Board Members
President: Alan Hurtado | alan.a.hurtado@vanderbilt.edu
Advisor: Edward Levine
About me: I was born and raised in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. I am a first generation college student and I am a first generation PhD Student. I got my B.S in Bioengineering from the University of California San Diego. Currently, I am a third year PhD candidate in the Chemical and Physical Biology PhD program.
Fun Fact: I am a fan of the horror genre and Spider-man
Research: My research focuses in using sequencing technologies to profile the gene regulatory elements in the developing retina. I am interested in learning and characterizing the mechanisms that play important role in cell fate decision during retinal development.
Vice President: Alejandra Flores | Ivette.perez@vanderbilt.edu
Advisor: Kristen Ogden
About me: I was born in El Paso, Texas, but I grew up in Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico. I got my B.S in Cellular and Molecular Biochemistry at the University of Texas at El Paso while still living in Mexico. My time here in Nashville is my first time living in the USA.
Fun Fact: I am involved in the feminist movement in Mexico, so I have made a TedxTalk where I address femicides and gender violence. You can search it up as “Being a Woman is a Death Sentence in Juarez, Mexico”
Research: My research involves understanding how reovirus, dsRNA segmented virus, selectively packages its genome.
Treasurer: Julissa Burgos | emanuel.zlibut@vanderbilt.edu
Advisor: Matthew Tyska
About me: I was born and raised in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. I began my bachelors degree in the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez campus, and transferred to the University of Central Florida to finish my degree in Biomedical Sciences. Currently a 4th year graduate student in the Cell and Developmental Biology Program
Fun fact: I love to go out latin dancing and painting when graduate school lets me have some free time
Research: I use cutting edge microscopy to understand the interactions between Enterrohemorganic E. coli, a bacterial pathogen, and our intestinal cells.
Secretary: Jose Zepeda | alyssa.a.rodriguez@vanderbilt.edu
Advisor: Brad Grueter
About me: I grew up between Cambridge Massachusetts and San Luis Río Colorado, in Sonora, México. After living in México for 7 years, I moved back to Boston to pursue a Bachelor’s in biochemistry at the University of Massachusetts in Boston.
Fun fact: I am a spoken word poet who occasionally participates in open mics across Nashville.
Research: Broadly speaking, I work in the field of addiction neuroscience, which seeks to understand the mechanisms which support motivated and reinforced behaviors in the brain.
Outreach Coordinator: Isabella Sirit | isabella.sirit@vanderbilt.edu
Advisor: Richard Peek
About me: I was born in Caracas, Venezuela and then moved to Indiana. I earned my B.S in cell, molecular, and developmental biology from Purdue University in May of 2022 and came to Vanderbilt in August of that year.
Fun Fact: I was a competitive swimmer for 10 years.
Research: Innate immune factors suppressed by H-pylori leading to augmented gastric cancer.
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Fundraising Coordinator: Fernando Melara | fernando.j.melara.barahona@vanderbilt.edu
Advisor: TBD
About me: I grew up in El Salvador and completed my BS in Biomedical Engineering at Florida International University. I am an international student and a first generation PhD student, currently enrolled in the QCB program!
Fun Fact: I’m a first-year graduate student!e!
Research: TBD. My interests are microbiology, biomechanics and mechanobiology.
Right hand gal: Mariana Jimenez | mariana.jimenez@vanderbilt.edu
Advisor: Todd Graham
About me: I was born in East Lansing, Michigan to immigrants from Mexico. I attended undergrad at the University of Michigan where I got my BS in Cell and Molecular Biology and a minor in clarinet performance.
Fun fact: 🙁
Research: In my research, I am focused on determining the routes of protein transport for the lipid flippase family and how mutations in these trafficking pathways change the membrane and lead to cell death.