Horizon Seminar: Senior Instructors

Miriam Hinthorn is a PhD student of Security Studies and International Relations and a Walter A. Rosenblith Presidential Fellow at MIT. Her research interests include Russian Foreign policy, limited war escalation, and nuclear strategy and deterrence. Previously, Miriam worked as a research specialist at the Brown University Climate Solutions Lab, as well as a Princeton in Asia Fellow in Almaty, Kazakhstan. She holds a BA in political science from Brown University, where she graduated magna cum laude in 2016.

Nadia is a PhD candidate at the Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics at the University of Oxford. Her research focuses on colorectal cancer and inflammatory bowel disease, looking into the link between inflammation and tumorigenesis. She specifically focuses on the molecular characterization of colitis-associated colorectal cancer, with the aim of elucidating the carcinogenic pathway of this type of colorectal cancer and the ultimate goal of improving patient management and treatment. She undertook her undergraduate studies in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Westminster, London, and she completed a master’s degree in Human Molecular Genetics at Imperial College London, London. She then took up a position as Research Assistant in Colorectal Cancer at the University of Oxford, prior to starting her PhD.

Ana Queiroz is biologist with a master's and a PhD in genetics. At Harvard University, she is member of the mammoth de-extinction project that uses gene editing to create cold resistant elephants with ecological functions similar to the extinct animal. She has developed many research skills over more than 10 years of research, being gene editing, conservation and next-generation sequencing the ones she is currently more involved with. Ana has worked in many different areas of science, such as microbiology, immunology, pharmacology, environment, forensics and conservation.

Niki is a PhD candidate in Emily Mace’s lab at Columbia University in New York City. Niki received her Bachelor’s in Biology at the University of Delaware and holds a Masters in Biomaterial Science from New York University as well as a Masters in Nutritional and Metabolic Biology from Columbia University. She previously gained industry experience in several STEM fields including polymer science, biochemistry, and biomaterials science. Her current research is focused on human immunodeficiencies that affect natural killer cells to gain a better understanding of the biology of the immune system. In her work, she utilizes a wide variety of experimental approaches, including analyzing gene expression, microscopy, and flow cytometry. As she works towards her PhD degree, Niki’s ultimate goal is to identify and pursue potential immunotherapies for natural killer cell deficiencies.

Dr. Everardo completed his doctoral studies in Cellular, Molecular, and Biomedical Studies at Columbia University and is now a postdoctoral researcher there. During his PhD, Evey studied human Natural Killer (NK) cell immunobiology and development in the Mace Lab, located at Columbia University Irving Medical Center: College of Physicians and Surgeons. He received a Master of Arts in cellular, molecular and biomedical sciences as well as multiple NIH diversity grants for my studies on defining the molecular requirements of human NK cell development. Before his studies at Columbia University, he started my scientific career by pursuing a BS in Microbiology and a Master of Science in Biological Sciences from UC San Diego. His thesis work at UC San Diego focused on delineating principals of directed evolution of viruses by using lambda phage as a model. Overall, his goal is to pursue a career as a principal investigator at a research institution where he can focus on studying Host-Pathogen interactions and evolution.

Dr. Snow Naing completed her doctoral studies in Bioinformatics at UCSF. Her research focuses on protein-protein interactions in autism spectrum disorder. Before pursuing her PhD, she earned her undergraduate degree in Biochemistry and Physics at Simmons University in Boston, Massachusetts.

Christa is a 4th year PhD student in Bioinformatics. She primarily works on big data problems in human genetics. Recently, she has worked on identifying biomarkers for ALS using cell-free DNA methylation data. She also is interested in the application of genetics for personalized medicine, especially for diverse populations. Her most current project involves estimating fine-scale genetic populations in the UCLA biobank in order to identify health disparities that may exist in the Los Angeles community.

Natalya is a PhD candidate in the Department of Computational Neuroscience at the University of Chicago. Her research is focused on understanding the neural mechanisms underlying tactile perception. Specifically, she is studying the role of the thalamus in tactile coding. Her interests also include deciphering the neural correlates of perception and restoration of touch and motor control to individuals with nerve damage. Prior to starting her PhD work, Natalya studied the role of attention in vision, and has published several papers on the attentional mechanisms underlying microsaccades and foveal perception.

William is a PhD candidate at the University of Cambridge working on the design of biosensors utilising a high precision inkjet printer. Working jointly between the Department of Chemical Engineering and Physics he is concerned with the patterning of biomolecules onto optical wafers to create novel sensing strategies. Originally a Physics/Computer science and Marine Engineering graduate, he has worked as an engineer within the Merchant Navy and as a research and development scientist for a Clean Energy Fuel Cell company. In his spare time he enjoys playing classical guitar and walking.

Dr. Eoghan Mulholland is the Lee Placito Research Fellow in Gastrointestinal Cancer at the University of Oxford and a Junior Research Fellow of Somerville College Oxford. Before starting at the University of Oxford, Eoghan completed his doctoral studies at Queen’s University Belfast where he studied and developed novel gene therapy options for tissue regeneration. Eoghan’s current research explores how cells from the immune system and stromal compartment communicate with cancer cells, and how this can be exploited for cancer therapies. Eoghan has experience working with tissue cultures, animal models of cancer, gene therapies, as well as protein and nucleic acid detection in situ.

Édgar is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology at the University of Chicago, where his research focuses on developmental neurobiology. Using a combination of molecular and genetic techniques, such as CRISPR-mediated gene editing, he studies how motor neurons establish and maintain functional synapses. Édgar received his Bachelor’s degree in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Puerto Rico – Río Piedras, where he worked on optimizing novel site-directed gene editing tools employed to correct mutations within the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator. Overall, he has performed extensive biomedical research that has been funded by the National Institutes of Health in fields such as cell and molecular biology, genetics, and developmental neurobiology.

Brock was born in La Crescenta, California where he currently resides. He received his undergraduate degree in Interdisciplinary Studies -- Systems Neuroscience from Hendrix College in 2016. After graduating, he joined the Cardiovascular Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital as a research technician where he used CRISPR-modified zebrafish to investigate genetic contributions to schizophrenia. Brock then enrolled in the Neuroscience Graduate Program at USC where he earned his PhD in 2023. His dissertation work leveraged large fMRI and EEG datasets to uncover the effects of long-term meditation training on brain network connectivity. While at USC, he also identified how mild traumatic brain injury contributes to the development of Alzheimer's disease, investigated the neurological basis of empathy, developed a theoretical supervised learning paradigm to develop empathetic machines, and uncovered a novel role for the proton-sensing receptor, GPR4. Outside of the lab, Brock loves to run, play guitar, and hang out with his wife in nature.

Corrado is a postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Cambridge. He is currently working in the department of Engineering to develop an in vitro model of human lung for disease modeling and drug testing, working in close collaboration with medical doctors, bioinformaticians and engineers. He obtained his PhD in 2022 at the University of Cambridge where his work was focused on immunology and the tumor microenvironment. His main research interests spread from biotechnology, 3D bioprinting, biofabrication and enjoys applying novel computational methods to examine large sets of data in the field of genomics and single cell RNA-sequencing.

Juan is originally from Venezuela and Puerto Rico. He got his Ph.D. in Cancer Biology at the University of Chicago, where he studied how cancer cells adapt to survive the microenvironment of pancreatic cancer tumors and promote disease progression. As part of his doctoral work, Juan studied the effect of nutrient stress on cancer cells and the metabolic and non-metabolic adaptations that these cells employ to survive and meet their energetic needs. Juan is passionate about the study of cell biology, specifically focusing on understanding the

intersection between genetics, cell metabolism, and cells’ ability to adapt to fluctuating conditions. In his free time, Juan likes to read, exercise, and refurbish old electronics.

