Alexandra "Xan" Nowakowski, PhD, MPH (they/them/theirs) returns to ResearchCon for 2021 after serving as a panelist for the "Coming Full Circle" session on adults with cystic fibrosis in science careers for the inaugural 2019 event, and moderating the "Emerging Therapies for Rare and Nonsense Mutations" session for the 2020 event. Dr. Nowakowski currently serves as an assistant professor in the geriatrics and behavioral sciences and social medicine departments at Florida State University College of Medicine. They are a medical sociologist and program evaluator focused on health equity in aging with chronic disease. Currently they evaluate the Florida Asthma and REACH Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement programs. In addition to living with cystic fibrosis, Dr. Nowakowski is openly bisexual and agender, and has survived intimate partner abuse. These experiences inform their intersectional scholarship on chronic illness, as well as their advocacy for other patients. They serve as a director for the United States Adult Cystic Fibrosis Association and volunteer actively with a variety of other CF advocacy organizations.