Remembering Those we've lostCris Alvaro's Dragonfly

Dr. Cris Alvaro graduated from the University of California Berkeley with their PhD in Molecular and Cell Biology in 2015.  Cris identified as a trans and non-binary person, using the pronouns they/them/their.  Cris was a brilliant scientist and a community builder wherever they went.  

We tragically lost Cris to suicide in January 2018. We chose to use as our organization's logo the dragonfly tattoo that Cris designed and had affixed to their wrist during graduate school. 

To Cris, the dragonfly represented transformation, hope and wisdom. 

To us, it keeps alive and present the memory of those that we have lost and reminds us why we work to improve mental health for all academics.

Cris believed strongly that academics should be encouraged to be well-rounded people — that academics should not only be encouraged to do great research, but also have opportunities to improve their emotional intelligence, mental health, and pursue interests outside of science. They were a leading supporter of underrepresented individuals in the sciences and were an activist for the STEM LGBTQ community, first generation graduate students, and communities of color. They characterized themself as a "Mental Health Warrior" and we will do our best to honor their efforts and memory with all that we do.