Angie earned her medical degree from the American University of Beirut, Lebanon (2023) where she received “The Penrose Award” in recognition of her qualities of scholarship, character, leadership and contribution to the university. She also holds a BS in biology with distinction (2019) from the same institution. Currently, Angie is working as a Postdoctoral Associate in the department of Pediatric Medical Genetics at Duke University Medical Center. She is particularly interested in studying rare genetic disorders. She focuses on clinical research to form a better understanding of the natural history and long-term complications of genetic disorders with a special focus on Glycogen Storage Disease (GSD). Angie also contributes to the advancement of new therapies for these disorders. Her work involves identifying specific biomarkers, disease metabolomics, and immune phenotyping, to facilitate the development of new therapies like enzyme replacement therapy and AAV gene therapy.

Marta Matuszewska, currently a Research Associate at the University of Cambridge, is an accomplished evolutionary microbiologist specializing in bacterial host adaptation. Holding a PhD in Veterinary Medicine, Marta's research is dedicated to understanding the host range and transmission dynamics of antibiotic-resistant pathogens, particularly focusing on Staphylococcus aureus. In her current role, she is actively engaged in investigating the biological basis of nasal carriage by S. aureus, employing a comprehensive approach that integrates microbiology and genetic epidemiology. Beyond her research, Marta actively contributes to education at the University by leading practical classes in mathematical biology and cell biology. Previously she also supervised undergraduate students in mathematical biology demonstrating her commitment to nurturing the next generation of scientists. Marta is also involved in public outreach through participating in events like the Cambridge Science Festival, where she communicates complex scientific concepts to a broader audience.

Dr. Lucas O. is a skilled Research Scientist and Biomedical Engineer with a focus on in vivo CAR-T therapy development at the Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He earned his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Virginia Commonwealth University, where he developed a novel 3D in vitro model for studying skeletal muscle aging and a pro-healing biomaterial designed to aid skeletal muscle regeneration. Dr. O.'s commitment to the study of biological aging is underscored by his master's degree in Gerontology and the Iris Parham Award for his unique contributions to the field. He has a proven record of scholarly achievements, with 20 conference presentations and co-authorship on 12 academic papers, including 5 as the first author. He has also been active in mentorship, guiding over 10 students in a research setting, and has served as a teacher's assistant, interacting with more than 280 undergraduate students in classroom environments. Beyond these contributions, Dr. O.'s research experience spans a wide range of topics, from microRNA deployment for osteoarthritis prevention to CAR-T therapy for solid tumors, showcasing his versatility and dedication to advancing biomedical science. His extensive experience and ongoing commitment to innovation position him as a dynamic figure in his field.

Dr. Nina H is a bioengineer and mathematician who loves studying cancer biology, synthetic immunology, and evolutionary games. Currently, she runs the Research & Development division of ImmuneBridge, a biotechnology startup that manufactures cancer immunotherapies from stem cells found in umbilical cord blood. She earned her Bachelor's in Mathematics and Biology with Honors from Williams College and her Master's and PhD in Bioengineering from Stanford University. She has worked at the Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology at Mount Sinai, the Orthopaedic Research Laboratory at Boston University, in developmental biology and evolutionary biology laboratories at Williams College, and in several immunotherapy laboratories at Stanford. Her doctoral research focused on engineering natural killer cells to infiltrate and destroy solid tumors. Her life goal is to cure cancer and have as much fun skiing, fishing, and mountain biking as she can along the way!

Julian has a PhD in Neurobiology from the University of Chicago studying the mechanisms underlying visual perception. He recently began a postdoctoral fellowship at Oregon Health & Science University investigating emotion and memory. Combining state of the art technologies, computational models, and genetic techniques, he is defining the neural activity necessary to perceive emotional states and how they influence our behavior. In addition to neuroscience research, Julian is a dedicated educator and earned a college teaching certificate upon graduation. Prior to coming to University of Chicago, he has held research positions at the National Institutes of Health and the University of Pittsburgh studying the perception of complex visual scenes and methods to aid recovery from traumatic brain injury, respectively. He has earned a bachelor of science degree in neuroscience as well as bachelor of arts degrees in Philosophy and English writing from the University of Pittsburgh.

Eshaan R. B. has a PhD in neurobiology from the University of Chicago, where he studied the cellular and genetic regulation of transcription factors in neurons. Using a wide variety of experimental techniques, including live-cell neuronal imaging coupled with glutamate uncaging, next-generation sequencing, induced pluripotent stem cell culture, and CRSPR-mediated gene editing, he sought to characterize the gene regulatory function and activity-dependent translocation of novel transcription factors in the brain, as well as how these characteristics could contribute to the etiology of complex mental illnesses such autism spectrum disorder, major depressive disorder, or bipolar disorder. In undergrad, he earned Bachelor of Science degrees in both chemistry and neuroscience at the University of Minnesota, where he also conducted extensive research on the mechanisms of chronic pain as well as characterizing a novel Alzheimer’s disease mouse model.

Andrew is a PhD psychology student in the Integrative Neuroscience program at University of Chicago. He is broadly interested in neural processes of valuation and decision making. He works in a neuroethology lab studying electrophysiological mechanisms of auditory perception and choice behavior in a songbird model. Andrew is especially interested in how female songbirds perceive the temporal features of male song, how this affects song preferences, and whether this relates to music and language processing in humans. Prior to beginning this research, he earned a bachelor's degree in Music with a minor in Philosophy. He then completed post-baccalaureate work in cognitive science. As a research assistant at Oregon Health and Science University, he used diffusion tensor imaging and measures of cognition and temperament to study the association between white matter microstructure and impulsivity in children. Andrew has also worked as a music instructor, English teacher, and biochemistry tutor, and has given many presentations via his public Meetup group, Brain & Cognitive Science Seminar.

Ellen is currently a PhD student in psychology at the University of Cambridge. She received her BA in cognitive neuroscience at Occidental College in Los Angeles. At Occidental, her work concerned cross-cultural effects on empathy. Her current doctoral research is in social and developmental psychology, specifically in gender development. Her project investigates how gender is constructed through the interaction of individual psychological and collective sociological processes. As a member of Cambridge’s Gender Development Research Centre, she is interested in the implications that her project can have for understanding some of the social influences on gender development and identity. She has implemented both quantitative and qualitative methods in her doctoral work as well as in multiple unrelated research projects during her time at Cambridge. These projects have included developing a novel scale on conservation research styles, analyzing gendered toy preference among indigenous children in Peru, and evaluating the impact of a local charity.

Carolina is a PhD student in the Committee of Neurobiology at the University of Chicago. Her research interests are at the intersection of Neurobiology, Physiology, and Molecular Biology. She’s currently focused on understanding how sleep apnea disrupts brain networks important for memory and learning. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Biology, during which time she worked extensively on identifying and characterizing mutations in the human population that may disrupt dopamine signaling. During this time, she also worked in identifying the effects of pH on the activity of proteins that have been implicated in Alzheimer’s disease. Carolina has a long history of biomedical research that has been funded by the National Institutes of Health in fields such as human genetics, translational nanotechnology, and neurobiology.

Natalya is a PhD candidate in the Department of Computational Neuroscience at the University of Chicago. Her research is focused on understanding the neural mechanisms underlying tactile perception. Specifically, she is studying the role of the thalamus in tactile coding. Her interests also include deciphering the neural correlates of perception and restoration of touch and motor control to individuals with nerve damage. Prior to starting her PhD work, Natalya studied the role of attention in vision, and has published several papers on the attentional mechanisms underlying microsaccades and foveal perception.

Christa is a 4th year PhD student in Bioinformatics. She primarily works on big data problems in human genetics. Recently, she has worked on identifying biomarkers for ALS using cell-free DNA methylation data. She also is interested in the application of genetics for personalized medicine, especially for diverse populations. Her most current project involves estimating fine-scale genetic populations in the UCLA biobank in order to identify health disparities that may exist in the Los Angeles community.

Dr. Mpamaugo is a pediatric resident at the University of Washington and Seattle Children’s Hospital. She received her MD and MPH at the University of Pittsburgh prior to starting residency. Her medical school research focused on clinical outcomes for surgical interventions specifically minimally invasive esophagectomy, while her Masters research focused on social determinants of health as it pertains to assess to quality healthcare and equity across various racial/ethnic groups as well as genders. She continues to have a passion for healthy policy as it pertains to equitable access to healthcare. Prior to medical school she held research positions at the National Institutes of Health and Columbia University studying the visual cortical system in nonhuman primates and the effect of stereotype treat on performance on standardized exams. She has earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Neuroscience from Columbia University in the City of New York.

