassador to American Society for Mass Spectrometry for CRC Press Chemistry Achievement Award
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In June 2012, Society for Applied Spectroscopy for Student Ambassador to American Society for Mass Spectrometry
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In June 2015, Georgetown Environmental Initiative Award for Research Fellowship, and Conference Travel Support
My Publications
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McMahon, W.P., Subramanian, A., Minardi, C.S., Dalvi, R., Jorabchi, K. “Pulsed nano-ESI Atmospheric-Pressure Ion Mobility Mass Spectrometry with Enhanced Ion Sampling.” Analytical Chemistry, 2016, 88 (23): 11767-11773.
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Wang, H; Minardi, CS,; Badiei, H; Kahen, K,; Jorabchi, K. “High Sensitivity Elemental Ionization for Quantitative Detection of Halogenated Compounds.” Analyst, 2015, 140: 8177-8185.
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Minardi, CS; Taghioskoui, M; Jang, SJ.; Jorabchi, K. “Partial Coalescence of Oppositely Charged Droplets.” Analytical Chemistry, 2013, 85: 6491-6496.
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Hughey, CA; Janusziewicz, R; Minardi, CS; Phung, J.; Huffman, BA; Reyes, L.; Wilcox BE; Prakash, A. “Distribution of almond polyphenols in blanch water and skins as a function of blanching time and temperature.” Food Chemistry, 2011, 131 (4): 1165-1173.
My Personal Life
have a family of many different pets. I have two bunnies named Bernard and Bianca who I adore. The bunny with more black spots is Bernard, and the whiter bunny is Bianca! They are named after the Disney duo "The Rescuers." I also have a black, fluffy hamster named Ella. She is quite a handful (pun intended), mostly due to how much she eats and the burrows she makes when she sleeps during the day, but she is very docile and loves to be handled! Benji, my dog, loves explorations in the great outdoors and cuddling up to me when I read and watch TV! He is also obsessed with his brother and sisters! I have no idea what breed he is since he is adopted from Craigslist. Lastly, I have a fish tank and I named all fish inside after characters from Disney movies. As most fishes do, they just stare into your soul and swim around, which is why I really love them. Connect with me to tell me about the pets you have!
While STEM takes up most of my time, there are a few hobbies that I enjoy! Two notable ones are embroidery and baking! I also enjoy painting in my spare time using acrylic paints on canvas. Most of my paintings are nature or aspects of nature. I keep trying to make efforts in different areas of art and am always growing.
