2024-2025 Executive Board
Name: Blakely Lockhart
Position: Executive Chair
Pronouns: She/her
About: In my free time, I like to bake and play with my 3 cats.
Lab: Maternal Influence on Neurodevelopment Lab (MIND Lab) PI: Dr. Brittany Howell
Research: I study how nutrition provided during infancy and types of feeding practices can support neurodevelopment and growth trajectories.
Program: Translational Biology, Medicine, & Health (TBMH), 2nd year
Name: Nicole DeFoor
Position: Financial Chair
Pronouns: she/her
About: I like to do fibercrafts and play videogames in my free time while my cat tries to bite my feet.
Lab: Munson Lab for Oncoengineering PI: Dr. Jennifer Munson
Research: I’m studying the molecular pathway of interstitial fluid flow-mediated invasion in glioblastoma.
Program: Translational Biology Medicine & Health, 2nd Year
Name: Madi Wypyski
Position: GPSS Chair
Pronouns:
About:
Research:
Program: Translational Biology, Medicine, & Health PhD program, 2nd year
​
​
Name: Laura Bruckner
Position: Wellness chair
Pronouns: she/her
About: I love to read and play with my dog during my free time.
Lab: Addiction Recovery research Center; PI: Dr. Bickel
Research: I am studying how decision making influences engagement in health behavior, specificallly in substance use disorders.
Program: Translational Biology Medicine & Health, 2nd Year
Name: Jenna Bakir
Position: Social Chair
Pronouns: she/her
About: In my free time I like to read and take care of my plants.
Lab: Traumatic Nerve Technologies (TNT) Lab PI: Dr. Pamela VandeVord
Research: I'm studying the impact of previous viral encephalitis and traumatic brain injury on long term neuroinflammation.
Program: Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health (TBMH); 2nd year
Name: Roxanna Farzad
Position: Social Chair
Pronouns: She/her
About: In my free time, I love hanging out with my friends and families, watching good movies/series and fishing!!
Lab: Dr. Nick Rider
Research: I am looking at ways to improve outcomes for patients with primary immune deficiency disorder using computational and statistical approaches across healthcare systems.
Program: Translational Biology Medicine & Health, 2nd Year
Name: Salihaat Okunlola
Position: Social Chair
Pronouns: she/her
About: I enjoy spending time with my family back home and I love travelling to new places.
Lab: Sassi Lab, PI-Dr Yassine Sassi
Research: I am studying the impact of circadian rhythm disruption on idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Program: Translational Biology Medicine & Health, 2nd Year
Name: Rebekah Thomas
Position: Social Chair
Pronouns: she/her
About: In my freetime, I love running and all things outdoors and reading.
Lab: Cardiovascular science and metabolism, PI: Dr. Junco Warren
Research: I am looking at the role of a muscle-specific regulator of energy metabolism, called Perm1, and its use as a novel therapeutic strategy to alleviate both cardiac and skeletal muscle dysfunction during the early stages of heart failure.
Program: Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health, 2nd year