Kenny Kuhn is a PhD candidate in Dr. Martin Hetzer’s lab in the Department of Neuroscience at the Salk Institute of Biological Sciences. His work aims to understand how changes to the organization of the genome with age can result in dysregulated gene expression and accelerate the development of Alzheimer’s disease. This work takes advantage recent advances in stem cell biology that permit the production of human cortical neurons directly from skin cells, allowing access to otherwise rare samples. He performed his undergraduate work at the University of Virginia while studying neurotrophin signaling and has held a position as a research assistant at the University of Würzburg in Germany.

Paula Martorell is a PhD candidate working in the Department of Neurodegenerative Disorders at the University Hospital Bonn and the laboratory Neuroinflammation at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) lead by Prof. Dr. Michael Heneka. Her research focuses in investigating the activation of innate immune pathways during neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD). More particularly, her project aims to uncover the role of the cGAS-STING immune pathway during AD, and the cross-talk between microglia, astrocytes, and neurons in this pathological context. She performed her bachelor studies in Biotechnology at the National University of Tucumán, Argentina. She then obtained a scholarship to conduct a Master in Neurosciences at the Sorbonne University in Paris. She was introduced to the field of Neuroimmunology during her Master’s thesis at the laboratory of Experimental Therapeutics of Neurodegeneration, at the Brain & Spine Institute (ICM) located at the Pitié-Salpêtrière University Hospital.

Mason is a PhD candidate in computation and neural systems at Caltech. His current work involves making machine vision systems more efficient by leveraging insights from biological vision systems, and asking questions like, "How can a frugal vision system decide if a computation is worth the time and energy required to perform it?". In the past, he worked on answering questions like, "How is object shape represented in the primate visual system?" and "What can we learn about how a fruit fly sees from its connectome (the map of all the cell-to-cell connections in its brain)?". He also helped develop courses in machine vision, neuroscience, and computational imaging. Before coming to Caltech, he studied cognitive neuroscience and computer science at Brown University, and worked in the Department of Pharmacology and Physiology at Drexel University.

Lasya Sreepada is a Bioengineering PhD Candidate at the University of Pennsylvania working with Dr. Corey McMillan and Dr. David Wolk in the Bioinformatics in Neurodegenerative Disease Lab as part of the Penn Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. Lasya is passionate about interdisciplinary collaborations weaving neuroscience, data science, and pharmaceuticals to design and deliver innovative therapeutic solutions that make a difference in global healthcare. For her PhD, Lasya studies atypicality in Alzheimer's disease by applying bioinformatics and AI approaches to analyze neuroimaging and multiomics data to better understand heterogeneous disease mechanisms. As an undergraduate, Lasya worked with Dr. Alexander Lin at the Center for Clinical Spectroscopy, Harvard Medical School, to identify molecular biomarkers of neurotrauma. Lasya received her B.S. in Neuroscience from Yale University in 2019 and will receive her M.S. in Data Science from Penn, en route to the PhD, in 2023.

Édgar is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology at the University of Chicago, where his research focuses on developmental neurobiology. Using a combination of molecular and genetic techniques, such as CRISPR-mediated gene editing, he studies how motor neurons establish and maintain functional synapses. Édgar received his Bachelor’s degree in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Puerto Rico – Río Piedras, where he worked on optimizing novel site-directed gene editing tools employed to correct mutations within the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator. Overall, he has performed extensive biomedical research that has been funded by the National Institutes of Health in fields such as cell and molecular biology, genetics, and developmental neurobiology.

Karly is a Gates Cambridge Scholar and a PhD researcher in Psychology at the University of Cambridge. Additionally, Karly teaches on undergraduate courses in the Department of Psychology and Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge. She received her BA (Hons.) in Psychology from the University of British Columbia and an MPhil in Social and Developmental Psychology from the University of Cambridge. Broadly, she is interested in psychological, behavioural, and systems change. Her current research aims to improve gender equity, diversity, and inclusion. She designs and evaluates theory-driven interventions and investigates the cognitive, emotional, and social mechanisms involved in maintaining and – most importantly – reducing the effects of gender biases. Outside of academia, Karly is a hip-hop dancer and choreographer.

Christina is a Gates Cambridge Scholar and a PhD candidate in Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Cambridge. She received her BSc in Biomedical Sciences with Honours in Neuroscience from the University of Edinburgh and then did her MPhil in Medical Science at the University of Cambridge. Her MPhil project investigated the role of a prodegenerative protein in models of neuroinflammation. Her current research focuses on understanding molecular mechanisms responsible for axon degeneration with the aim of developing ways to target them in order to halt the progression of neurodegenerative conditions.

Frederik is a PhD candidate at the Institute of Innate Immunity in Bonn (GER). More specifically, he works at the Department for Neuroimmunology lead by Prof. MT Heneka. His laboratory work began at the German Sports University in Cologne with experimental exercise interventions to treat hypertensive disorders. Now, he is involved in fundamental research emphasizing neuroinflammation in Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. His current work at the University Hospital Bonn and German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases predominantly focuses the study of interaction sites between brain resident neuronal and immunologic cell-populations.

Emily is a PhD candidate at the University of Cambridge and a Gates-Cambridge Scholar. Her research interests include learning, mental health in adolescence, and early life stress. She is currently investigating the ways in which social isolation influences adolescent learning, mental health, and reward processing, and whether social media may help remediate the effects of isolation. In addition, she applies neuroimaging techniques to understand how brain structure and function develop in adolescence and how these factors relate to behavior.

Dillon is a PhD candidate and Gates Scholar at the Centre for Misfolding Diseases, University of Cambridge. His research focuses on misfolding protein diseases and disorders. Most notably, he has designed high-throughput in vitro drug screening assays for tau protein in Alzheimer's disease and Pick’s disease. Other notable works of his include the effects of site-specific posttranslational modifications on the tau-microtubule complex, the biophysical characterization of aminosterols interactions with pore-forming peptides, and the aggregation kinetics of tau within droplets of a biphasic system. Dillon previously obtained his B.S. Biochemistry at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA. Over 8 years, Dillon has also worked as a tutor. He has experience teaching students in material and lab practical skills from 5th grade to the graduate level. Beyond the lab, he is enrolled in an entrepreneurial certification programme at the Cambridge Judge Business School. He serves as an editor for the Cambridge Journal of Science & Policy (CJSP) and was the President of the postgraduate society of St John's College, University of Cambridge.

Debby Abramov is an eighth year MD/PhD candidate at the Tri-Institutional MD/PhD program at Weill Cornell. She completed in PhD in neuroscience at Weill Cornell and her research focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms of neuronal dysfunction caused by mutations in the chaperone protein Munc18-1. She is now completing her final year of medical school. Before pursuing her MD/PhD, she earned her undergraduate degree in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale University in New Haven, CT.

Ben H. is a PhD candidate in the Committee on Computational Neuroscience at the University of Chicago. He focuses on how the early visual system adapts to flexibly encode and process information in natural scenes. He facilitates this work using maximum entropy modeling to investigate population level changes in the retina in response to natural scenes.

Brock was born in La Crescenta, California where he currently resides. He received his undergraduate degree in Interdisciplinary Studies -- Systems Neuroscience from Hendrix College in 2016. After graduating, he joined the Cardiovascular Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital as a research technician where he used CRISPR-modified zebrafish to investigate genetic contributions to schizophrenia. Brock then enrolled in the Neuroscience Graduate Program at USC where he earned his PhD in 2023. His dissertation work leveraged large fMRI and EEG datasets to uncover the effects of long-term meditation training on brain network connectivity. While at USC, he also identified how mild traumatic brain injury contributes to the development of Alzheimer's disease, investigated the neurological basis of empathy, developed a theoretical supervised learning paradigm to develop empathetic machines, and uncovered a novel role for the proton-sensing receptor, GPR4. Outside of the lab, Brock loves to run, play guitar, and hang out with his wife in nature.

