Leadership Team
Erin Morrow
President
Erin is a 4th year Ph.D. student in Psychology (Cognitive Neuroscience). Her research examines how arousal influences the structure of our memories of life events, particularly in PTSD. She is also passionate about humility-driven approaches to science engagement and increasing the visibility of science policy as a career path.
Jade fachin
President
Danny nguyen
Chair, External Relations
Danny is a rising senior at UCLA double majoring in Psychology and Asian American Studies. His interests include the neurobiology of traumatic memories, and how critical race theory can inform statistical methods in affective neuroscience.
Joan Chimezie
Chair, External Relations
Joan is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Geography at UCLA, where her research focuses on climate change, ecosystem dynamics, and wildfires. Joan is passionate about bridging science and policy to create more equitable, sustainable outcomes for communities.
Robert “bobby” del Carlo
Chair, Science Communication & Policy Writing
Robert “Bobby” del Carlo, Ph.D. is an interdisciplinary biophysicist and neuropharmacologist currently training as a medical student at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Bobby hales from Reno, Nevada where the rural, natural landscape instilled an early appreciation for speaking plainly and learning deeply. This love of translating the natural world into stories for his community transformed Bobby into a science communicator who intends to share the beauty and power of science with all who will listen (and bend the ear of all those who must listen).
Abhinanda Dash
Chair, Science Communication & Policy Writing
Abhinanda is a fourth-year doctoral candidate in the Department of Communication. She examines biases in split-second social perception and the consequences of biased visual perception in the real world. She aims to improve the incorporation of behavioral science principles into policymaking to nudge people to make better choices. She likes to play with her dog and stare at the wall in her free time.
Arhan Surapaneni
Chair, Internal Relations
Arhan is a 3rd-year undergraduate studying Public Affairs with plans to attend medical school. He conducts research on how mental health and environmental factors shape the gut microbiome, leading to disorders and even affecting cancer treatment outcomes. He is passionate about bridging policy and science, recognizing that medicine can heal individuals but only policy can transform the systems that determine health.
Tanya Ivanov
Chair, Internal Relations
Tanya is a second year Ph.D. student in the Immunology, Microbes, and Molecular Pathogenesis program, where she studies the molecular processes associated with memory in the innate immune system. The adaptive immune system is recognized as the main memory-storing system in immunology, but recent studies indicate that the innate system also holds memory of previous diseases and may be leveraged to create better treatments for various diseases. If Tanya were not a scientist, she would be an Egyptologist!
Soham Ray
Chair, Finance & Funding Opportunities
Soham is a Ph.D. student in Environmental Engineering researching how environmental contaminants can be removed using bioremediation, and how antibiotic resistance spreads and persists in the environment. Before graduate school, Soham worked in seaweed aquaculture, air quality monitoring, and restoration ecology. Outside of school, Soham loves to cook, hike in LA and national parks, read, and play basketball!
Clare McCann
Chair, Science Communication & Policy Writing
Clare graduated from the University of Oregon in 2020 with a degree in Psychology with honors and minors in Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies and Special Education. Her research focuses on exploring the role of individual differences in pubertal development in shaping neural trajectories and predicting mental health outcomes. Clare is particularly interested in understanding how different components of puberty (hormones, physical indicators, subjective experiences) differentially predict developmental outcomes. Ultimately, she hopes to highlight the importance of puberty as a developmental transition primed for intervention and prevention efforts.
Former Leadership:
Natalie Gehred - PhD Candidate Molecular Biology | President
Kayla Lim - PhD Candidate Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Physiology | President
Taniya Matthew - Undergraduate MIMG | Chair, Media & Communications
Caitlin Goodpaster - PhD Candidate Neuroscience | Chair, Community Outreach
Bineh Ndefru - PhD Candidate Materials Science & Engineering | President
Zoe Dobler - PhD Candidate Neuroscience | VP of Science Communication
Juri Kimura - Undergraduate Cognitive Science & Public Affairs | Deputy, Media & membership
Madison Pfau - Undergraduate Ecology and Evolutionary Biology | Deputy, Media & Membership
Yuki Hebner - PhD Candidate Molecular Biology | President
Ashna Aggarwal - PhD Candidate Physics | VP of Government Relations
Carolyn Amir - PhD Candidate Neuroscience | Deputy, Government Relations
Katherine Espinoza - PhD Candidate Neuroscience | VP of Outreach & Community Relations
Lauren Wagner - PhD Candidate Neuroscience | VP of Science Diplomacy
Lexie Baughman - Undergraduate MIMG | Deputy, Media & Communication
2017-2021
Zoe Guttman - PhD Candidate Neuroscience | President
Sammy Mensah - PhD Chemistry & Biochem | Government Engagement Officer
Kaiser Atai - PhD Moelcular Bio | Academic Engagement Officer
Angela Yu - Undergraduate Psychobio & Global Health | Academic Engagement Officer
Anna Goldberg - Undergradate MCDB | Community Engagement Officer
Conner Philson - PhD Ecology & Evolutionary Biology | VP of External Affairs
Emily Ryznar - PhD Ecology & Evolutionary Biology | Community Engagement Officer
Jonathan Balk - Undergraduate MCDB | Government Engagement Officer
Brandon Tornero - Undergraduate Architectural Studies | Social Media & Website
Clincy Cheung - PhD Candidate Materials Science & Engineering | Government Engagement Officer
Dominik Stemer - PhD Candidate Materials Science & Engineering | Academic Engagement Officer
Dane Stanfield - PhD Candidate Chemistry & Biochemistry | Secretary
Jennifer Tribble - PhD Candidate Neuroscience | President
William Zou - Undergraduate Environmental Science & Engineering; Government Engagement Officer
Elizabeth Reid-Wainscoat - PhD Candidate Ecology & Evolutionary Biology | Government Engagement Officer
Alejandra Rios - PhD Candidate Physics & Biology in Medicine | Community Engagement Officer
Catharine Krebs - PhD Candidate Human Genetics | Academic Engagement Officer
Maria Lazaro - Postdoctoral Scholar Neuroscience | Co-Vice President
Mary Flaim - PhD Candidate Psychology | Community Engagement Officer
Ariella Machness - PhD Candidate Materials Science & Engineering | Treasurer
Jacqueline Qu - Undergraduate Philosophy and Mathematics | Academic Engagement Officer