Chris Lim
Originally from New York City, Chris attended
Phillips Academy Andover and then majored in
Biochemistry and Biophysics at Amherst College. In
college, Chris sang in the Glee Club, was in the Pride
Alliance, and was a Diversity Intern in the Admissions
Office. Between graduation and beginning here at Yale,
Chris was a high school physics teacher at Collegiate
School in Richmond, VA, and in the summer months led
hiking trips in Yellowstone National Park and service trips
on Oahu, Hawaii through Overland Adventures.
Chris is a first-year PhD student in the Molecular
Biophysics and Biochemistry department here at Yale, and investigates the structural basis of
viral evasion from host defenses through biochemical and structural techniques in Yong Xiong’s
lab. Outside of lab, Chris participates in the Medical Research Scholars Program and the
ManyMentors program, and was recently awarded the National Science Foundation’s Graduate
Research Fellowship. In his spare time, he enjoys perfecting his bread baking technique,
running around East Rock, and being overly caffeinated.
Phillip Silva
Phillip Silva grew up in a small town on the central
coast of California. In 2009, he moved south to study cell
and molecular biology and neuropsychology at San Diego
State University. During his last two years, he worked in
multiple research labs: a neuropsychology lab studying
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Lab at San Diego State, a
molecular neuroscience lab studying cocaine addiction and
depression at the University of Washington, and another
neuroscience lab studying methamphetamine addiction at
the Scripps Research Institute. Upon graduating in 2014,
he immediately began a summer rotation in the the
Molecular Psychiatry Department as a student in Yale’s Interdepartmental Neuroscience
Program. He was recently awarded the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship and plans to
partake in further outreach over the coming years.
In the lab, Phillip is refining his research interests regarding the mechanisms of
substance abuse and officially joined the laboratory of Nii Addy. He currently studies potential
roles of phasic dopamine release in response to cue-induced nicotine self-administration.
Outside of the lab, Phillip volunteers for the Office of Diversity as well as through the
Neuroscience Outreach Program. In his spare time, he enjoys exploring the outdoors by
traveling around the Northeast, hiking around Connecticut state parks, running along the local
beaches, and playing fetch with his roommates’ dogs.
Nashid H. Chaudhury
New Haven is the most suburban region I have ever lived
in. My parents are Bangladeshi-immigrants who decided to settle
in Queens, NYC to raise their three children. My sister is a
freelance writer / concert & food photographer, and my brother is
an engineer for the Department of Environmental Protection. I
attended a small humanities & classics-based high school
(Townsend Harris), where I became very interested in philosophy
and human rights. With the intent of focusing on these in
undergrad, I went to a small liberal arts college in NYC (Barnard).
There, my interest in philosophy morphed into a deeper interest
in Neuroscience, and my passion for human rights transformed
into a desire to become a physician. I also spent several years working at Columbia University’s
Medical Center on a translational project with amazing mentors (both clinical MDs and basic
science PhDs). I decided to pursue an MD-PhD with the hope that my different interests could
somehow meld into a single career. Yale School of Medicine is an incredibly unique place that
maintains a small liberal arts vibe despite being a large research institution. I’m currently a
third-year MD-PhD student, which means I’ve completed the first 2.5 years of medical school
(including 6 months of clinical rotations in Surgery, Neurology, and Internal Medicine), and just
joined Susumu Tomita’s lab this past January. Other interests are traveling, checking out music
at small shows, painting, clothing design, and urban farming.
Julianne Gerdes
Juli grew up in a small town in northern New Jersey and
attended Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, where
she started the Quidditch team and ran a safer spaces
coffeehouse. She did three years of undergraduate research
and was recognized as a Henry Rutgers Outstanding Thesis
Scholar for her work in membrane trafficking. Juli considers
herself a microscope junky, having first discovered her passion
for looking at tiny creatures under the dissecting scope during
an independent research project in high school. Now a first year
Genetics PhD student at Yale, she studies actin dynamics at
intercellular junctions in the ​Drosophila melanogaster germline,
in the lab of Dr. Lynn Cooley, and hopes to use the wealth of
amazing microscopy tools at Yale to improve her research and
take gorgeous images.
Outside of lab, Juli spends her time baking, swing
dancing, seeing friends, and taking photos of her roommate’s
cat. Now that spring has arrived, she spends most evenings in East Rock Park playing pickup
soccer and ultimate frisbee.
Natasha Shylo
I was born and grew up in Belarus, but I
consider Worcester, MA as my home base here in
US. After I graduated from high school, I spent a
summer doing research as part of the Summer
Student Program at the Jackson Laboratories in Bar
Harbor, ME. That summer program is much like this
one, and it was really a pivotal moment for me. I
realized that I love doing science at the bench. It also
dawned on me just how cool developmental biology
is! I ended up spending three summers doing
research at JAX in different capacities (And hiking all
over Acadia National Park). I graduated from Cornell
University in 2011 with a degree in Genetics and
Development. I was not ready to go back to school right away, so I took a gap year and spend it
at the NIH in their Post-bac IRTA program. In the fall of 2012 I entered Yale through the
Molecular Cell Biology, Genetics and Development track, and joined the Weatherbee lab, in the
Genetics Department, in the spring of 2013. I am now in my 3rd year.