Angie earned her medical degree from the American University of Beirut, Lebanon (2023) where she received “The Penrose Award” in recognition of her qualities of scholarship, character, leadership and contribution to the university. She also holds a BS in biology with distinction (2019) from the same institution. Currently, Angie is working as a Postdoctoral Associate in the department of Pediatric Medical Genetics at Duke University Medical Center. She is particularly interested in studying rare genetic disorders. She focuses on clinical research to form a better understanding of the natural history and long-term complications of genetic disorders with a special focus on Glycogen Storage Disease (GSD). Angie also contributes to the advancement of new therapies for these disorders. Her work involves identifying specific biomarkers, disease metabolomics, and immune phenotyping, to facilitate the development of new therapies like enzyme replacement therapy and AAV gene therapy.

Marta Matuszewska, currently a Research Associate at the University of Cambridge, is an accomplished evolutionary microbiologist specializing in bacterial host adaptation. Holding a PhD in Veterinary Medicine, Marta's research is dedicated to understanding the host range and transmission dynamics of antibiotic-resistant pathogens, particularly focusing on Staphylococcus aureus. In her current role, she is actively engaged in investigating the biological basis of nasal carriage by S. aureus, employing a comprehensive approach that integrates microbiology and genetic epidemiology. Beyond her research, Marta actively contributes to education at the University by leading practical classes in mathematical biology and cell biology. Previously she also supervised undergraduate students in mathematical biology demonstrating her commitment to nurturing the next generation of scientists. Marta is also involved in public outreach through participating in events like the Cambridge Science Festival, where she communicates complex scientific concepts to a broader audience.

Carlos is a 5th year PhD candidate from the Cellular and Molecular Department at University of Chicago. Currently, he is studying the origination and maintenance of protein complexes and allostery. He does this by using biochemical and biophysics techniques on the bench and phylogenetics. Together, he is resurrecting proteins that have not existed in millions of years and identifying the precise amino acid changes that caused the evolution of both protein features. He is originally from Los Angeles, California where he was a first-generation college student from immigrant parents.

Dillon is a PhD candidate and Gates Scholar at the Centre for Misfolding Diseases, University of Cambridge. His research focuses on misfolding protein diseases and disorders. Most notably, he has designed high-throughput in vitro drug screening assays for tau protein in Alzheimer's disease and Pick’s disease. Other notable works of his include the effects of site-specific posttranslational modifications on the tau-microtubule complex, the biophysical characterization of aminosterols interactions with pore-forming peptides, and the aggregation kinetics of tau within droplets of a biphasic system. Dillon previously obtained his B.S. Biochemistry at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA. Over 8 years, Dillon has also worked as a tutor. He has experience teaching students in material and lab practical skills from 5th grade to the graduate level. Beyond the lab, he is enrolled in an entrepreneurial certification programme at the Cambridge Judge Business School. He serves as an editor for the Cambridge Journal of Science & Policy (CJSP) and was the President of the postgraduate society of St John's College, University of Cambridge.

Juan is originally from Venezuela and Puerto Rico. He got his Ph.D. in Cancer Biology at the University of Chicago, where he studied how cancer cells adapt to survive the microenvironment of pancreatic cancer tumors and promote disease progression. As part of his doctoral work, Juan studied the effect of nutrient stress on cancer cells and the metabolic and non-metabolic adaptations that these cells employ to survive and meet their energetic needs. Juan is passionate about the study of cell biology, specifically focusing on understanding the intersection between genetics, cell metabolism, and cells’ ability to adapt to fluctuating conditions. In his free time, Juan likes to read, exercise, and refurbish old electronics.

Joaquin Caro-Astorga is a Lecturer at London South Bank University and a Research Associate at The Francis Crick Institute. He did his PhD in Molecular Biology at Malaga, Groningen and Harvard Universities. After that, he spent four years as a researcher at Imperial College London. His research is focused on synthetic biology producing biomaterials using bioengineered microorganisms. He is currently leading a project to create life on Mars, by genetically engineering a microbial consortium able to survive Mars harsh conditions.

Joaquin Caro-Astorga is a Lecturer at London South Bank University and a Research Associate at The Francis Crick Institute. He did his PhD in Molecular Biology at Malaga, Groningen and Harvard Universities. After that, he spent four years as a researcher at Imperial College London. His research is focused on synthetic biology producing biomaterials using bioengineered microorganisms. He is currently leading a project to create life on Mars, by genetically engineering a microbial consortium able to survive Mars harsh conditions.

Rebeca has over ten years of experience in the field of Biological Sciences and Genetics. She received her PhD in Genetics from Downing College at the University of Cambridge. Her PhD project focused on understanding the consequences of centrosome amplification in pancreatic cancer, using pancreatic organoids as a model system. Rebeca also has a Masters in Cancer Research and a Degree in Molecular Cell Biology from the University of York. She is a published author with two peer-reviewed papers in high-impact journals, including Genes and Development and Nature Communications. Rebeca has extensive experience as an academic tutor, having taught both at the University of Cambridge and as a private tutor. Currently, she works as a research program manager in the non-profit sector in the field of rare diseases, guiding research efforts to better understand their underlying biology with the hope of unlocking potential therapeutic options.

Marta Matuszewska, currently a Research Associate at the University of Cambridge, is an accomplished evolutionary microbiologist specializing in bacterial host adaptation. Holding a PhD in Veterinary Medicine, Marta's research is dedicated to understanding the host range and transmission dynamics of antibiotic-resistant pathogens, particularly focusing on Staphylococcus aureus. In her current role, she is actively engaged in investigating the biological basis of nasal carriage by S. aureus, employing a comprehensive approach that integrates microbiology and genetic epidemiology. Beyond her research, Marta actively contributes to education at the University by leading practical classes in mathematical biology and cell biology. Previously she also supervised undergraduate students in mathematical biology demonstrating her commitment to nurturing the next generation of scientists. Marta is also involved in public outreach through participating in events like the Cambridge Science Festival, where she communicates complex scientific concepts to a broader audience.

Niki is a PhD candidate in Emily Mace’s lab at Columbia University in New York City. Niki received her Bachelor’s in Biology at the University of Delaware and holds a Masters in Biomaterial Science from New York University as well as a Masters in Nutritional and Metabolic Biology from Columbia University. She previously gained industry experience in several STEM fields including polymer science, biochemistry, and biomaterials science. Her current research is focused on human immunodeficiencies that affect natural killer cells to gain a better understanding of the biology of the immune system. In her work, she utilizes a wide variety of experimental approaches, including analyzing gene expression, microscopy, and flow cytometry. As she works towards her PhD degree, Niki’s ultimate goal is to identify and pursue potential immunotherapies for natural killer cell deficiencies.

Dr. Everardo completed his doctoral studies in Cellular, Molecular, and Biomedical Studies at Columbia University and is now a postdoctoral researcher there. During his PhD, Evey studied human Natural Killer (NK) cell immunobiology and development in the Mace Lab, located at Columbia University Irving Medical Center: College of Physicians and Surgeons. He received a Master of Arts in cellular, molecular and biomedical sciences as well as multiple NIH diversity grants for my studies on defining the molecular requirements of human NK cell development. Before his studies at Columbia University, he started my scientific career by pursuing a BS in Microbiology and a Master of Science in Biological Sciences from UC San Diego. His thesis work at UC San Diego focused on delineating principals of directed evolution of viruses by using lambda phage as a model. Overall, his goal is to pursue a career as a principal investigator at a research institution where he can focus on studying Host-Pathogen interactions and evolution.

Corrado is a postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Cambridge. He is currently working in the department of Engineering to develop an in vitro model of human lung for disease modeling and drug testing, working in close collaboration with medical doctors, bioinformaticians and engineers. He obtained his PhD in 2022 at the University of Cambridge where his work was focused on immunology and the tumor microenvironment. His main research interests spread from biotechnology, 3D bioprinting, biofabrication and enjoys applying novel computational methods to examine large sets of data in the field of genomics and single cell RNA-sequencing.

