YBDIC Student Profiles

I (she/her) am a Neuroscience Ph.D. graduate student at Yale University. I study the sex differences underlying drug addiction's genetics, epigenetics, and neurobiology. Outside of academia, I work to amplify the voice of underrepresented groups of scientists. I serve as the Director for Yale BBS Diversity and Inclusion Collective (YBDIC). Check out my Website: https://violetkimble.github.io/

Jennifer is a doctoral student in the Department of Immunobiology, under the mentorship of Dr. Nikhil Joshi. Her current project is focused on understanding how cancer escapes the immune system during early-tumor development and through resistance to checkpoint blockade therapy. Specifically, how neoantigen heterogeneity amongst cancer cells impacts escape of T cell immunosurveillance. Her goal is to discover immunoediting pathways that tumors exploit to evade T cell control, identifying targets for the development of novel anti-cancer drugs. She received her Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and Cell Biology with a minor in Psychology from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), earning her degree with honors distinction. She started doing research in centrosome biology, studying mechanisms of cell division in C. elegans in the Oegema/Desai Lab during her undergrad at UCSD. Jennifer also completed a senior thesis project in Dr. Enfu Hui's lab, studying the structural components of the immune checkpoint molecule, PD-1. She gained an interest in biochemical techniques and intravital imaging through her undergraduate research experience. She is currently a trainee under the Yale Cancer Biology Training Grant for predoctoral students. She is also Chair of the Advancement Branch in the Yale Biological and Biomedical Sciences Diversity and Inclusion Collective (YBDIC). As a first-generation Mexican American scholar, Jennifer strives to empower historically-underrepresented students in science.

Yanixa is a Genetics PhD candidate in the laboratory of Dr. Mandar Muzumdar. Her thesis work focuses on dissecting molecular and phenotypical differences of KRAS variants in cancer by employing a multi-omits approach. She obtained her bachelors of science degree in Biology with an emphasis in Genetics and Biomedicine from the University of Puerto Rico in Aguadilla. As a recipient of an NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA F31 pre-doctoral fellowship, Yanixa works at the Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning as a Graduate Writing Lab (GWL) fellow, helping other graduate students navigate the fellowship application process. Her passion for providing equal access to health care and education, outreach and mentoring has driven her involvement with non-profit organizations such as HAVEN Free Clinic, New Haven Science Fair Program, and multiple student-based mentoring programs focused on increasing diversity and inclusion in STEM fields. She strongly believes that by granting underrepresented minorities (URMs) in STEM equal access to opportunities, you are equipping them with the necessary resources that will allow them to thrive and diversify the workforce.

Rebecca (she/her) was born and raised in Puerto Rico. She pursued her undergraduate studies at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, where she majored in Industrial Microbiology. In her home institution, she worked on screening for pathogenic aerosols in the biology department and identifying environmental fungal interactions with bromeliads. Now, Rebecca is a fourth year Ph.D. candidate in the Microbiology Track of the BBS program. In Dr. Barbara Kazmierczak’s lab, she’s studying Acanthamoeba castellanii - Pseudomonas aeruginosa interactions. In her spare time, Rebecca enjoys pottery and baking.

Born in NYC, I (he/him) have lived up and down the East Coast including nearby Branford for elementary school. I graduated from Cornell in 2015 where I pursued a degree in Biological Sciences concentrating in neurobiology/behavior. There I worked in the lab of David Smith studying the activity of hippocampus during memory retrieval and interference. I then spent 2 years at the NIH before coming here working in the lab of Chris McBain studying corelease of GABA and glutamate in VGluT3+ CCK interneurons in hippocampus. Currently I am a graduate student in the lab of Jess Cardin. Clinically I am interested in psychiatry, neurology, and pediatrics. Scientifically, I am generally interested in neuroscience from genes to behavior. Specifically I'm interested in the development and function of the various classes of cells in cortical circuits and their role in shaping information in the context of different behavioral states. In my spare time I play the piano, paddle on the Sound with Manu'iwa Outrigger in Milford, volunteer as a CASA, visit family, and read as many books as I can.

