About Us

OUR GOALS AND PROJECTS

CADSTI-NE is a United States-based non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that focuses on promoting science and technology for Caribbean youth.
Our major projects are to:

  1. Identify, coordinate and sponsor internships in STEM for Caribbean students to enhance their education and provide training and career development opportunities
  2. Support educational initiatives of the Caribbean Science Foundation (non-profit, non-governmental organization based in the Caribbean that has the objective of education reform to support technology‐based entrepreneurship) such as SPISE, Barbados Junior Robotics Camp, Computer Coding Workshops’

The student internship program launched in 2014 provides opportunities for SPISE graduates to experience first-hand the application of STEM to research and development within biotech, high tech and other organizations in the U.S., Canada, UK and Caribbean.

Empowering Caribbean Youth Through Science and Engineering Experiences

60

internships

24

host organizations

OUR LEADERSHIP TEAM

Dr. Dinah Sah, President and Director

Dr. Dinah Sah is President and Director of CADSTI-New England. She is also a member of the Caribbean Science Foundation’s (CSF) Governing Council and co-directs the CSF’s Student Program for Innovation in Science and Engineering (SPISE). Dr. Sah has 30 years of experience in research and drug development in the biotechnology industry, and was most recently Chief Scientific Officer at Voyager Therapeutics, a start-up biotech company in Cambridge, MA. Prior to Voyager, Dr. Sah served at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals where she was Vice President of Research, Biogen, and Signal Pharmaceuticals. Her accomplishments include leadership of multiple programs from early research through Phase 1 clinical trials, and the discovery of novel therapeutic targets and drug candidates that advanced into clinical development. Her leadership of drug discovery programs based on RNAi therapeutics resulted in the landmark demonstration of human proof-of-mechanism for this novel class of drugs in patients. She is an inventor on more than 40 patents and her publications across diverse research areas include articles in the journals Nature Medicine, Nature Biotechnology, Nature Neuroscience, Nature Chemical Biology, Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, Molecular Therapeutics, Neuron, PNAS, and EMBO Journal. Dr. Sah received a B.S. in Biology from MIT, her Ph.D. in Neurobiology from Harvard University, and her post-doctoral training at Harvard Medical School.

Professor Cardinal Warde, Director and Founder

Dr. Cardinal Warde is a Director of CADSTI-New England. He is also President of CADSTI and the Interim Executive Director of the Caribbean Science Foundation. Dr. Warde is Professor of Electrical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he has served on the faculty since 1974. His research activities are centered on the development of: (1) compact optoelectronic neural network co-processors for brain-like computing, (2) light modulators based on micro-electro-mechanical-systems for optical switching and projection displays, and (3) high-resolution adaptive wavefront phase compensation systems for imaging and optical communications. In addition to his undergraduate and graduate teaching responsibilities, Professor Warde’s commitment to young people is reflected in his role since 1997 as the Faculty Director of the MITES program at MIT, a six-week intensive program in science and engineering for gifted under-represented minority high-school seniors. As an entrepreneur, Dr. Warde founded Optron Systems, Inc. in 1982, and then in 1999 co-founded Radiant Images, Inc. which was subsequently acquired by Hoya Corp. of Japan. Professor Warde has published over 150 technical papers on optical materials, devices and systems as well as 3 book chapters, and also has co-edited a book on optical materials. He is the holder of 12 patents on spatial light modulators, displays and optical information. Dr. Warde was born in Barbados. He received his B.S. in Physics from Stevens Institute of Technology and his Ph.D. in Physics from Yale University.

Dr. Lori Fitz, Treasurer and Director

Dr. Lori Fitz is Treasurer of CADSTI-NE and assists with internship opportunities for students from the Caribbean. She is a research scientist with over 35 years of experience advancing drug discovery and development in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry. Her research has focused on cytokine biology and their role in inflammation and oncology. Among other contributions her expertise in protein biochemistry led to identification of ligands for PD-1 which was a keystone discovery in the field of immune-oncology (I/O) and the work was cited for the 2018 Nobel Prize awarded for I/O. Another area of contribution is her development of people and teams to reach their potential by working together to tackle difficult problems in drug research. She is passionate about creating opportunities for people who are currently under-represented in science. Lori received her BS from Iowa State University, ALM from Harvard University and PhD from Boston University School of Medicine. She is on the Board of Directors for Berkely Pharma Tech Foundation.

Dr. Paul McLean, Vice President

Dr. Paul McLean is Vice President of CADSTI-NE. He is also a Principal Scientist at Takeda Pharmaceuticals which has a facility in Lexington, MA. Dr. McLean is a biochemist with over 20 years of experience in industry conducting research and development of protein therapeutics and small molecules. He has extensive multi-disciplinary research experience in protein biochemistry / enzymology, cell biology, immunology and molecular biology. His current activities focus on the development of analytical methods for recombinant proteins, including especially the discovery of new analytical technologies for application to rare diseases. Dr. McLean was born in Barbados and educated at Harrison College in Barbados, He was a Barbados National Scholar and pursued post-secondary biochemistry studies in England. Dr. McLean received a B.S. from the University of Birmingham, his PhD from the University of Sussex, and his post-doctoral training in protein characterization in the chemistry department at MIT and in immunology at Tufts University.

Dr. Karen-Leigh Edwards

Dr. Karen-Leigh Edwards assists the CADSTI-NE in providing internship opportunities to students from the Caribbean and the annual newsletter that highlights the experiences that each of the students have during their internship. Karen-Leigh is a chemist who is works in the biotech industry currently leading the Global Operations business development activities in addition to managing the External Manufacturing function at Alexion Pharmaceuticals. Having had the opportunity to experience a variety of roles in biotech, Karen-Leigh knows the value of a strong STEM foundation: “Without the discipline, analytical thinking and perseverance learnt from my chemistry training, I would not have been able to succeed with the diversity of positions awarded to me throughout my career”. Karen-Leigh holds degrees in Chemistry from the University of the West Indies (BSc), the University of London (MSc), the University of Kansas (PhD) and an MBA from MIT.

George Marecheau

George Marecheau is Chair of CADSTI-UK, the UK branch of CADSTI International. He works closely with CADSTI-NE. CADSTI-UK does fundraising and provides resources to the Caribbean community in the UK through its Caribbean STEM Coaching Club in collaboration with other organizations. George is a self-employed IT contractor for Ipware Networks. He has worked on various digital telecoms projects as an employee and on contract for BT, TalkTalk, and Openreach BDUK (UK national broadband rollout). George has been a private contractor on various web development and server projects. In 2003, he designed and led IT courses as an Instructor for a joint program between T.A. Marryshow Community College (TAMCC) and St George’s University in Grenada, WI. George obtained a BSc (Hons) in Computing Studies from the London South Bank University in 1998, following a Telecoms Technician role at BT.

Mr. Josh Sheldon

Mr. Josh Sheldon assists CADSTI New England with creating processes to track the interns’ background and experiences and develop policies to ensure a positive internship experience. Josh is the Director of Services Products for a software company, TraceLink, which pharmaceutical companies use to trace drugs as they go through the pharmaceutical supply chain in order to secure the supply chain against counterfeit, fraud and quality issues. In his current role he leads a diverse group of teams in Boston, London and Mumbai. He has deep experience in managing operations throughout retail and software industries and loves working with numbers to understand how to improve processes. In his 18 years of management experience, he has most enjoyed the opportunities he gets to help guide people along their career path and develop their skills so that they are challenged and are working toward a fulfilling career.