Angie earned her medical degree from the American University of Beirut, Lebanon (2023) where she received “The Penrose Award” in recognition of her qualities of scholarship, character, leadership and contribution to the university. She also holds a BS in biology with distinction (2019) from the same institution. Currently, Angie is working as a Postdoctoral Associate in the department of Pediatric Medical Genetics at Duke University Medical Center. She is particularly interested in studying rare genetic disorders. She focuses on clinical research to form a better understanding of the natural history and long-term complications of genetic disorders with a special focus on Glycogen Storage Disease (GSD). Angie also contributes to the advancement of new therapies for these disorders. Her work involves identifying specific biomarkers, disease metabolomics, and immune phenotyping, to facilitate the development of new therapies like enzyme replacement therapy and AAV gene therapy.

Christa is a 4th year PhD student in Bioinformatics. She primarily works on big data problems in human genetics. Recently, she has worked on identifying biomarkers for ALS using cell-free DNA methylation data. She also is interested in the application of genetics for personalized medicine, especially for diverse populations. Her most current project involves estimating fine-scale genetic populations in the UCLA biobank in order to identify health disparities that may exist in the Los Angeles community.

Dr. Lucas O. is a skilled Research Scientist and Biomedical Engineer with a focus on in vivo CAR-T therapy development at the Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He earned his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Virginia Commonwealth University, where he developed a novel 3D in vitro model for studying skeletal muscle aging and a pro-healing biomaterial designed to aid skeletal muscle regeneration. Dr. O.'s commitment to the study of biological aging is underscored by his master's degree in Gerontology and the Iris Parham Award for his unique contributions to the field. He has a proven record of scholarly achievements, with 20 conference presentations and co-authorship on 12 academic papers, including 5 as the first author. He has also been active in mentorship, guiding over 10 students in a research setting, and has served as a teacher's assistant, interacting with more than 280 undergraduate students in classroom environments. Beyond these contributions, Dr. O.'s research experience spans a wide range of topics, from microRNA deployment for osteoarthritis prevention to CAR-T therapy for solid tumors, showcasing his versatility and dedication to advancing biomedical science. His extensive experience and ongoing commitment to innovation position him as a dynamic figure in his field.

Dr. Nina H is a bioengineer and mathematician who loves studying cancer biology, synthetic immunology, and evolutionary games. Currently, she runs the Research & Development division of ImmuneBridge, a biotechnology startup that manufactures cancer immunotherapies from stem cells found in umbilical cord blood. She earned her Bachelor's in Mathematics and Biology with Honors from Williams College and her Master's and PhD in Bioengineering from Stanford University. She has worked at the Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology at Mount Sinai, the Orthopaedic Research Laboratory at Boston University, in developmental biology and evolutionary biology laboratories at Williams College, and in several immunotherapy laboratories at Stanford. Her doctoral research focused on engineering natural killer cells to infiltrate and destroy solid tumors. Her life goal is to cure cancer and have as much fun skiing, fishing, and mountain biking as she can along the way!

David Brossault is a PhD researcher at the department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology at the University of Cambridge. His research, based on material science, explores the design and optimisation of silica based composite materials for use in both environmental (e.g. water treatment) and biological (e.g. imaging and drug delivery) applications. In his department, David is also involved in teaching activities giving poster design sessions, marking undergraduate student lab reports as well as mentoring master student lab projects. Before his PhD, David obtained his BSc in Chemistry (2013) and a dual MSc in General and Formulation Chemistry (2017). He has developed sound research skills, adaptability and scientific interest through 2 years working in various industrial R&D departments, including Sanofi (United-Kingdom), Capsugel (France), BASF (Germany) and UCB Pharma (Belgium). Alongside his academic life, David is involved in his college life, working as outreach academic speaker, postgraduate committee member as well as college squash captain.

Sam earned both his Masters in Advanced Chemical Engineering and PhD in Biotechnology from the University of Cambridge, followed by a year of post-doctoral research at the same institution. He then completed a medical degree and is currently in training to become a Cardiologist. Broadly, his research investigates the design and clinical application of nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems for cancer therapy. Sam is particularly interested in targeting these nanoparticles to specific locations within tumor cells, such as mitochondria. He is also interested in developing treatment solutions for hard-to-reach and hard-to-treat cancers such as those of the brain, lungs, and pancreas.

Nikzad Falahati earned his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at the University of Cambridge (2020). His research explored filtration processes by investigating the formation of filter cakes and evaluating the effects of particle properties on cake structures. The work required a range of scientific techniques including lab filtration experiments, X-ray imaging to visualize cake structures, and computational simulations of particle systems. Throughout his Ph.D., Nikzad mentored penultimate year undergraduate students on particle processing and marked undergraduate lab reports. Before his Ph.D., Nikzad obtained an MEng in Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London (2016). In his final year research project, he investigated the effects of preparation parameters on the properties of membranes used for wastewater treatment. Alongside his research, Nikzad organized social events for his postgraduate community as part of the college committee, and he is a keen hiker.

Tom M. is a research fellow at the University of Cambridge in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology. The project was in collaboration with Infineum UK Ltd. to explore the mechanism of friction reduction and anti-wear caused by small molecular additives in engine oil formulations. Tom earned his PhD in Physical Chemistry in 2018 at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. His PhD research investigated the chemical processing of atomically thin carbon nanomaterials in water for the purposes of water purification and oil recovery. In addition, he explored the self-assembly of surfactant molecules that form complex fluids using a technique called neutron scattering. In his spare time, Tom enjoys travelling, playing piano and basketball.

Ahmed is a Ph.D. researcher in Chemical Engineering at the University of Cambridge. His project focuses on thin-film formation via drying of cosmetic products in collaboration with Unilever UK. The project investigates final film morphology and the stability of droplets during and after the drying of cosmetic formulations. The project combines both computational and experimental methods ranging from optical imaging, surface characterization, infrared spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy which are complemented by mathematical modeling. Ahmed is currently supervising second-year undergraduate students in introduction to chemical engineering, fluid mechanics, and chemical engineering laboratories. Ahmed completed his bachelor's and master's degrees at the University of Leeds in 2018. He worked on his postgraduate research project to encapsulate phase change materials (PCMs) with metallic shells, which store and release energy during temperature fluctuations. These can be commercially used to optimize heat transfer in industrial applications e.g. heat exchangers and domestic heating.

Dr. Connor T. is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Cambridge and his research focuses on the intersections between chemistry, chemical engineering and computer science. In his own research, Connor utilizes machine learning for drug discovery techniques, automation in chemical reaction optimization and leveraging emerging chemical tools for novel pharmaceutical synthesis. He has a particular interest in topics that relate to flow chemistry, high-throughput experimentation, fragment-based drug discovery, reaction self-optimization, ML methods in chemistry and modern synthetic techniques. He has published several peer-reviewed papers and has had great success in tutoring students from the high school level all the way to PhD level and finds the process of writing/reviewing papers very rewarding. He has an excellent track record of developing his tutees and is open to further students.

Dillon is a PhD candidate and Gates Scholar at the Centre for Misfolding Diseases, University of Cambridge. His research focuses on misfolding protein diseases and disorders. Most notably, he has designed high-throughput in vitro drug screening assays for tau protein in Alzheimer's disease and Pick’s disease. Other notable works of his include the effects of site-specific posttranslational modifications on the tau-microtubule complex, the biophysical characterization of aminosterols interactions with pore-forming peptides, and the aggregation kinetics of tau within droplets of a biphasic system. Dillon previously obtained his B.S. Biochemistry at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA. Over 8 years, Dillon has also worked as a tutor. He has experience teaching students in material and lab practical skills from 5th grade to the graduate level. Beyond the lab, he is enrolled in an entrepreneurial certification programme at the Cambridge Judge Business School. He serves as an editor for the Cambridge Journal of Science & Policy (CJSP) and was the President of the postgraduate society of St John's College, University of Cambridge.

