People

Abdul Muyeed Bhuiya is a PhD candidate in UC Berkeley-UCSF Joint PhD Program in Bioengineering in Prof. Daniel Fletcher’s lab. His current research involves developing innovative point-of-care diagnostic assays and devices for infectious diseases, and leveraging CRISPR technology for rapid, multiplexed RNA detection. Abdul received his Bachelor’s in Molecular and Cellular Biology with a minor in Chemistry at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and received his Master’s in Biomedical Engineering at Boston University. During that time, he worked in the labs of Prof. Rashid Bashir and Prof. Ahmad Khalil, developing point-of-care platforms for detecting viruses and bacteria using mobile phone microscopy and interferometric imaging. As a Thomas C. Alber Fellow, Abdul is field-testing a low-cost mobile microscopy and machine learning platform in Bangladesh for detection

Allie Batka (she/they) is a Ph.D. candidate in Chemical Biology through the Department of Chemistry at UC Berkeley. Allie graduated from the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor with a B.S. Chem. and M.S. in Chemistry in 2020, where they worked in the lab of Prof. Nicolai Lehner on electrocatalytic nitric oxide production for therapeutic applications. She currently researches metalloenzyme kinetics and mechanisms in Prof. Michael Marletta’s lab. Specifically, their work focuses on copperdependent polysaccharide monooxygenases and metal-dependent proteases. With support from the CEND, Allie will continue to characterize proteases in Vibrio cholerae that play an essential role in the formation of pathogenic multicellular colonies, which will inform the development of new treatments for the disease cholera. In addition to her passion for science, Allie also loves video games and ice cream.

Andrea was born and raised in Mexico, where she did her bachelor studies in Pharmaceutical Sciences. She then went to the Netherlands to do her master studies and absolutely fell in love with pathogenic bacteria. She actually thinks studying bacteria is one of the coolest things one can do. She came to UC Berkeley as part of her master studies and stayed in the Portnoy lab after that. She is now a joint PhD student in the Stanley and Portnoy labs where she studies how bacteria have adapted to their host in order to succeed in infection. In particular, she is interested in the role of aldehydes in host-pathogen infection dynamics.

Andres Dextre is a Ph.D. student in the laboratory of Dr. Daniel Fletcher as part of the UCSF-UC Berkeley Joint PhD Program in Bioengineering. His research involves leveraging CRISPR-Cas enzymes for developing novel molecular diagnostics that we can employ at the Point-of-Care for infectious diseases. Andres received his Bachelor’s degree in Biological Engineering from Purdue University. During that time, he worked with Dr. Mohit Verma developing paperbased molecular diagnostics for detecting SARS-CoV-2 and bovine respiratory disease associated pathogens. As a Thomas C. Alber fellow, Andres is focusing on developing a CRISPR-based assay for detection of micro-RNAs in Schistosomiasis derived extracellular vesicles.

Ayane Maruichi is a Ph.D. student in the Endocrinology Graduate Program at UC Berkeley. She received her bachelor’s degree from International Christian University in Japan, followed by a master’s degree through a 5th-year master’s program. During her B.S. and M.S., she worked in Dr. Tatsuo Nunoshiba’s lab and conducted research in the field of microbial genetics. Currently, she is pursuing her graduate studies under the supervision of Prof. Andrew Dillin and studying how pathogenic bacterial infection regulates host immune and stress responses and impacts on mitochondrial functions using C.elegans as a model organism. Besides research, Ayane enjoys traveling and taking long walks.

Bianca was born and raised in Italy and later moved to California to pursue my undergraduate studies at UC San Diego, where I majored in Human Biology. During my time at UCSD I joined the laboratory of Susan Kaech at the Salk Institute as an undergraduate research assistant. There I discovered a strong interest for research and immunology. After graduation, I continued my academic journey at UCSD to obtain a Master's degree, while working on my thesis project in Dr. Kaech’s lab. My research focused on studying a kinase and its implications in modulating T cell exhaustion in cancer. Subsequently, I moved to Hawaii for a year, where I worked in the lab of Helen Turner investigating the role of cannabinoid receptors in immune cells. Finally, I started my graduate studies at UC Berkeley, where I am currently a PhD candidate in the laboratory of Russell Vance. In Dr. Vance’s lab I work on a collaborative project with the Rijo-Ferreira lab,

Brenna is a Ph.D. candidate in the Molecular and Cell Biology Department at UC Berkeley. She completed her bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences from Cornell University. As an undergraduate, she studied the role of sirtuin enzymes in breast cancer progression in Dr. Robert Weiss’s lab. Currently, she is a member of Dr. Russell Vance’s lab where she investigates how innate immune cells sense and respond to the virulence activities of pathogens.

