2024-2025 ISO Board
Gloria Alvarado (she/her)
President
Gloria Alvarado is a 6th year PhD candidate in the Lane Lab and studies the dynamics of host responses to bacterial infections on a single-cell level to determine how host decisions result in various infection outcomes. She received her B.S. in Molecular Biology and then her M.S. in Biological Sciences from Illinois State University. She grew up in the South Chicago suburbs and outside of lab she loves watching TV, playing on the switch, and playing with her three dogs (children).
Janet Zhao (she/her)
Vice President
Janet is a 3rd-year PhD candidate in the Kozorovitskiy Lab where she is studying the genes associated with bipolar disorder and their roles in circadian rhythms. Prior to her graduate studies she received her B.S.E. in chemical and biological engineering from Princeton University where she was also a member of the varsity swimming and diving team. She grew up in Ottawa, Canada and outside of science she enjoys reading, swimming, puzzles, and getting to know her peers!
janetzhao2028@u.northwestern.edu
Emily Faul (she/her)
Professional Development Co-Chair 1
Emily is a second year PhD student at the Lane Lab where she studies the extent to which heterogeneity in host pathogen outcomes can be described by spatial and dynamic patterns in innate immune response factors. She did her undergraduate degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Miami University Oxford Ohio. Emily is from Lake Geneva, Wisconsin and her hobbies include running and lifting weights, spending time in nature and baking.
Marie Lamarque (she/her)
Professional Development Co-Chair 2
Marie is a 3rd year PhD student in Lackner lab, studying how lipid metabolism at membrane contact sites regulates mitochondrial dynamics in S. cerevisiae. She grew up in the south of France and received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Molecular and Cellular biology there. To relax Marie likes to play video games, listen to a wide range of music, read books and buy her baguette every week at the local French bakery.
marie.lamarque@northwestern.edu
Olivia Parson (she/her)
Social Co-Chair 1
Olivia is a 2nd year PhD student in the Mirkin lab studying the use of spherical nucleic acids for the targeted delivery of CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing therapies. She grew up near Cleveland, Ohio and received her B.S. in Biology from the University of Dayton. Outside of lab she enjoys reading, exploring the city, and collecting vinyl records.
oliviaparson2029@u.northwestern.edu
Katy Bond (she/her)
Social Co-Chair 2
Katy Bond is a second year PhD student in the Hartmann Lab who received her B.S. in Cell and Molecular Biology from Northeastern University in 2023. She is interested in characterizing the ecology of the lung microbiome in the healthy and diseased state. When she is not in the lab, she enjoys music festivals, rating restaurants on beli, and walks by the lake
katybond2030@u.northwestern.edu
Brooke Angell (she/her)
Peer Mentoring Chair 1
Brooke is a 5th year PhD candidate in the Brickner lab. She is interested in the molecular mechanism of transcript buffering and developing next generation sequencing-based assays. Brooke is from Vermont. She received her B.A. from Middlebury College. Her hobbies outside of the lab include running, baking, reading, and visiting local breweries.
Anika Marand (she/her)
Peer Mentoring Chair 2
Anika is a 5th year PhD candidate in the Lane lab studying precision in bacterial environmental sensing during infection. She graduated from Virginia Tech with Bachelor of Science Degrees in both Biochemistry and the Biological Sciences. Following graduation, Anika worked as a research scientist at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School where she focused on using microfluidic platforms to study immune cell behavior in patients with inflammatory diseases. Anika is from Blacksburg, Virginia and her hobbies include baking, visiting breweries, weightlifting, biking and spoiling her two cats, Mac and Piper.
Lydia Kenney (she/her)
Peer Mentoring Chair 1
Lydia is a 2nd year IBiS student in Heather Pinkett’s Lab studying the accessory domains of ABC transporters and their role in transport regulation. She is originally from Hiram, GA and received ehr Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry from Georgia Tech (go jackets!). In her free time she loves live music, taking care of her plants, and hanging out with friends around Chicago.
Maggie Stapleton (she/her)
Peer Mentoring Chair 2
Maggie is a 2nd-year PhD student in the Kozorovitskiy Lab studying how neuron populations change during pregnancy to facilitate new parenting behaviors. She received her B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of Pittsburgh where she also received her B.A. in Gender, Sexuality in Women’s studies. Outside of lab, Maggie enjoys spending time outside, trying new recipes, and reading.
Adeline Yates (she/her)
First-year liaison
Adeline is a 1st-year PhD student currently rotating in the IBiS program. She is originally from Zionsville, Indiana and graduated from Indiana University Bloomington with a Biology B.S. with a concentration in cell biology and molecular genetics. Outside of research she enjoys reading, running, and playing guitar with her family.