Alexander is a PhD candidate at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge. His research is at the intersection of organic chemistry, machine learning and laboratory automation, aiming to develop automated reaction optimization workflows for applications in small molecule drug manufacturing and formulation chemistry. Before his PhD, Alexander conducted research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he developed new chemical reactors for continuous flow chemistry and chemical methods for continuous drug synthesis. Alexander obtained his MSc. from Vienna University of Technology in technical chemistry focusing on process chemistry and continuous flow synthesis. During his BSc. from University of Vienna in chemistry he focused on research projects in natural product synthesis. Alexander gained experience while working in or with industrial companies such as BASF for formulation optimization using machine learning, Thermo Fisher for API chemical process optimization and Unipharm for pharmaceutical quality assurance. Along his studies, Alexander has been the president of the Cambridge University Austrian Society, organizing invited talks, social events and cultural exchanges with diverse partners and participants from all over the globe.

Dr. Lucas O. is a skilled Research Scientist and Biomedical Engineer with a focus on in vivo CAR-T therapy development at the Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He earned his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Virginia Commonwealth University, where he developed a novel 3D in vitro model for studying skeletal muscle aging and a pro-healing biomaterial designed to aid skeletal muscle regeneration. Dr. O.'s commitment to the study of biological aging is underscored by his master's degree in Gerontology and the Iris Parham Award for his unique contributions to the field. He has a proven record of scholarly achievements, with 20 conference presentations and co-authorship on 12 academic papers, including 5 as the first author. He has also been active in mentorship, guiding over 10 students in a research setting, and has served as a teacher's assistant, interacting with more than 280 undergraduate students in classroom environments. Beyond these contributions, Dr. O.'s research experience spans a wide range of topics, from microRNA deployment for osteoarthritis prevention to CAR-T therapy for solid tumors, showcasing his versatility and dedication to advancing biomedical science. His extensive experience and ongoing commitment to innovation position him as a dynamic figure in his field.

César Cabezas Gamarra is Preceptor at Columbia University's Center for the Core Curriculum and teaches the renowned 'Contemporary Civilization' course at Columbia. He holds a PhD from the Philosophy Department at Columbia University. The core of Cabezas Gamarra's research lies at the intersection of philosophy of race, social and political philosophy, and philosophy of social science. In addition, he is interested in ethics, social epistemology and feminist philosophy. He is currently finishing his dissertation on structural racism and durable racial inequality.

Hochan "Sonny" is a PhD candidate in Political Theory at Princeton University, where he is undertaking the Program in Political Philosophy. He holds a BPhil in Philosophy from the University of Oxford as well as a BA in Philosophy and in Political Science from Brown University.

Johan finished his PhD in Politics at Princeton in 2022 and currently works as a freelance writer in Norway. In his dissertation, on the political theory of work, he developed a new framework for understanding the institution of work, and for assessing its contemporary transformations, as well as proposals for how to reshape the institution going forward. Johan is broadly interested in the history of modern political and social thought, contemporary theories of capitalism and democracy, and normative political philosophy. Before coming to Princeton, Johan completed a B.A. in Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Oxford.

Dr. Parsa A. is Research Associate at the University of Cambridge working in Statistical Genetics. He received his PhD from Downing College at the University of Cambridge in Statistical Genetics. Parsa has both academic and commercial experience in the application of statistical analysis to generate commercial and scientific value. In the past Parsa has worked for UCB Biopharma to develop Machine Learning algorithms predicting the side effects of drug compounds, and has worked as a consultant role with organisations based in Beijing, New York and Los Angeles providing training and advice in the implementation of statistical models. Parsa co-founded an online technology platform allowing the open source online generation of content by users which was sold in 2013. Parsa contributes to Downing Enterprise with his strong links to the entrepreneurial community in Cambridge including as a former president of the Cambridge Data Society, connection to the Judge Business School via the Accelerate programme, and previous role as Information Officer of the Cambridge Technology and Enterprise Society.

Patrick Emedom-Nnamdi is a PhD candidate in the Department of Biostatistics at Harvard University's T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where he focuses on smartphone based digital phenotyping and mobile health. Specifically, he develops statistical and quantitative methods for studying social, behavioral, and cognitive phenotypes. His current research aims at creating prediction models for determining time to recovery in surgical patients.

Perman is a PhD researcher at the department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology at the University of Cambridge. His research is focused on utilising Machine Learning algorithms and automated experimental tools to enhance process development in chemical and pharmaceutical industry. Before his PhD studies, Perman completed his undergraduate work at KAIST (Korea) where he studied Chemistry, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and Economics (minor). His research at KAIST focused on (1) developing chemical probes (molecules) for early stage detection of Alzheimer’s disease and (2) designing and developing covalent organic polymers (COPs) for CO₂ capture and storage. Perman has also worked as a researcher at EPFL (Switzerland) and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His work at EPFL focused on designing and synthesizing fluorescent molecules for live cell imaging, specifically targeting proteins associated with cancer. At MIT, Perman has worked on developing new methods for analysis and quantification of upgrading crude oil. He has experience in teaching, organising events, leading projects, and working with diverse set of teams on different projects across the globe.

Angelina is a current PhD student in Computer Science at Princeton University. She is interested in machine learning fairness and algorithmic bias. More broadly, she is also interested in how technology impacts society. She has interned at Google twice. She was a Regents and Chancellors' Scholar at U.C. Berkeley, where she also served as an Academic Officer at Machine Learning @ Berkeley and a course assistant for the Introduction to Machine Learning course.

Lasya Sreepada is a Bioengineering PhD Candidate at the University of Pennsylvania working with Dr. Corey McMillan and Dr. David Wolk in the Bioinformatics in Neurodegenerative Disease Lab as part of the Penn Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. Lasya is passionate about interdisciplinary collaborations weaving neuroscience, data science, and pharmaceuticals to design and deliver innovative therapeutic solutions that make a difference in global healthcare. For her PhD, Lasya studies atypicality in Alzheimer's disease by applying bioinformatics and AI approaches to analyze neuroimaging and multiomics data to better understand heterogeneous disease mechanisms. As an undergraduate, Lasya worked with Dr. Alexander Lin at the Center for Clinical Spectroscopy, Harvard Medical School, to identify molecular biomarkers of neurotrauma. Lasya received her B.S. in Neuroscience from Yale University in 2019 and will receive her M.S. in Data Science from Penn, en route to the PhD, in 2023.

Pramit is a PhD candidate in the Department of Engineering Science at the University of Oxford and part of its Biomedical Image Analysis (BioMedIA) cluster. His research interests primarily lie in the areas of machine learning, deep learning, computer vision, medical image analysis, brain computer interfaces, and human speech motor control. More specifically, Pramit’s work focuses on developing federated learning algorithms for facilitating multi-institutional collaborations in healthcare. He also works on solving challenges related to class imbalance, non-IID data distribution, self-supervised and semi-supervised learning. In 2020, Pramit was awarded the prestigious Young Scientist Award by MICCAI Society for his contributions towards developing machine learning models for artificial speech synthesis from tongue movements. Prior to this, Pramit graduated from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, with an MASc degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering in February 2021.

Mason is a PhD candidate in computation and neural systems at Caltech. His current work involves making machine vision systems more efficient by leveraging insights from biological vision systems, and asking questions like, "How can a frugal vision system decide if a computation is worth the time and energy required to perform it?". In the past, he worked on answering questions like, "How is object shape represented in the primate visual system?" and "What can we learn about how a fruit fly sees from its connectome (the map of all the cell-to-cell connections in its brain)?". He also helped develop courses in machine vision, neuroscience, and computational imaging. Before coming to Caltech, he studied cognitive neuroscience and computer science at Brown University, and worked in the Department of Pharmacology and Physiology at Drexel University.

Alex is a doctoral candidate in computer science at Stanford University. His primary research interest is in the development of interpretable computational models on biological data, which then subsequently informs scientific discovery. In his work, he improves and exploits the human-interpretability of deep learning models on biological problems. Prior to his studies at Stanford, he earned in B.A.s in biology and computer science at the University of California, Berkeley. His favorite animals are cats and caterpillars (no relation)

Joe has a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Minnesota, Twin-Cities, focusing on neuromodulation and neural interfaces research. He also has a B.S. in Bioengineering from UC Berkeley and a M.S. in Computer Science (Data Science Track) from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Currently, Joe is a senior principal data scientist at UnitedHealth Group. He has previously worked as an AI scientist at Target, data scientist at General Mills, and research scientist Medtronic and Starkey Hearing Technologies. Joe's expertise includes machine learning, signal processing, statistical analysis, computational modeling, and neuromodulation.