Brent is an MPH candidate in Infectious disease and Vaccinology at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health and a student affiliate of the Rosenthal Lab in the Division of Global Medicine at UCSF. Brent graduated from UC San Diego in 2022 with a degree in global health and a minor in biology. In undergrad he performed immunohistochemistry for the UCSD Human Tissue Technology Center. He also trained in the SiqueiraNeto Lab at the UCSD Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, validating candidate molecules against the parasitic diseases T. Cruzi and Leishmania. At UCSF Brent's work aims to use deep sequencing and molecular epidemiology techniques to understand the emergence and persistence of mutant and partially drug resistant Malaria within Uganda. He aims to combine sequence data and modeling techniques to better describe the trends of Malaria partial drug resistance for a variety of genes.

Carlos Ng Pi, is a PhD candidate in the UCSF-UC Berkeley Joint PhD Program in Bioengineering in the laboratory of Dr. Daniel Fletcher. His research involves developing molecular diagnostic tools for infectious diseases such as SARS-CoV-2 and HIV. Carlos received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Bioengineering from the University of Illinois at Chicago. During that time, he worked with Dr. David Eddington developing microfluidic systems for the isolation of circulating tumor cells. Following graduation, Carlos joined the laboratory of Dr. Donald Ingber where he developed a scalable fabrication method for microfluidic organ-on-chips platorms. As an Irving H. Wiesenfeld Fellow, Carlos is spearheading the development of a point-of-care system for the detection of lymphatic filariasis using a CRISPR-based diagnostic assay.

Charlotte is a Ph.D. Candidate in Molecular and Cellular biology. She hails from Missoula, Montana where she received a B.S. in Biochemistry. After college, Charlotte spent two years at the NIH as a postbac in Jason Brenchley’s lab studying interactions between the microbiome and SIV. Charlotte's thesis research in the Vance Lab at UC Berkeley focuses on host-pathogen interactions using the enteric pathogen Shigella as a model system. In particular, she is interested in how proteins secreted by Shigella manipulate the host cell during infection and how the host counters this attack. Outside of lab, Charlotte enjoys the great outdoors and is an aficionado of partner acrobatics.

Chi Zhu is a postdoctoral fellow in the Näär Lab of Department of Nutritional Sciences & Toxicology at UC Berkeley. His research interests range from epigenetic/metabolic changes in cancer or chronic metabolic diseases to the development of antisense oligonucleotide (ASO)-based therapeutics. Chi received his Ph.D. at the Institute of Medical Science, the University of Tokyo in 2017, where he explored the mechanism of colon cancer occurrence and development, mainly focusing on the malfunction of Wnt signaling pathway. Chi’s recent work is focusing on the development of ASO-based therapeutics for COVID-19 and this study has already shown very promising anti-viral efficacy of ASO therapeutics both in vitro and in vivo. As a Sidney MacDonald Russell fellow, Chi will keep working on the optimization of both anti-viral efficacy and the drug delivery system of COVID-19 ASO therapeutics, and will expand his work developing the ASO therapeutics to pan-coronaviruses and other viral respiratory diseases.

Christine Qabar is a Microbiology PhD Candidate in the Cox Lab at UC Berkeley. She obtained both her Bachelor’s degree in Cell & Molecular Biology and her Master’s degrees in Molecular Microbiology from Towson University in Baltimore. She is fascinated by microbial genetics in the context of infection, and for her thesis she is exploring differential usage of isoprenoid biosynthesis pathways in Mycobacterium marinum, a model pathogen for Mycobacterium tuberculosis. When she's not in lab, Christine can be found cuddling her cat, playing D&D, or trying to keep up with watering her houseplants.

Chris is a Ph.D. candidate in the Molecular and Cell Biology program at UC Berkeley. He received his B.S. in biochemistry from Ohio State University where he worked on DNA mismatch repair. He then completed a M.S. in pharmacology and toxicology from UC Irvine where he studied neural mechanisms of negative affect in chronic pain. Prior to Berkeley, he worked at UCSF investigating inflammatory skin diseases and developing leukemia vaccines. His thesis research in the Bautista lab is focused on understanding the role that sensory neurons play in regulating airway inflammation and immunity during coronavirus infection. Besides research, he enjoys playing piano, poker and backgammon.

