After earning a Ph.D. in cellular and molecular medicine, Janelle Rowell won a spot in the prestigious ORISE STEM fellowship program and helped assess the performance of a candidate universal influenza vaccine in mouse models of prior immune history.

The Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) program connects students, recent graduates, postdocs, and faculty to internship and fellowship programs for the Department of Energy and more than a dozen other federal agencies.

Currently, as senior biotechnologist in the Emerging Technology Innovation Center, one of 17 MITRE’s laboratories and innovation centers, Dr. Rowell leads efforts to support the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in navigating the regulatory requirements of early-stage medical technologies.

She has earned recognition for guiding a team that helps NIH provide commercialization support to innovators developing medical products. She has also helped advance MITRE’s work for the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense.

“Since Janelle joined us three years ago, she quickly established herself as an indispensable member of the MITRE team,” said Dr. Jason Providakes of MITRE. “With her impressive and growing list of accomplishments, (she)  demonstrates the boundless potential for future scientific contributions,” he added. Dr. Rowell will receive a Most Promising Scientist/Engineer Award at the 2022 BEYA STEM Conference.