Meet The Team

Carmen Banks, Ph.D.

Carmen is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer at MelanInScience. She is a seasoned scientist with over 7 years of experience driving scientific breakthroughs in molecular biology, genome engineering, and cell line development. Throughout her scientific journey, Carmen has remained dedicated to increasing representation of black and brown communities in science by driving Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) initiatives in academia and industry. Carmen has spent over 5 years generating recruitment and retention strategies for marginalized students pursuing STEM in academia, and ensuring diversity remains a cornerstone of innovation for tech startups by spearheading data-driven DE&I initiatives. She also actively mentors college students interested in science based careers.

Founder | CEO

Alexus Roberts Hugghis, Ph.D.

Alexus is an Evolutionary Biologist who combines functional morphology and phylogenetic comparative methods to study the diversification of fish feeding structures and functions. Now a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Bern in Switzerland, Alexus aims to understand the factors that allow tens of thousands of fish species to inhabit diverse aquatic settings across the globe. 

As a Black woman in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB), Alexus is no stranger to the systemic obstacles faced by historically marginalized students in STEM. Thus, in addition to her research, she is dedicated to fostering diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) within EEB communities and higher education, more broadly.

Strategy Consultant

Eli Hugghis is a plant scientist with an extensive background in plant breeding, machine learning, and agronomy. He has a Master’s in Plant Breeding and Genetics from Michigan State University. Throughout his career, Eli has worked to bring access to innovative tools in agriculture, aiming to bridge critical gaps in agricultural science. He is equally committed to enhancing accessibility to STEM fields for marginalized communities. Eli has led several initiatives dedicated to STEM and leadership programming for students to encourage excitement about careers and opportunities within STEM and agriculture.

ELI Hugghis, m.s.

Operations Coordinator