Cuong (Joseph) Tran is a PhD Candidate studying Infectious Diseases and Immunity at UC Berkeley. Joseph obtained his B.S. in Microbiology and Immunology at UC Irvine. As an undergrad in the Lodoen Lab, Joseph helped characterize the localization of the obligate intracellular parasite, Toxoplasma gondii, in the brain to better understand its pathogenesis. Joseph also interned in the Engel Lab at UC San Francisco, where he studied host-pathogen interactions during infection with Chlamydia trachomatis. Now in the Welch Lab, Joseph is applying the techniques he has learned from conducting in vivo experiments in the Lodoen Lab and in vitro experiments in the Engel Lab to study the role of RickA, an effector secreted by the obligate intracellular bacteria, Rickettsia parkeri. His goal is to determine the role of RickA during infection of a cellular host, as well its role in pathogenesis during R. parkeri infection of a mammalian host.

Edwin Chojolan is an MPH student in the Epidemiology/ Biostatistics department at UC Berkeley. He graduated from UC Berkeley with a bachelor’s degree in Public Health and a minor in Global Poverty and Practice. His interest for infectious disease epidemiology stemmed from his experiences in the filed while participating in medical and dental brigades in the rural communities of Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru, and Panama. Before his graduate studies, he worked as a Disease Intervention Specialist in LA County identifying, notifying, and referring patients for STI testing/ treatment. This summer, Edwin will be working with Professor Graham on a research project that will explore the relationship between having animals in the household and the risk of childhood diarrhea in the rural-agricultural communities of Quito, Ecuador. He hopes to exhaust the academic opportunities during his time at UC Berkeley and continue his educational path towards a PhD. In his free time, he enjoys listening to music and enjoying a nice In N Out Burger while enjoying a sunset.

Emerson is an MPH student studying Infectious disease and Vaccinology and UC Berkeley, and is currently a graduate student researcher in Dr. Ashely Wolf’s Lab at UC Berkeley. Emerson graduated from the University of Washington in 2023 with a degree in Global Public Health and a minor in Microbiology. During her time at UW, she worked in the Weil Lab which focuses on understanding how the gut microbiota impacts enteric disease. She primarily studied how the gut microbiota can affect Vibrio cholerae infection. This fellowship will support her project in the Wolf Lab that focuses on identifying human gut microbiota that impact Shigella growth and virulence. Outside of science, Emerson enjoys running, photography and hiking around the Bay.

Hannah is a PhD candidate in the Molecular and Cell Biology Program at UC Berkeley. She received her bachelor’s degree in Biology and Chemistry from St. Olaf College in 2019. As an undergraduate in the Listenberger lab, Hannah studied the biochemical processes that underlie lipid trafficking and storage in eukaryotes. Currently, she is a member of the Cox lab where she is studying the role that host DNA damage plays during Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection as well as the mechanism that underlies colony morphotype switching in Mycobacterium avium. Besides research, she enjoys taking advantage of the Bay Area weather to hike, run, and enjoy the outdoors in whatever capacity she can.

Isabel Lamb-Echegaray is a Ph.D. candidate in the Public Health Department at UC Berkeley. Originally from Spain, Isabel earned her B.S. in Biology from James Madison University, Virginia. As an undergraduate student researcher and research technician in Dr.Mark Gabriele’s lab, she studied the development and convergence of multisensory inputs in the midbrain. After serving as a Community Health Advisor with the Peace Corps in Madagascar, Isabel decided to pursue a Ph.D. in Infectious Diseases and Immunity, continuing her work at the intersection of science and public health. Currently, she is a member of Dr. Sarah Stanley's lab, where her thes is work focuses on elucidating the mechanisms and correlates of protection of tuberculosis vaccines.

Janet is a PhD candidate in Molecular and Cell Biology at University of California, Berkeley. Janet obtained her bachelor’s degree in biomedical laboratory technology at Makerere University, Uganda. She later on pursued a Master of Science in Immunology and Clinical Microbiology at Makerere University, Uganda. She then received a visiting scholarship from CEND at UC Berkeley to train in the Stanley lab where she worked on host-pathogen interactions. Janet is currently a graduate student in the Vance lab where she is studying the role of adaptive immunity in Shigella infection. Specifically, she seeks to understand what adaptive immune responses are important for protection against Shigella species.