Vinay Swamy is a PhD student in the department of Biomedical Informatics at Columbia University. His research focuses on the intersection of machine learning and biology. Specifically, he studies how to use molecular(protein, DNA, chemicals) large language models to solve problems in medicine and biology such as precision drug recommendation. Before Columbia he received is BS in Biochemistry from UCLA in 2018 and worked as a bioinformatician at the National Eye Institute.

Andreas is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow affiliated with the Computer Lab of the University of Cambridge. His interests lie in the intersection of Machine Learning and its applications to healthcare and scheduling within large scale systems – with a particular interest in the broad federated learning domain. The outcome of his research led to multiple publications in high-impact venues and journals such NeurIPS, KDD, ICASSP, TNSE, TPAMI, NPJ, and others. He is also a founding member of the COVID-19 Sounds initiative, which is a pioneering project aimed at diagnosing COVID-19 through the use of voice, breathing, and coughing sounds. Further, during these activities he was the supervisor of several students undertaking their undergraduate or master thesis in the aforementioned topics, all of which successfully defended.

Daniel Gurevich is a PhD candidate in the Program in Applied & Computational Mathematics at Princeton University. He mainly works on data-driven algorithms for discovering governing equations in systems such as fluid flows, active particles, and swarms & flocks of animals. His other projects have resulted in peer-reviewed publications in cardiac dynamics, theoretical fluid dynamics, and control theory, as well as internships in data science and legal artificial intelligence.

Haley Wohlever is a PhD student in the mechanical engineering department at the University of California, Berkeley. She is currently studying applications of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to a variety of problems including oceanic vortex stability, ice stupas, and green desalination. She is interested in context-driven design, interdisciplinary research, and the intersection of food, energy, and water systems.

William is a PhD candidate at the University of Cambridge working on the design of biosensors utilising a high precision inkjet printer. Working jointly between the Department of Chemical Engineering and Physics he is concerned with the patterning of biomolecules onto optical wafers to create novel sensing strategies. Originally a Physics/Computer science and Marine Engineering graduate, he has worked as an engineer within the Merchant Navy and as a research and development scientist for a Clean Energy Fuel Cell company. In his spare time he enjoys playing classical guitar and walking.

Scott E. is a PhD candidate in chemical engineering at the University of Cambridge. His PhD research focuses on applying magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methods to quantify flow and molecular transport in porous systems such as rocks and materials used for heterogeneous catalysis. Prior to beginning his PhD work, Scott completed research internships in both the oil and chemical products industry, where his work included modeling fluid mixing in chemical reactors, and the development of novel non-stick coatings.

Paddy is a PhD candidate in fluid dynamics at the University of Cambridge. He specializes in environmental flows and his research focuses on the geological storage of carbon dioxide as a means of reducing carbon emissions. Paddy also holds a first class undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering MEng from the University of Edinburgh. At Cambridge, he has four years of experience supervising Cambridge undergraduates in advanced fluid mechanics. Paddy has collaborated with industry extensively throughout his studies and has also developed a deep understanding of renewable energy technologies and the challenges we face in transitioning our energy system.

Miguel is a Mechanical Engineering PhD candidate at Johns Hopkins University in Fluids, specifically studying multiphase flow with Dr. Rui Ni. He was born in Puerto Rico and mostly raised in New York City. Miguel's research work primarily investigates the interaction of solid particles in turbulence with applications in understanding regolith dynamics during the descent of a lander on an extraterrestrial body (moon or mars) through his NASA fellowship and understanding the effect of high temperature (2000-2300 degrees Fahrenheit) on the deposition of solid particles on jet engine turbines with funding from the Office of Naval Research. He has also done Artemis related research with NASA Marshall, NASA Kennedy Space Center, and NASA Langley, all through his NASA fellowship. Miguel's hobbies include Percussionist, learning Japanese, exercising, video games, and plenty more. He is known for constantly having a handful of hobbies that he cycle between.

Daniel Gurevich is a PhD candidate in the Program in Applied & Computational Mathematics at Princeton University. He mainly works on data-driven algorithms for discovering governing equations in systems such as fluid flows, active particles, and swarms & flocks of animals. His other projects have resulted in peer-reviewed publications in cardiac dynamics, theoretical fluid dynamics, and control theory, as well as internships in data science and legal artificial intelligence.

Jack is a PhD candidate at CalTech in the Social Science department. He received his MPhil in Economics from the University of Cambridge and BA from New York University Abu Dhabi. His current research revolves around decisions under uncertainty, with specific work on the Ellsberg Paradox and bargaining games. This work draws together current research in decision theory, experimental, and behavioural economics. He also has interests in political accountability, voting, and general political economy.

John Anagnost is a PhD candidate in Health Policy and Management at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). His specific interests are related to the application of microeconomic theory and statistics to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, as well as other public health policy issues. The healthcare industry is a broad and dynamic ecosystem in which individuals often have conflicting ideas about how to make it better with respect to quality, access, and cost. John is fascinated in the ways of thinking about public health problems from the perspective of economic theory. Specifically, he explores regulatory and market dynamics that influence behavior of participants within the ecosystem. However, John is also interested in general economic problems around antitrust, competition, and labor markets.

Zeeshan Samad is an Assistant Professor of Economics at the American University of Beirut. Previously, he has worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow at Utah State University and as an Economist at the World Bank. His research areas include behavioral economics, game theory, labor economics, and microeconomics. Zeeshan has a PhD in Economics from Vanderbilt and a Master of Public Policy from the University of Maryland College Park.

Dr. Alasdair Craig graduated with a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Oxford in 2022. His research was at the intersection of epistemology, the philosophy of mind and cognitive science. While at Oxford he taught undergraduate courses in the philosophy of mind, epistemology, the philosophy of cognitive science, logic and metaphysics, as well as courses in essay-writing and study skills. Since 2023, Dr Craig has been working in academic publishing while continuing to teach courses in philosophy to undergraduates.

Dr. Parsa A. is Research Associate at the University of Cambridge working in Statistical Genetics. He received his PhD from Downing College at the University of Cambridge in Statistical Genetics. Parsa has both academic and commercial experience in the application of statistical analysis to generate commercial and scientific value. In the past Parsa has worked for UCB Biopharma to develop Machine Learning algorithms predicting the side effects of drug compounds, and has worked as a consultant role with organisations based in Beijing, New York and Los Angeles providing training and advice in the implementation of statistical models. Parsa co-founded an online technology platform allowing the open source online generation of content by users which was sold in 2013. Parsa contributes to Downing Enterprise with his strong links to the entrepreneurial community in Cambridge including as a former president of the Cambridge Data Society, connection to the Judge Business School via the Accelerate programme, and previous role as Information Officer of the Cambridge Technology and Enterprise Society.

Perman is a PhD researcher at the department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology at the University of Cambridge. His research is focused on utilising Machine Learning algorithms and automated experimental tools to enhance process development in chemical and pharmaceutical industry. Before his PhD studies, Perman completed his undergraduate work at KAIST (Korea) where he studied Chemistry, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and Economics (minor). His research at KAIST focused on (1) developing chemical probes (molecules) for early stage detection of Alzheimer’s disease and (2) designing and developing covalent organic polymers (COPs) for CO2 capture and storage. Perman has also worked as a researcher at EPFL (Switzerland) and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His work at EPFL focused on designing and synthesizing fluorescent molecules for live cell imaging, specifically targeting proteins associated with cancer. At MIT, Perman has worked on developing new methods for analysis and quantification of upgrading crude oil. He has experience in teaching, organising events, leading projects, and working with diverse set of teams on different projects across the globe.

Patrick Emedom-Nnamdi is a PhD candidate in the Department of Biostatistics at Harvard University's T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where he focuses on smartphone based digital phenotyping and mobile health. Specifically, he develops statistical and quantitative methods for studying social, behavioral, and cognitive phenotypes. His current research aims at creating prediction models for determining time to recovery in surgical patients.

Angelina is a current PhD student in Computer Science at Princeton University. She is interested in machine learning fairness and algorithmic bias. More broadly, she is also interested in how technology impacts society. She has interned at Google twice. She was a Regents and Chancellors' Scholar at U.C. Berkeley, where she also served as an Academic Officer at Machine Learning @ Berkeley and a course assistant for the Introduction to Machine Learning course.

Christa is a 4th year PhD student in Bioinformatics. She primarily works on big data problems in human genetics. Recently, she has worked on identifying biomarkers for ALS using cell-free DNA methylation data. She also is interested in the application of genetics for personalized medicine, especially for diverse populations. Her most current project involves estimating fine-scale genetic populations in the UCLA biobank in order to identify health disparities that may exist in the Los Angeles community.

Lasya Sreepada is a Bioengineering PhD Candidate at the University of Pennsylvania working with Dr. Corey McMillan and Dr. David Wolk in the Bioinformatics in Neurodegenerative Disease Lab as part of the Penn Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. Lasya is passionate about interdisciplinary collaborations weaving neuroscience, data science, and pharmaceuticals to design and deliver innovative therapeutic solutions that make a difference in global healthcare. For her PhD, Lasya studies atypicality in Alzheimer's disease by applying bioinformatics and AI approaches to analyze neuroimaging and multiomics data to better understand heterogeneous disease mechanisms. As an undergraduate, Lasya worked with Dr. Alexander Lin at the Center for Clinical Spectroscopy, Harvard Medical School, to identify molecular biomarkers of neurotrauma. Lasya received her B.S. in Neuroscience from Yale University in 2019 and will receive her M.S. in Data Science from Penn, en route to the PhD, in 2023.

John Anagnost is a PhD candidate in Health Policy and Management at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). His specific interests are related to the application of microeconomic theory and statistics to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, as well as other public health policy issues. The healthcare industry is a broad and dynamic ecosystem in which individuals often have conflicting ideas about how to make it better with respect to quality, access, and cost. John is fascinated in the ways of thinking about public health problems from the perspective of economic theory. Specifically, he explores regulatory and market dynamics that influence behavior of participants within the ecosystem. However, John is also interested in general economic problems around antitrust, competition, and labor markets.

Pramit is a PhD candidate in the Department of Engineering Science at the University of Oxford and part of its Biomedical Image Analysis (BioMedIA) cluster. His research interests primarily lie in the areas of machine learning, deep learning, computer vision, medical image analysis, brain computer interfaces, and human speech motor control. More specifically, Pramit’s work focuses on developing federated learning algorithms for facilitating multi-institutional collaborations in healthcare. He also works on solving challenges related to class imbalance, non-IID data distribution, self-supervised and semi-supervised learning. In 2020, Pramit was awarded the prestigious Young Scientist Award by MICCAI Society for his contributions towards developing machine learning models for artificial speech synthesis from tongue movements. Prior to this, Pramit graduated from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, with an MASc degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering in February 2021.

Mason is a PhD candidate in computation and neural systems at Caltech. His current work involves making machine vision systems more efficient by leveraging insights from biological vision systems, and asking questions like, "How can a frugal vision system decide if a computation is worth the time and energy required to perform it?". In the past, he worked on answering questions like, "How is object shape represented in the primate visual system?" and "What can we learn about how a fruit fly sees from its connectome (the map of all the cell-to-cell connections in its brain)?". He also helped develop courses in machine vision, neuroscience, and computational imaging. Before coming to Caltech, he studied cognitive neuroscience and computer science at Brown University, and worked in the Department of Pharmacology and Physiology at Drexel University.

Snow Naing is a fourth year PhD candidate in Bioinformatics at UCSF. Her research focuses on protein-protein interactions in autism spectrum disorder. Before pursuing her PhD, she earned her undergraduate degree in Biochemistry and Physics at Simmons University in Boston, Massachusetts.

Joe has a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Minnesota, Twin-Cities, focusing on neuromodulation and neural interfaces research. He also has a B.S. in Bioengineering from UC Berkeley and a M.S. in Computer Science (Data Science Track) from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Currently, Joe is a senior principal data scientist at UnitedHealth Group. He has previously worked as an AI scientist at Target, data scientist at General Mills, and research scientist Medtronic and Starkey Hearing Technologies. Joe's expertise includes machine learning, signal processing, statistical analysis, computational modeling, and neuromodulation.

Vinay Swamy is a PhD student in the department of Biomedical Informatics at Columbia University. His research focuses on the intersection of machine learning and biology. Specifically, he studies how to use molecular(protein, DNA, chemicals) large language models to solve problems in medicine and biology such as precision drug recommendation. Before Columbia he received is BS in Biochemistry from UCLA in 2018 and worked as a bioinformatician at the National Eye Institute.

Andreas is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow affiliated with the Computer Lab of the University of Cambridge. His interests lie in the intersection of Machine Learning and its applications to healthcare and scheduling within large scale systems – with a particular interest in the broad federated learning domain. The outcome of his research led to multiple publications in high-impact venues and journals such NeurIPS, KDD, ICASSP, TNSE, TPAMI, NPJ, and others. He is also a founding member of the COVID-19 Sounds initiative, which is a pioneering project aimed at diagnosing COVID-19 through the use of voice, breathing, and coughing sounds. Further, during these activities he was the supervisor of several students undertaking their undergraduate or master thesis in the aforementioned topics, all of which successfully defended.

Dr. Nina H is a bioengineer and mathematician who loves studying cancer biology, synthetic immunology, and evolutionary games. Currently, she runs the Research & Development division of ImmuneBridge, a biotechnology startup that manufactures cancer immunotherapies from stem cells found in umbilical cord blood. She earned her Bachelor's in Mathematics and Biology with Honors from Williams College and her Master's and PhD in Bioengineering from Stanford University. She has worked at the Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology at Mount Sinai, the Orthopaedic Research Laboratory at Boston University, in developmental biology and evolutionary biology laboratories at Williams College, and in several immunotherapy laboratories at Stanford. Her doctoral research focused on engineering natural killer cells to infiltrate and destroy solid tumors. Her life goal is to cure cancer and have as much fun skiing, fishing, and mountain biking as she can along the way!

Matt Hinojosa is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of History at Princeton University specializing in US nineteenth and twentieth-century history, history of race & ethnicity, and global urban history, with an emphasis on twentieth-century US Chicano and Latino social movements. Matt is a proud first-generation college student and community college alumnus. He received his dual BAs in Anthropology and Mexican American Studies and an MA in History from the University of Texas at San Antonio, along with an MA in History from Princeton University. His current research focuses on post-WWII community-police relations in US Latino communities and argues that police violence was a central animating factor in the long Latino Civil Rights Movement. His dissertation examines the struggle against police brutality by urban and rural Latino communities, engaging with both civil rights-oriented and radical political responses by communities toward police violence. Matt’s research has been supported by fellowships from the Mellon Humanities Pathways Program, the Mellon Just Futures -- Democratizing Racial Justice Project, the McNair Scholars Program, the National Council of La Raza, the Nau Scholars Program, and Princeton's Presidential Fellowship. In his free time, Matt is an avid music-lover who loves collecting classic vinyl, DJing, camping, and kayaking.

Gabrielle Corona is a Ph.D. candidate and presidential fellow in the Department of History at Princeton University. Gabrielle is a historian with extensive research, writing and mentoring experience. Prior to joining Princeton University, she served as a researcher at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project, housed at Stanford University. Gabrielle’s historical research is enriched by her experiences working in immigration law, and conducting legal research on the use of lethal force by police. At Princeton, she focuses on twentieth century social movements, incarceration, and gender in the United States. She has held fellowships and received awards from the Mellon Foundation, Nomadic Press, the Organization of American Historians, and more. Gabrielle can teach and mentor students across arts & humanities, especially in history, public health & medicine, African American/ethnic studies, and gender and sexuality studies, broadly conceived. She also holds a B. A. in history from the University of California, Berkeley.