In the Weatherbee lab we are interested in understanding how our limbs form and
pattern. Namely, we are interested in figuring out how we come to have exactly 10 fingers and
10 toes. A lot of times when babies are born with more than 5 digits on each limb, it is no big
deal, but in some cases it might be an indicator of a very severe genetic disorder. Ciliopathies
are disorders that frequently have polydactyly as one of the phenotypes. Ciliopathies are
diseases of the cilium - a small organelle that is present on nearly every cell and acts as an
antenna that receives and processes signals. I study this organelle, and proteins necessary for
its successful formation and function. I am particularly interested in a transmembrane protein
Tmem107. Tmem107 is an important protein for proper protein localization to cilia, and overall
ciliogenesis. Mice that lack this gene die embryonically. They have polydactyly (more than 5
digits per limb), they can't establish their left-right asymmetry, so their hearts and stomachs are
often on the right side of their body instead of being on the left. Their lungs and kidneys are
improperly formed, and they often have encephalopathy (open brains). The problems with all of
these organ systems points out to us how important cilia are for proper development, and,
specifically, how important Tmem107 is for all of those processes!
Away from science, I love being outdoors, exploring New England, and Connecticut in
particular. When the weather keeps me indoors, I love crafting. I usually have some sort of
knitting or quilting or sewing project going on at any given time.
Athar Wardah
I was born in Islamabad, Pakistan and grew up in Oman,
Singapore, Saudi Arabia, and Texas (the most exotic of them all!). I
attended Georgetown University, where I majored in Neurobiology and
minored in Islam and Muslim-Christian Relations. I fell in love with lab
research while at Georgetown, largely due to an incredible PI and a
summer program very similar to this one! I worked on cortical
development and synaptogenesis for four years, studying the EphA
family of tyrosine kinases and their role in dendritic spine formation and
retraction. Upon graduation, I was awarded a Mitchell Scholarship from
the State Department, which funded me to move to Dublin, Ireland for a
year to pursue a Master’s degree in stem cell therapeutics and
bioengineering (and a side project in backpacking around Europe), after
which I returned to ‘Murica to begin the Yale MD/PhD program. My
research interests are in developmental neuroscience and neural
regeneration, while my clinical interests range from geriatrics to neurosurgery. Outside of
science, I enjoy yoga, cooking/baking, traveling, and puppies!
William Hancock-Cerutti
After finishing high school in my home state of New
Jersey, I attended Franklin and Marshall College in the city
of Lancaster, PA, which is essentially a mid-sized urban
donut hole surrounded by a giant donut of Amish people. I
majored in chemistry, and during my sophomore summer I
participated in a translational research program at UPenn
that was a lot like the BioMed SURF program. During this
time I worked in a lab studying the complex human genetics
underlying lipoprotein metabolism and atherosclerosis.
Upon graduating, I continued my research in lipoproteins
during a one-year research master’s program in Paris
supported by a Fulbright Grant, followed by a year as a
research specialist back at UPenn. Since joining the Yale
MD/PhD program in the fall, I have switched gears a bit to
pursue my interest in neuroscience, a subject that has
always fascinated me. This summer I’ll be doing rotations
with Dr. Pietro de Camilli and Dr. Sreeganga Chandra, studying lipid transport in neurons and
Parkinson’s Disease, respectively.
In my extensive leisure time I like to rock climb, and I’m a co-leader of the Yale
Wilderness Medicine and Outing Club. My favorite TV shows are Sherlock and Avatar the Last
Airbender which you may think is a children’s show but is nonetheless one of the best shows on
TV.
Kylia Goodner
I was born and raised in a small little southern town
in northwest Georgia called Ringgold. I went on to earn my
bachelors degree in Biology from a liberal arts institution
known as Berry College in Rome, Georgia (aka middle of
absolutely nowhere). While here, I participated in the
forensics team (public speaking, not dead bodies) and
actually won second place in a national championship!
I am now finishing up my third year in a PhD program in Genetics, researching Human
Papillomavirus entry and endosomal escape in the laboratory of Dan DiMaio. While at Yale I
have been involved in numerous organizations including being an organizer for the biomedical
sciences career fair, a speaker in the “Science in the News” seminar series at the New Haven
public library, and a writer for the “Ask a Scientist” series of a science blog founded by other
graduate students at Yale. But by far my favorite activity has been working as a health and
wellness volunteer for a refugee resettlement agency in New Haven. Oh and learning to speak
swahili! Outside of lab and my extracurriculars I love going to the dog park with my sweet 9 year
old beagle mix.
Daniel Bondeson
Dan hails from the bustling metropolis of Stevens
Point Wisconsin, whose ~30,000 residents enjoy such
accolades as the world’s largest trivia contest and a
brewery older than the city. Ahh Wisconsin, that cheesy
field of dreams. But Dan loves it, and wishes he were still in
the midwest, where his Mom and two older, married
brothers (one of whom has THREE adorable kids and a
fourth on the way) still reside. Dan lived in Stevens Point,
even doing his BS in Chemistry there, until graduating in
2012 when he moved out to Yale to start his PhD in the
Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry department.