Graduate student

Monique Pedroza (they/them) is a fourth year PhD candidate in the Department of Genetics mentored by Dr. Berna Sözen. Their primary area of research is exploring inaccessible stages of early human embryogenesis using a stem cell-based platform. Prior to starting their PhD, Monique completed their master's degree in Clinical Embryology at the University of Oxford investigating left-right asymmetry in mammalian embryonic heart development with Dr. Shankar Srinivas. They then worked as a postbaccalaureate research fellow at the National Institutes of Health investigating RNA degradation in mouse oocyte development with Dr. Jurrien Dean. Monique earned their bachelor's degree in Biology and Spanish from Florida State University. At Yale, Monique is a recipient of the Lo Graduate Fellowship for Excellence in Stem Cell Research.

While studying at the University of Colorado Denver, I had the opportunity to work on a wide range of projects including studying the effect of smoking on tuberculosis diagnosis, executive function in Parkinson Disease and the neuroanatomy of volitional action.  After graduating with my Bachelor's of Science in Psychology, I spent time in industry using mycelial fermentation to develop sustainable food products.  This variety of experiences allowed me to confidently decide to study the human brain as a doctoral student at Yale.  My research interests include the neural correlates of consciousness, cross-brain coherence between dyads, and decision making.  I am a passionate advocate for diversity in higher education. I believe in promoting science-based political policy reform and am dedicated to leveraging science as a vehicle for social justice.

Therese received her B.S. in Neuroscience and B.A. in Psychology from the Johns Hopkins University. During her time there, she joined Dr. Michael Lim's  neuro-oncology lab to explore the phenomenon known as the abscopal effect in a melanoma murine model. Her passion for cancer immunology deepened after a summer internship at MIT where she studied dendritic cells and their ability to cross-present tumor-derived peptides in Dr. Stefani Spranger's lab. Outside of lab, Therese enjoys viewing the world upside down as she headstands, baking some baklava among other concoctions, FaceTiming her 5-year-old brother, and spending time with her feisty cats Simon and Theo.

Rick grew up in Palatka, Florida and attended the University of South Florida, majoring in Cell and Molecular Biology. During undergrad, Rick interned at Draper Laboratory, researching microfluidic in vitro cell culture systems for both the brain and liver. His senior thesis involved determining the conditions necessary for long term primary liver cell culture that allowed for study of malarial liver infections. After graduation, he worked as a Preclinical Staff Scientist at Intezyne Technologies, evaluating the in vitro and in vivo efficacy of a novel drug delivery technology for cancer therapeutics. Rick earned his PhD from Yale's Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program in Dr. Marina Picciotto’s lab, investigating the effect of acetylcholine on appetitive learning in mice. During graduate school, Rick was active in many science communication and engagement initiatives and organizations, such as: Flipped Science Fair, Exploring Science, Brain Education Day, Yale Science Diplomats, Open Labs, and many more. He is now a Program Administrator in Yale's Office of New Haven Affairs, working with Yale Pathways to Science to inspire the next generation of scientists. Rick spends his free time gardening, walking his two cats, and playing board/card/video games.

Lauren received her dual B.A. in Biology & Literature from Claremont McKenna College, where she characterized novel proteins involved in plant stress responses, and her Ph.D. from Yale Genetics, where her research focused on the maternal contributions of small noncoding RNAs to germ cell development. She has also spent a collective 6 years teaching scientific communication, first as a Writing Consultant in the Center for Writing and Public Discourse at the Claremont Colleges and later as a Writing Fellow in Yale's Graduate Writing Lab. In 2021, she joined the Greco and Reinke labs in Yale Genetics as a Research Development fellow, focused on grant development and mentoring students and postdocs through manuscript writing.

I am an experienced bioinformatician, educational consultant, and software developer. I am seeking to make a major impact on society through biological research, teaching, and code.I obtained a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry & Bioinformatics from Ramapo College, a Master of Science in Biomedical Informatics from Rutgers University, and another Master of Science in Computational Biology & Bioinformatics from Yale University.In my free time, I like to exercise, travel, meet new people, and learn foreign languages.