Jillian Pape is a second year MPH student in the Global Health and Environment program at UC Berkeley’s school of Public Health, studying climate change and zoonotic infectious disease, advised by Dr. Jay Graham. Jillian seeks to address the relationship between humans, animals and the environment through traditional One Health methodology, and is passionate about studying zoonotic infectious disease through the relationship that communities have with their pets and farm animals. Jillian is thrilled to spend this summer in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, where she will study the effects of climate change and Covid-19 on the rabies virus, and the interaction between wildlife and domestic animals on the perimeter of the Addo-toFish Biodiversity Corridor.

Justin Lee is a Ph.D. candidate in metabolic biology through the Department of Nutritional Sciences and Toxicology at UC Berkeley. He received his B.A. in Molecular and Cell Biology from UC Berkeley, where he grew interested in understanding how our body systems interact and adapt to the environment around us. To explore this question, he decided to pursue his graduate studies with Prof. Anders Näär studying how nutrients, metabolites, and synthetic interventions affect our body’s metabolic networks and contribute to health and clinical outcomes. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic caused a pivot in his research focus to apply his training in disease biology and molecular medicine to address the challenges of the pandemic. His current research efforts involve the development of locked nucleic acid antisense oligonucleotide (LNA ASO)-based therapeutics that target conserved, regulatory regions of respiratory viruses, such as SARSCoV-2. As a Sidney MacDonald Russell fellow, he hopes to expand his current studies to provide new insights and considerations for LNA ASOs as an emergent therapeutic class in response to potential future viral outbreaks. Besides science, Justin loves trying new eateries and cafes, attempting to cook, running, and dog spotting.

Kristina Geiger is a PhD candidate in the Infectious Diseases and Immunity Program at UC Berkeley. She graduated from Occidental College with a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry. Before graduate school, she was a Fulbright research scholar at the University of Lausanne where she assisted with clinical trials for novel malaria and Ebola virus vaccines and studied the fine specificity of the immune responses in vaccinated volunteers. Currently, she works in Dr. Laurent Coscoy’s lab studying how murine cytomegalovirus evades and alters antiviral immune responses. Outside of lab, she enjoys climbing and taking on new outdoor adventures.

Kylie Hilton is a second year MPH student in the infectious diseases and vaccinology subspecialty. Within infectious diseases, her interests include malaria transmission and infection, as well as the social determinants of infection and disease. This summer she will be working on a project that seeks to quantify and analyze the spread of drug resistant malaria across Uganda. The project includes traveling to Uganda to work with experts in the field, as well as many many hours at the bench doing qPCR. Outside of studying infectious pathogens, her hobbies include hiking, fishing, and pole vaulting, as she is currently a member of the Cal Track and Field team.

Marcus Wong is a PhD Candidate in the Infectious Diseases and Immunity at UC Berkeley. Marcus obtained a B.S in Biological Sciences and B.A. in Comparative Literature from the University of California, Irvine. During his undergraduate studies, Marcus gained a lifelong interest in immunology and host-microbe interactions in Dr. Manuela Raffatellu’s lab, where he worked on understanding the role of neutrophils in the gut during Salmonella infections. He then became a staff research associate in the lab of Dr. Donald Forthal, working on uncovering the role of anti-HIV antibody effector functions. Currently, Marcus is a member of Dr. Eva Harris’ lab, where he is primarily interested in understanding the immune response to dengue virus non-structural protein 1, a viral toxin essential to dengue pathogenesis. Outside of the bench, Marcus enjoys the outdoors, camping and climbing rocks wherever he can.

Marian is a Ph.D. candidate in the Molecular and Cell Biology Department at UC Berkeley. She completed her B.S. at the University of Washington. As an undergraduate, she was a research intern at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admiration, where she completed a research project characterizing molecular pathways that regulate teleost reproductive development. After graduation, she shifted her research focus to immunology and infectious disease. As a research technician in the laboratory of Dr. Michael Gale, Jr. at the University of Washington, she studied host-pathogen interactions and innate immune responses to flaviviruses. Now in the laboratory of Dr. Russell Vance, Marian studies host innate immune responses to Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Meghan is a PhD candidate in the Molecular and Cell Biology program at UC Berkeley. She received her B.S. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Puget Sound in Washington. After graduating, Meghan worked as a research technician in the Priess lab at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center looking into the distribution and consequences of nuclear lipid droplets in Caenorhabditis elegans germ cells and intestinal cells. Her thesis work in the Welch lab seeks to combine genetic, biochemical, and microscopy approaches to study the evolution of actin-based motility within the Rickettsia genus of obligate intracellular bacteria by comparing the motility mechanisms and functions of a pathogenic species, R. parkeri, with an ancestral species, R. bellii.

