Leadership

Lucia is the former SAC Co-Director and a MCB student studying neurodegenerative disease. She has taught her cat, Jiji, to sit, high-five, fist bump, and shake. In her free time, she fosters cats and kittens for the APA of Missouri (instagram: @kittenfosterstl).

Ariya is a third-year student in the Human and Statistical Genetics program. Her research in Dr. Laura Bierut’s lab delves into the complex interplay between substance use behaviors and genetic risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease, illuminating their impact on brain health. When away from the lab, she unwinds with movie nights alongside friends, dedicates time to volunteer work, and occasionally engages in the playful (and perhaps slightly one-sided) art of annoying her cat, Cenizo.

Cynthia is a 4^th year Neuroscience PhD student in Dr. Erik Musiek’s lab. She graduated from UCLA with a B.S. degree in Neuroscience. She is interested in neurodegenerative diseases and her research focuses on how circadian disruption affects Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s pathology. Outside the lab, she enjoys cooking, video-gaming and music.

Emily is in the Molecular Cell Biology program and is a member of Dr. Roberta Faccio’s laboratory. Her work focuses on understanding how bone derived factors work to modulate immune responses during tumor development and how tumors can induce changes inthe hematopoietic stem cell niche. Emily enjoys spending time with her new golden retriever Bonnie and likes to cook and try new recipes.

Aidan is a second-year graduate student in the Plant and Microbial Biosciences program. He studies the evolution of intrinsically disordered protein regions in the lab of Alex Holehouse. Aidan likes to garden, cook Cajun food, jog, and play ultimate frisbee!

Jennysue is a fifth-year grad student in the Developmental, Regenerative, and Stem Cell Biology Ph.D. program. She earned her Bachelors of Science from Georgia State University in Biology with a concentration in molecular genetics. Her research is focused on understanding the role that Fat and Dachsous cadherins play during mammalian eye development. Jennysue is passionate about mentorship, science communication, and rural community education access. She is the Senior Co-Coordinator for the DBBS Peer-Mentoring program and the Director of Science Communication for ProSPER.

Sarah is SAC Co-Director and a Molecular Cell Biology student in the lab of Joe Dougherty studying the regulation of RNA localization and local translation in astrocytes. The majority of her time outside of lab is spent appeasing her two dogs, Lily and Maragold. 

Tessa is a Molecular Cell Biology student studying the role of mitochondrial phosphorylation on skeletal and cardiac muscle postnatal development in the lab of Dr. Natalie Niemi. Outside of the lab, Tessa likes to explore St. Louis coffee shops, attend country concerts, hike, cook, and bake (especially for my lab mates!). As a H&W co-chair, I am excited to continue talking about mental health and overall well-being in academia, and work toward creating a more supportive and inclusive academia.

Bella is a Molecular Cell Biology student studying paracrine signaling in pancreatic islet cells in the lab of Dr. Jing Hughes. She has developed an obsession with houseplants and enjoys playing tennis, working out, and trying new restaurants in her free time.

Marwa is our former SAC Co-Director and is a Neuroscience student. She is studying the effects of opioid withdrawal on behavior and the immune system. As an international student from Lebanon, Marwa is passionate about international student issues. Her top priority as our co-director was to introduce lasting changes that improve the DBBS student experience. She enjoys mountain biking, hiking, and anything outdoorsy.  

Ed Sanchez-Castro is a Peruvian PhD student in the Developmental, Regenerative and Stem Cell Biology program. He is interested in developing therapies to cure diseases such as type 1 diabetes but also to spread them. He has a master in health policies and is engaged to improve the experience of the graduate students in WashU. In his free time, he enjoys classical music concerts and watching anime series

Ed Sanchez-Castro is a Peruvian PhD student in the Developmental, Regenerative and Stem Cell Biology program. He is interested in developing therapies to cure diseases such as type 1 diabetes but also to spread them. He has a master in health policies and is engaged to improve the experience of the graduate students in WashU. In his free time, he enjoys classical music concerts and watching anime series

Din is the current Communications Chair after rolling off as the Co-Director for the past 2 years. He remains a passionate member of SAC and enjoys disseminating information, events, responding to emails and helping DBBS students succeed. He is a fourth year PhD student in the Neuroscience Program studying sex differences in Autism and outside of lab loves exploring STL, cooking with friends and riding his bike in forest park with his dog Hazel in the basket!

Elizabeth is a second year student in the Human and Statistical Genetics Program. Originally from Mexico City, she obtained her bachelor’s degree in Genomics from the National Autonomous University of Mexico. She is studying the roles of mitochondrial and peroxisomal fatty acid oxidation in kidney function in both healthy and injured mice kidneys. During her free time, she enjoys reading, doing yoga, playing the guitar, singing, and exploring St. Louis with her friends.

Elizabeth is a first-year student in the Human and Statistical Genetics PhD program. She is highly interested in using animal models and cell lines as well as bioinformatics and mathematical models to answer complex questions related to human health. During her free time, she enjoys playing the guitar, reading, doing yoga, and going out with her friends.

Doris is a second-year grad student in the Molecular Genetics and Genomics PhD program. She studies the role of histone modifications and genome instability in human neuronal aging in the lab of Andrew Yoo. In her free time, she loves reading in Forest Park and spending time with her cat Hilo.

Lite is in the Neuroscience program and a member of Dr. Rob Gereaulab in the Department of Anesthesiology. He is still in the exploratory phase in his thesis research (as of March 2022) and is broadly interested in understanding the CNS cellular and circuit mechanisms underlying chronic pain.

Mini is in the Developmental, Regenerative and Stem Cell Biology program and a member of the Yoo lab studying epigenetic dynamics during direct neural conversion. Whenever physically and mentally able, she may be found in the rock climbing gym. Her favorite thing of the day is always watching the sunset with her derpy cat, Nico.

Cyrus Zhou is currently a fifth year graduate student in the Molecular Genetics and Genomics program, under the DBBS umbrella program. He is originally from New York City and has lived in Baltimore and Vancouver before moving to St. Louis. He is excited to be part of SAC in 2022-2023 and looks forward to working collaboratively with the SAC board. In his free time, he enjoys reading historical fiction, playing trivia, and playing with his three rabbits (DeeDee, Ari, and Stu).