Raeka Aiyar, PhD profile page

Dr. Raeka Aiyar is the executive director of the Institute for Glial Sciences at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. She is a molecular biologist turned science communicator and ambassador, with 15 years of experience in disseminating biomedical research to diverse audiences. From her training at the University of Waterloo, Canada, to her PhD from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Germany, to over a decade of leadership at nonprofit and academic institutions in the United States, she has driven scientific progress by building bridges across disciplines and communities. Aiyar’s scientific background spans various areas of biomedical research characterized by emerging technologies and collaborative efforts. As director of communications and development at the Stanford Genome Technology Center, she led fundraising and scientific strategy for programs in diagnostics, chronic fatigue syndrome, synthetic biology, and precision medicine—as well as support for these programs via patient engagement, conference organization, and consortium building. For seven years as vice president of scientific outreach at The New York Stem Cell Foundation, she led scientific communications, content development, grant strategies, and event programming for scientists and the public, forging new partnerships in stem cell technology, regenerative medicine, and disease modeling. As founder and principal of Community Science, LLC, Aiyar provides strategic support for several scientific organizations—including the Allen Institute in Seattle, the Stellar Science Foundation in Japan, and the Dana Foundation in New York. She serves as vice chair of the Education Committee and as a member of the Consortium on Advanced Stem Cell Models for Drug Discovery & Development for the International Society for Stem Cell Research. Aiyar also sits on the Board of Trustees for the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation.