Breaking Barriers in STEM

Dr. Alexis Sidiropoulos is one of the Principal Investigators at BRAVO – the Biomechanics Research for the Advancement of Veteran Outcomes Laboratory at the Department of Veterans Affairs New York Harbor Healthcare System. She is currently focused on prosthetics, with a special concentration on whole-body movement analysis using a state-of-the-art 3D motion capture system. This involves analyzing continuous coordination and stability during walking in veterans and service members who suffer from lower extremity limb loss.

In addition to all of this, Dr. Sidiropolous is also involved in a mentorship program entitled BRAVO for STEM, Leveling the Equation for Young Women. This program offers educational opportunities to young female students through hands-on, problem-based learning in a laboratory setting. She works in tandem with Dr. Samantha Amadeo, a research physical therapist, to help provide education in STEM (which is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math that originated in the early 1990s) internships at the Margaret Cochran Corbin VA Campus.

Doctors Sidiropolous and Amadeo are both eager to provide role models to interns who might not have even heard the word STEM before and make them aware of the options that are available to them in their chosen professional field of study. The doctors believe that not only is the BRAVO program an essential part of the continuing education of the young students, but also one that they hope these future engineers will one day become a part of themselves, remaining and encouraging the next generation that will come after them.

“The most significant obstacle for women entering STEM is the lack of education and not the opportunity to become involved in STEM programs,” Dr. Sidiropolous firmly believes. “STEM is very broad, but it also provides a lot of niche opportunities, so if there are some things that you’re interested in, there is a career for you.”