Staff Directory

Shira is a 2nd year PhD candidate in the department of Genetics and Development. She studies natural killer cell migration and development in Dr. Emily Mace's lab. For her undergraduate studies, Shira attended the University of Pennsylvania majoring in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and she also received a masters in Biotechnology. Outside of lab, she loves spending time with her husband and very energetic two daughters!

My name is Orchy Chanda. I go to Central Park East High School. My interest in science is Neurology and Biology. I am excited to learn about different fields of science through SMRI and I am excited to work with my mentors. 

I am a first year PhD student in the Microbiology and Immunology program at Columbia. I currently don’t have a home lab or research project as I am completing my rotations for the first year. My main research interests lie in immuno-oncology and tumor immunology. I would like to understand how the tumor microenvironment and mucosal immune response acts to help/hinder cancer progression. During my free time, I enjoy cooking and running down Riverside Park.

My name is Nicole Llanos and I am currently a junior at All City Leadership Secondary School in Brooklyn, New York. Science has always amazed me, and made me curious about life as we know it. It allows us to get a deeper understanding of everything that goes on around us. I am excited for SMRI as I'm interested in pursuing a career in science, and this would not only be the perfect opportunity for me to get a taste of what I would be doing in the future, but also a very exciting opportunity.

Nadja is a 1st year PhD student in the Genetics and Development program at Columbia Medical Center. She is originally from Macedonia but was raised in Washington, D.C. and went on to receive her B.A. in Biology from New York University. She is currently undergoing laboratory rotations so she does not yet have a home lab. Her undergraduate research background involved studying meiotic recombination in the context of DNA repair and genome stability in yeast. During her free time, Nadja enjoys skiing, walking around the city and exploring new parks and cafes, spending time with her dog, and going to concerts.

I am a fourth year MD/PhD candidate currently working in Dr. Tuuli Lappalainen’s lab at the New York Genome Center. In undergrad I studied biochemistry and neuroscience at Oberlin College. During college and gap years I conducted research in materials science and in signaling mechanisms of schizophrenia, memory formation, and neurodevelopment. My PhD project focuses on developing methods to scale up transcriptome studies and ways to implement this data in a clinical setting. In my free time I like to run and play video games.

I'm a 1st year PhD student in Neurobiology & Behavior interested in the immunological aspects to dementias and brain aging with support from the NSF GRFP. I received my BS in Molecular Biology at UT Dallas and researched dementias at a bunch of places during undergrad. When not at work, I love to read, travel, watch movies, travel to watch movies (this photo was taken at the Cannes Film Festival), try new food in the city or in the kitchen, and find new things to learn. Plus, I'm always singing or listening to music (even at work).

Khushbu is a PhD. student in the Nutritional and Metabolic Biology program and is working on understanding cholesterol metabolism in ALS. She received an Honors Bsc. in Biochemistry from University College London, followed by a masters from UC Berkeley and UCSF in a joint program in Translational Medicine. After working in industry for a couple of years, Khushbu decided to go back to basic research and apply her scientific curiosity and interest in mitochondria and neurodegenerative disease at Dr. Area-Gomez lab. When not doing experiments in the lab, she is usually snacking or dreaming about California.

I am Khadiza Khanom, a junior attending New Exploration into Science, Technology, and Math. Science has always been a subject that flabbergasted me. It's constantly expanding my view of the world. I find the process of coming up with solutions to many seemingly unsolvable problems very intriguing. SMRI allows me to gain hands-on experience on the process of problem solving with the help of actual scientists. 

For starters, my name is Julia Istefanos and I attend ACLA in Bushwick! I am passionate about the subjects of medicine and biological sciences, specifically health disparities or how minority groups may be unproportionally impacted by various diseases. Something I am really looking forward to in the internship is being part of a community of other driven individuals who share a similar passion to science and pursuing STEM. Last but definitely not least, I can't wait to get to know my mentor and engage in future oriented discussions! 