Michael Cronce is a PhD Candidate in the UCSF-UC Berkeley Joint PhD Program in Bioengineering co-advised by Drs. Jeffery Cox and Jay Keasling. His designated research focus is therapeutic R&D in infectious disease with a minor focus in metabolic engineering. He received his undergraduate degree in Biology (B.S.) from the University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill with a double minor in Marine Sciences and Chemistry. Following graduation, Michael researched distal lung stem cell biology under Dr. Brigid Hogan, developed translationally-relevant tissue engineering approaches under Dr. Jay Vacanti, and designed new microfluidic organ-on-chip platforms under Dr. Donald Ingber. For graduate training, Michael is developing a novel anti-infective compound family using biosynthetic chemistry and engineering microbial hosts to produce these compounds at industrial scale. In collaboration with CEND, he plans to screen these molecules against a variety of pathogens, including M. tuberculosis and SARS-CoV-2.

Nicholas Coburn is a Master of Public Health Student Studying Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology at UC Berkeley. After receiving his Bachelor's of Science in Biomedical Science from Texas A&M University, he worked in Dr. Jonathan Reichner's lab at Brown University studying neutrophil integrins and neutrophil mechanobiology. Nick's interest in immunology and parasitology motivated him to become a member of Dr. Filipa Rijo-Ferreira's laboratory at UC Berkeley. This fellowship will support his project that focuses on elucidating the extrinsic host factors that synchronize the Plasmodium falciparum circadian rhythm. Outside of science, Nick enjoys watching films, listening to vinyl records, and rock climbing.

Noah Baker is a student in the Epidemiology and Biostatistics MPH program at UC Berkeley. After completing his BS in Biochemistry at the University of Washington, Noah began working at the University of Washington’s Laboratory Medicine and Pathology. His interests in molecular, microbiological, and bioinformatic methods in public health were cultured through his work experience at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Noah joined the Stanley Lab at UC Berkeley to pursue his research interests of translational clinical research, bridging epidemiological methods and molecular biology to better understand, prevent, and treat disease. This fellowship will support the analysis of health metric and transmission data for the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area using SARS-CoV-2 sequencing. Increasing the dimensionality of COVID-19 data through the integration of clinical and molecular epidemiology will provide novel insights on clinical outcomes, increase understanding of variant prevalence, and transmission patterns in underrepresented populations.

Orneika completed her undergraduate studies at Claflin University where she received her bachelor’s degree in Biology in 2019. There her research focused on the bacterium Serratia marcescens that causes contact lens related bacterial keratitis, and how this bacterium combats the antimicrobial peptide defense of the cornea. Currently, she is a second year PhD student in the UC Berkeley Vision Science program and a member of the Fleiszig-Evans laboratory. For her current research project, she aims to understand why the healthy cornea lacks a viable microbiome- a project that spans the microbiology, neuroscience, immunology and vision science fields. Specifically, she studies the mechanism(s) employed by corneal nerves (that require the nociceptor TRPA1) to inhibit microbial colonization of the healthy cornea.

Rita McCall is a Microbiology PhD Candidate and NSF Graduate Research Fellow in the Cox Lab at UC Berkeley. She received a B.A. in Biology with Honors from Grinnell College in Iowa. After graduating Rita completed a two year Postbaccalaureate Fellowship at the NIH where she studied the genetics of anthrax toxin production. For her thesis she is investigating novel aspects of the host response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection using reverse genetics and proximity based labeling approaches

Ron is a Biophysics Ph.D. student in the Doudna Lab, interested in computation and biology. Previously, Ron was a research scientist at GoogleX, where he led projects and research spanning life sciences, machine learning, and quantum computing. He helped build the machine learning team at System1 Biosciences, leading the analysis of multi-omics and imaging datasets to identify phenotypes of neuropsychiatric diseases in cerebral organoids. He earned his BS and MS in Biomedical Engineering and Computer Science at Johns Hopkins University, where he conducted machine learning research as part of the VisionLab and started the nonprofit MedHacks.