Now in his third year, Dan's research in Craig Crews' lab
focuses on induced protein degradation. Rather than relying on
normal, boring small-molecule inhibitors, the Crews' lab is developing a technology called
PROteoloysis TArgetting Chimera, or PROTACs. These small-molecules simultaneously bind to
a target protein and recruit it to the cell's quality control, in most cases an E3 Ubiquitin Ligase.
Dan has studied various aspects of this, and is most interested in how these artificial PROTACs
interface with the 'natural' enzymology of the quality control machinery.
When not in lab, Dan enjoys running, ultimate frisbee, and racquet sports, especially
squash. And, well, most other sports. He also loves reading and relaxing with a cup of coffee in
the morning. Dan is also involved at his church and several other Christian organizations around
campus.
Kevin Hughes
Kevin was born in San Diego, California and raised
in Las Vegas, Nevada. His interest in biology and
chemistry developed as a middle school student.
Following his intuition and seeking a new adventure, Kevin
ventured off to rural Iowa to play college football at
Simpson College, where he majored in Biology, and
graduated as a first-generation college student. During
his undergraduate, Kevin was awarded two consecutive
NSF summer undergraduate research internships that
gave him the opportunity to pursue research in microbiology and immunology at the University
of Iowa and University of Wisconsin-Madison, respectively. Following his graduation, Kevin was
selected as a Virginia Tech NIH-Post baccalaureate Research and Education Program
(VT-PREP) Scholar, where he studied chromosome segregation under the guidance of Dr.
Daniela Cimini. During his tenure as VT-PREP scholar, Kevin traveled to Europe to study
nanoscience in Switzerland, France, and Germany.
Kevin is currently a 2nd year graduate student in the Cell Biology department. He is in
Dr. Sandra Wolin’s lab and studies the role of Ro60, a major lupus autoantigen, on RNA
metabolism. Kevin is involved in many science outreach initiatives including the New Haven
Science Fair- a program that pairs up Yale students with local K-12 teachers to help students
with New Haven Science Fair projects. Further, he was recently awarded a National Science
Foundation Fellowship which will allow him to continue his involvement in science outreach and
community service. Kevin enjoys hanging out at the beach (especially California beaches),
cooking, the outdoors, and video games.
Michael Hinrichsen
Hailing from the distant land of southern New Jersey, Mike
Hinrichsen spent the first 18 years of his life growing up in a small town 20
minutes outside of Philadelphia. After graduating high school in 2008, Mike
made the long voyage to the College of New Jersey, where he majored in
Chemistry. While in college, Mike was a member of the club swim team and
participated in several intramural sports leagues. Immediately after
receiving his bachelor’s degree in Chemistry in 2012, Mike began his
graduate studies at Yale, where he is currently a 3​rd​ year PhD student in the
department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry. He works in the lab
of​ Lynne Regan​, performing research in protein engineering. Outside of lab,
Mike spends his time running, reading, waiting for the next episode of game
of thrones to come out, and silently judging people for not holding the door.
Alyssa Mitson-Salazar
Originally from the rural farming town of Manassa, Colorado, Alyssa’s
not quite sure how she ended up at Yale for undergrad. After adjusting
to *the city* and *the East Coast*, she decided to study biology. Thanks
to a program similar to BioMed SURF she spent three years in a lab
studying DNA damage repair. Outside of science she danced and
choreographed for Danceworks, tutored biology, and was a Freshmen
Counselor. Although she knew she loved science, Alyssa was unsure
whether to pursue a PhD, MD, or MD/PhD when she graduated. She
consequently decided to spend two years working as an IRTA
postbaccalaureate fellow at the National Institutes of Health, where she
studied human Th2 cells in allergic inflammation. Alyssa’s experiences
at the NIH not only confirmed her desire to pursue an MD/PhD, but also
fostered her love for the immune system. She is now a first-year
MD/PhD student in immunobiology and will be rotating with Stephanie
Eisenbarth, Carla Rothlin, and Ruslan Medzhitov this summer. When she’s not in class or lab,
Alyssa enjoys volunteering at HAVEN Free Clinic, dancing, eating tacos, and playing with her
three-legged cat.
Angel Solis
Angel grew up in the blazing desert of Las Vegas, NV before moving to
the frozen tundra of Northfield, MN where he went to college at Carleton
College. There, he studied biology. During the academic year, Angel did
neurological research on C. elegan neuron development. In the
summers, Angel did programs at the University of Chicago and the
University of Pennsylvania where both his projects focused on
pathogenesis of Crohn’s disease.
Immediately after graduating, Angel decided to go to Yale
University where he is currently a student in the immunobiology
department. He is in the lab of Dr. Richard Flavell, where he is
researching the role of the gut microbiome in mucosal development, and
how dysbiosis can lead to inflammatory bowel disease and obesity. In
his spare time, Angel enjoys playing music, performing comedy, writing
awkwardly in third person, and amusement parks.