Jennifer is a 2nd year PhD student in Dr. Rebecca Haeusler’s Lab. Within the Department of Pathology & Cell Biology she studies the role that metals have in metabolic diseases, specifically in the progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. She is originally from Putnam County, NY and went on to receive her B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Miami, then spending time as a post-baccalaureate research scholar at UNC Chapel Hill. In her free time she enjoys going for runs in Central Park, cooking new recipes and exploring museums in NYC.

My name is Fredy Cortezano, and I am currently a Junior at All City Leadership Secondary School. Learning science to me is just so amazing. It explains how the world functions and how we function, but only through exploration and experimentation can we achieve that knowledge. I am excited to join SMRI, and to be learning from these scientists that are exploring the field.

My name is Enaya Ahmad and I am currently a junior at Midwood High School in Brooklyn, New York. The world around us is part of a big spectrum of Science. Scientists have researched many phenomenons and theories of this modern world, and I wish to do the same in the future. I am excited for SMRI because I want to gain meaningful experience, where I can gain knowledge about research and science in order to help me improve my current ongoing research. 

I’m Emma Khidr and I attend New Exploration into Science Technology and Math (NEST+m) high school. I have always had an interest in the science field and figuring out how things work since I was younger. I would enjoy trying to come up with solutions to a given problem. Recently I’ve grown interested in the biomedical engineering field. I joined this program to extend my interest in this field to see if this can be a future career for me. I’m excited to be able to have the opportunity of a first-hand experience in science research in SMRI. 

Emily Groopman is a seventh year MD/PhD student at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. She was born and raised in Brookline, MA, and graduated magna cum laude with Highest Honors in Human Evolutionary Biology from Harvard College. Her PhD research, in the lab of Dr. Ali Gharavi, focused on applying genomic sequencing technologies for genetic diagnosis and discovery for individuals with chronic kidney disease. She hopes to become a physician-scientist in pediatrics and medical genetics and genomics, with a career focused on genetic diseases in children. In her spare time, she enjoys yoga, hiking, baking, and reading.

Corey Hansen is a 2nd year PhD student in the Simunovic Lab where he is using human pluripotent stem cells as a model to understand early human development and the molecular mechanisms of organ formation. He is combining biological techniques with engineering approaches such as microfluidics to recreate the microenvironment that stem cells grow up in to direct their differentiation to other cell types. He is originally from San Antonio, Texas and served in the Marine Corps after high school. Following this, he went on to earn his BS in Biochemistry from Hawaii Pacific University. When he's not looking down a microscope, Corey likes to ride motorcycles, hang out with his dog, and go hiking.

My name is Cinaya Garcia, and I attend All-City Leadership Secondary High School. My interest in science includes cell biology and diseases particularly related to cancer research. I joined SMRI in order to gain the knowledge and experience with these topics that are necessary to gain a stronger insight and understanding of the medical research field. I am excited about SMRI because of the opportunity I’m being given to learn and discuss college-level biology topics, experience first-hand scientific research, and conduct research of my own on these medical topics. 

Hi! My name is Betzie Rosario, and I am a junior at Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics. I love science because it's connected to everything, which never ceases to fascinate me. Everywhere I look, there is science, for example, the soap I use to wash dishes or the chemicals in foods that make foods tasty. I want to continue learning about science, specifically, the research aspect of science, which is why I joined SMRI. One thing about SMRI that excites me is the opportunity to be mentored by someone adept in research. I think it would be very advantageous to interact with someone who has similar interests in science as me and has reached many achievements in their career like graduating from college, entering grad school, etc. Having a mentor will also allow me to learn more about science and more about what I want to do career wise in my future, so having a mentor is definitely something I'm excited about.

My name is Alex Yang, and I am a 2^nd year PhD student in the lab of Donna Farber; the lab studies T-cell mediated immunity.  Typically, the second time we see an antigen or virus, our immune response is much more attenuated, specific, and efficient, and we tend to experience milder if at all any symptoms. My project is interested in looking at the mechanistic drivers that differentiate the secondary (memory) immune response to the primary immune response. In my free time, I enjoy traveling, rock climbing, hiking, running, baking, or just spending time with friends. I rarely get a moment to myself as I am committed to using every ounce of free time doing one thing or another, so I oftentimes find myself happily exhausted.