BMES Graduate Student Leadership
For more information about the Graduate Student Chapter of the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) at Cornell, outreach activities, industry partnerships, and professional group networking opportunities, email cornellbmes@cornell.edu.
President: Katherine Driscoll
Katherine is a third year PhD student studying aortic valve disease in Dr. Jonathan Butcher’s lab. She completed her B.S. in Biomedical and Health Sciences Engineering from the joint BME program at UNC-Chapel Hill and NC State University. As President, Katherine aims to facilitate relationships with alumni and act as an intermediate between the student body and the department. She plans to work alongside the board to expand professional development opportunities, maintain community engagement events, and continue BMES’s many outreach initiatives.
Vice President: Juan Boza
Juan is a first year PhD student in Dr. David Erickson's Lab, where he focuses on the development of Point-of-Care diagnostics. He completed his B.S. in Biomedical Engineering at Florida International University. As vice-president, Juan aims to strengthen the department as a community and to increase the interaction between faculty and students. During his free time, Juan enjoys reading philosophy, experimenting in the kitchen, and high-intensity workouts.
Outreach Co-chair: Aria Henderson
Aria is a first year PhD student in Biomedical Engineering in Dr. Esak (Isaac) Lee’s lab, where her research focuses on lymphatics-on-chip and the implications of an inflammatory environment. She is from Jacksonville, FL and received her undergraduate degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Florida. As Outreach Co-Chair, Aria is looking forward to working with students and community members of all age groups to foster an environment that supports STEM fields and highlights the significance of biomedical engineering. The unique relationship between members of the local community and members of Cornell provides an excellent opportunity for everyone to learn more about what inspires them, and she looks forward to filling her integral role as a coordinator and mutual promoter of these two groups.
Outreach Co-chair: Rick Zirkel
Rick is a first year PhD student in Biomedical Engineering in the Schaffer-Nishimura Lab. He is from Blue Point, NY and received his undergraduate degree in Biomedical Engineering from SUNY University at Buffalo. As Outreach Co-Chair, Rick is excited to facilitate the exposure of the community and young students to different fields of STEM through the efforts of members of BMES. He hopes to provide opportunities that allow for the BME community at Cornell to inspire others to learn more about and pursue such areas. In his free time, Rick enjoys playing the guitar, rock climbing, and playing video games.
Professional Development Co-chair: Eti Sinha
Eti is in Dr. Olivier Elemento's research group in NYC, where she is focusing on computational biology techniques to understand the development of blood cancers. She is passionate about professional development and hopes to be a leader in the biotechnology industry in the future.
Professional Development Co-chair: Chase Webb
Chase is a second year PhD student in Dr. Yadong Wang's lab working on extracellular matrix derived therapies for wound regeneration. Originally from Bloomington, Indiana, he completed his B.S. in Chemical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University with an additional major in Biomedical Engineering. As Professional Development co-chair, Chase hopes to better connect students to resources and people that will help them maximize their PhD experience and find the best path for them to utilize their PhD. Outside of BMES, Chase is an organizer for the 2020 ComSciCon-NY and a member of Cornell's Swimming and Water Polo clubs.
Community Engagement Co-chair: Maggie Pacheco
Marguerite is a first year PhD student in the Andarawis-Puri lab. She completed her undergraduate studies in Biochemistry and Mechanical Engineering at Smith College, and is originally from Montclair, NJ. As community engagement co-chair, Marguerite hopes to improve our connections within the Cornell community at every level by offering new events that are accessible and listening to the wants of the community. In her free time, she plays soccer, runs, boxes in the boxing club, and goes dancing as often as possible.
Community Engagement Co-chair: Ana Witkowski
Ana is a first year PhD student currently rotating in Dr. Ma’s Lab. She is originally from Rochester, NY, and completed her undergraduate studies in Biomolecular Science at Clarkson University. As Community Engagement chair, she hopes to increase the sense of community within the department by offering activities where everyone can participate and try something new! In her free time, Ana likes to read, cross country ski, and do yoga.
Communications Director: Nicole Sempertegui
Nicole is a first year PhD student working in the Fischbach lab where she is studying the role of the microenvironment in breast cancer bone metastasis. She is originally from Ecuador and completed her undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering at The University of Alabama. As Communications Director, Nicole hopes to encourage student engagement and help build a supportive BME community by distributing crucial chapter news/events through social media. In her free time, Nicole enjoys coffee, watching Netflix, and exploring new restaurants.
Treasurer: Nathaniel Wright
Nathaniel is a first year PhD student working in the Yadong Wang lab. His project focuses on the controlled delivery of immunotherapeutics for the treatment of melanoma. He attended the University of Utah for his undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering. As Treasurer, he aims to manage the resources of the chapter wisely and efficiently to allow for all the desired activities to be completed. In his free time, Nathaniel enjoys exploring the outdoors through running, hiking and photography.