At NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., there’s something big happening. It’s called Mars 2020 — a mission to position NASA’s next Mars rover so it can investigate a region where the ancient environment may have been favorable to microbial life. Translation: the search for signs of life on the Red Planet is heating up.

Alex Allard has always been interested in biology — and in helping people. So it’s no surprise that these interests shaped his academic studies. His path has not been easy, but having recently graduated from McGill University in Montreal with a major in physiology and a minor in kinesiology, Allard is poised to make his mark.

If you’re passing an operating room at the University of Pennsylvania’s Ryan Veterinary Hospital and hear some funky jazz or Hawaiian guitar, chances are the surgeon is Dr. Evelyn Galban. “I always have music to defuse the stress. Every decision I make must be in the best interest of the patient, which as you can imagine is hard to explain to them,” says Galban, a clinical assistant professor of neurology and neurosurgery in Penn Vet’s Department of Clinical Studies. “My biggest concern is always for their well-being.”

Anuhea Parker may be still in high school, but she’s already an accomplished science student. A senior at Kamehameha Schools Kapˉ alama in Honolulu, Parker is a veteran of several presentations of her research, both in Hawaii and on the continent. Her poster presentation won second-place awards at the AISES National Conference in 2017 and 2018 and at the Hawaii State Science Fair in 2017. She will compete again at the state level this spring.

Meet the Council of Elders. Focusing on the mission: The Council of Elders Keeps AISES Grounded.