Scarlet Bliss is a second year MS/PhD student in Epidemiology at UC Berkeley School of Public Health advised by Dr. Jay Graham, also pursuing a Designated Emphasis in Development Engineering and an Applied Data Science certificate. She seeks to address current environmental health challenges, particularly in the antimicrobial resistance and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) fields, through a bridging of community engaged research and epidemiologic methods. Her current work focuses on community-designed, systems-based approaches to preventing irrigation and wastewater transmission of pathogens in peri-urban communities outside of Quito, Ecuador.

Teena received her bachelor's in biochemistry and a master's in biophysics from India. Her doctoral training started with Kuriyan lab where shelearned biochemistry and structural biology. Currently, she is working with Prof. Murthy in the Bioengineering department with the aim to contribute to translational sciences. Her thesis work in Murthy lab revolves around discovering drugs against essential proteins from the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Besides research, she enjoys cooking and staying healthy.

Thomas VanderYacht is a second year graduate student in the Global Health and Environment MPH program at UC Berkeley School of Public Health. He is advised by Dr. Jay Graham and seeks to understand the ways in which climate change impacts health and drives the spread of antimicrobial resistance genes in the environment. His current work focuses on investigating the uptake of resistant bacteria into produce via polluted irrigation water in rural regions east of Quito, Ecuador. Thomas is dedicated to creatively and effectively communicating his research findings to communities, aiming to bridge the gap between academia and societal impact.

Tulika Singh is a first year postdoctoral fellow in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health in the Laboratory of Professor Eva Harris. Her research bridges cohort immunology, virology, and epidemiology to investigate B cell and antibody protection against dengue disease in populations. Tulika received her PhD at Duke University, where she conducted research on maternal immunity to Zika virus and identified a potent and early antiviral role for IgM antibodies. During her Master of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University, Tulika’s research defined health systems strengthening opportunities for increasing childhood vaccine coverage in low-resource countries. Moreover, Tulika is an advocate for better global health and vaccine access, and serves on the board of the nonprofit, Right to Health Action. As an Alber Science and Engineering Fellow, Tulika is spearheading development of novel tools for high-throughput detection and phenotyping of dengue virus-reactive B cells to evaluate cellular correlates of protection against symptomatic dengue. This project is in partnership with collaborators from Nicaragua, who have been leading the world’s longest running arboviral cohort, and aims to further build scientific capacity on-site.

Victoria is a PhD candidate in the Molecular and Cell Biology Program at UC Berkeley. She completed her undergraduate degree in Biology at the George Washington University in 2016. Before starting graduate school, she was a research technician at Stanford University in the lab of Dr. David Schneider where she studied the impact of genetic diversity on disease outcome in the context of malaria infections. Currently, she is a member of the Portnoy lab where she studies how the foodborne bacterial pathogen Listeria monocytogenes disseminates from the intestines of its hosts towards their brain. Besides research, she enjoys spending time outdoors hiking and camping in the summer and skiing in the winter.

Whitney Mgbara is a second year graduate student at UC Berkeley. In concurrence with her PhD in Environmental Science Policy and Management, Whitney is pursuing an MPH in Epidemiology. Her joint program allows her to explore the intersections of the two fields alongside her advisor Wayne Getz. Her research interests bridge the fields of disease ecology, movement ecology, and epidemiology to examine spatial and temporal factors influencing the transmission of emerging and re-emerging zoonoses including Leishmaniasis, Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), and Influenza. Whitney received her Bachelors of Science at Arizona State University in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change in 2017, where she majored in Applied Mathematics for Life and Social Sciences and Global Health. As an Alber Science & Engineering Fellow, she is expanding her work to examine bio-geographic and demographic factors influencing EVD transmission in West Africa with collaborators at Virginia Tech. Also, she plans to work in West Africa to work further on EVD and data collection.

Will Skinner is an Endocrinology PhD Candidate in the Lishko Lab, and an NSF Graduate Research Fellow. He is passionate about the development of novel, non-hormonal unisex contraceptives, through targeting sperm-specific proteins. He hopes that these contraceptives could give people of all genders the tools necessary to have exactly the number of children they want to have when they want to have them, and thereby reduce the current global rate of 80 million unplanned pregnancies per year.