Our Team – Science in Braille

HRH Princess Dr Nisreen El-Hashemite

Founder, Science in Braille

Executive Director, Royal Academy of Science International Trust (RASIT)

Dr. Mona Minkara

Director, Science in Braille

Dr. Mona Minkara, a blind assistant professor of Bioengineering at Northeastern University, advocate, and travel vlogger, lives by the maxim that vision is more than sight. As a computational chemist, Mona’s research explores pulmonary surfactants, which is a substance composed of lipids and proteins on the air/liquid interface of the lungs.

Dr. Cary Supalo

Advocate, Science in Braille

Dr. Cary Supalo is an internationally recognized expert in making STEM accessible to the blind, with a specific focus on skills for thriving in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. As a blind chemist and chemistry professor, Dr. Supalo redefined inclusive hands-on laboratory learning for the blind by developing talking laboratory tools – a transformative intervention empowering the blind to independently conduct laboratory activities.

Dr. Sheri Wells-Jensen

Literacy Officer, Science in Braille

Sheri Wells-Jensen is an associate professor of linguistics at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio.

Dr. Naheda Sahtout

External Relations Officer, Science in Braille

Dr. Naheda Sahtout (Ph.D) is an award-winning academic, researcher, scientist, and leader. Naheda completed her B.Sc. (Honours) in Biology from the University of Waterloo, M.Sc. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Guelph, and Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Saskatchewan. She is currently a Science Analyst in the Office of the Chief Science Operating Officer with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Dr. Hoby Wedler

Science and Innovation Officer, Science in Braille

Dr. Hoby Wedler is an insightful, disarming, and passionate thinker who loves to bring people together to help them see new possibilities. With the heart of a teacher, Hoby helps turn your dreams into realities. Hoby has been completely blind since birth. He is a scientist, an entrepreneur, a sensory expert, and is driven by his passion for innovative, creative, and insightful thinking.

Dr. Michele Mele

Education Officer, Science in Braille

Born in 1991 in Salerno, Italy, with an inherited macular degeneration, Michele Mele obtained a master degree in Mathematics from the University of Salerno and a PhD in Mathematics at the University of Naples ‘Federico II’. He currently works as research fellow at the University of Sannio in Benevento, designing models and algorithms to solve Combinatorial Optimization problems, often related to accessibility and service scheduling.

Dr. Wanda Diaz Merced

Science in Braille

Wanda Diaz Merced PhD from the University of Glasgow in Scotland. Currently working at the European Gravitational Observatory in Pisa, Italy.