Bailey Holt-Gosselin is a PhD student in the Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program (INP) co-mentored by Dr. Dylan Gee and Dr. Jutta Joormann. Her research investigates the neurobiological, behavioral, and environmental factors that influence the development of mental health problems in children and adults. Specifically, Bailey's work elucidates the effects of early life adversity on brain function and mental health, as well as the neural mechanisms underlying risk for and development of psychopathology.

Megan is a PhD candidate in the Yale Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program working in the Brain Function Lab with Dr. Joy Hirsch. The lab utilizes multimodal data collection techniques including functional near infrared spectroscopy, electroencephalography, and behavioral measures to study the neural circuitry for recognizing and processing real human faces during naturalistic interaction. Megan's research focus in particular is on human robot interaction and the features of robot design and behavior which may simulate social processing that is akin to the processing of other people. She is interested in the Human-robot interaction and the role of social processing in mental illnesses.

Sharif is a PhD candidate at Yale University studying the neural mechanisms of consciousness using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), scalp/intracranial electroencephalography (EEG), pupillometry, and machine learning. Sharif's primary interests include neuroscience, neuroethics, the philosophy of mind, and consciousness. Sharif is also active in science communication and outreach. Find more information at: sharifkronemer.com

Graduate student

Rachel is a second year graduate student in the Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program. Her first introduction to research came during high school, when her interest in genetics led her to work in the laboratory of Dr. Stephan Zuchner at the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami. She continued to pursue research in the biological sciences during her undergraduate studies at Williams College. Under the supervision of Dr. Lauren Williamson, she studied the role of neuroimmunology in health and disease. During her senior year, Rachel conducted independent research on the effect of stress on development and the use of SSRIs during adolescence. After graduating with a double major in Biology and Psychology, with a concentration in Neuroscience, Rachel moved to Boston to work in the labs of Drs. Gregory Crosby and Deborah Culley at Brigham and Women's Hospital as a research assistant. There, she used a combination of both animal models and clinical studies to study the effect of anesthesia and surgery on cognition, with a focus on older populations. At Yale, Rachel aims to conduct research broadly related to the neurobiological basis of psychiatric illness. After completing her rotations, Rachel joined the labs of Dr. Jessica Cardin and Dr. Michael Higley, where she used mesoscopic imaging to investigate the effect of a psychotomimetic dose of ketamine on state-dependent cortical activity and functional connectivity.

Kevin has been researching host-microbe interactions since beginning of his research career at California State Univ. - Los Angeles studying the effect of host antimicrobial peptides on Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm formation to his current position at Yale studying the mechanisms of host cell biology manipulation by Legionella pneumophila under the direction of Dr. Craig R. Roy. He is fascinated about the biogenesis of autophagosomes and how Legionella pneumophila effectively interferes with this process. One of the things he appreciates the most about Yale are the faculty, staff, and fellow trainees that support him in pursuing the research that he enjoys. When outside the laboratory, Kevin enjoys a range of activities from karaoke, working out, to exploring the variety of restaurants around New Haven and Connecticut.

April Pruitt is a second-year PhD student in the Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program (INP), co-mentored by Ellen Hoffman and Kristen Brennand. She is interested in genetic risk of autism spectrum disorder, sex-specific differences in neurodevelopment, and rare copy number variant disorders that predispose individuals to developmental and psychiatric disorders. She is a Kavli Institute for Neuroscience Scholar and is in the Medical Research Scholars Program (MRSP). April obtained a Bachelor's of Science degree in Biology with minors in Chemistry and Psychology from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

I attended MIT where my primary interest in math was quickly matched by a growing interest in neuroscience. Since I arrived at Yale in 2020, I have honed my attention towards methods for studying the human functional connectome, which I research in Dustin Scheinost's lab through the INP.

Alexa is a PhD student in the Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program. She is studying the roles of acetylcholine and norepinephrine in stress in order to better understand how these neurotransmitters respond to acute and chronic stress conditions. Previously, she attended Northeastern University, where she studied redox dysregulation following early life adversity and graduated with a B.S. in Behavioral Neuroscience

Lauren earned a B.S. in Biology from Xavier University of Louisiana. She is a currently a Ph.D. student in the Genetics Department. She works in Dr. Stefania Nicoli's lab, and her research interests involve RNA localization and local translation in the cardiovascular system.