Executive Board
Busayo Bolonduro
UCBA President
Contact: olubusayob@uchicago.edu
Busayo Bolonduro is a fifth year PhD student in the Genetics, Genomics, and Systems Biology program. Broadly, Busayo is interested in applying genomics to advance science and medicine. His research is focused on using genomics to understand mechanisms used by the thymus to establish immune tolerance. Busayo’s interest in biotech comes from the promise of genomics to translate basic research discoveries into life-changing applications. Outside of his interests in science, Busayo likes to cook, watch and play sports, read, and learn languages.
Maggie Steiner
UCBA Vice President
Contact: steinerm@uchicago.edu
Maggie Steiner is a fifth year PhD Candidate in the Department of Human Genetics and serves on the UCBA Steering Committee. Her doctoral research focuses on the development and application of computational methods to study evolutionary processes in human genetics. Outside of UCBA, she serves on the Organizing Committee of Expanding Your Horizons Chicago and as a Student Representative for the Medical and Biological Sciences Alumni Council.
Kasia Kurylowicz
UCBA Treasurer
Contact: kkurylowicz@uchicago.edu
Kasia is a fourth year PhD student in Cancer Biology program. Her research focuses on the interactions between the microbiome and the innate immune system and how that affects tumor immunity. She would like to apply her knowledge and skills to translational science to help with cancer patients’ treatment. In her free time, she enjoys traveling to new places, hiking, biking/roller-skating along the Michigan Lake, and trying new restaurants in Chicago.
Yeaji Park
UCBA Secretary
Contact: ypark7@uchicago.edu
Yeaji is a first year PhD student in the Neurobiology program. Her research interest centers on studying the genetic, cellular, and molecular basis of nervous system diseases. She is eager to expand her knowledge of the biotechnology field through UCBA. Outside of her studies, Yeaji enjoys exploring Chicago, taking walks by the lake, and trying out new restaurants.
Steering Committee
Raven Watson
Contact: rwatson@uchicago.edu
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ravengwatson/
Lab Website: https://voices.uchicago.edu/mcnerneylab/
Raven is a fifth year PhD candidate in the Genetics, Genomics, and Systems Biology program. Her research is focused on understanding pathogenesis and drug resistance in heme-malignancies. She is interested in careers in biomedical research and development, as well as biotechnology. Raven enjoys cooking and karaoke.
Nick Bayhi
Contact: bayhi@uchicago.edu
Kasia Zawieracz
Contact: kzawieracz@uchicago.edu
Kasia is a fourth year PhD student in the Cancer Biology program. She is working on the transcriptional regulation of gut stem cells and the source of intestinal inflammation in the context of Inflammatory Bowel Disease and colon cancer. Kasia is interested in integrating computational biology applications into research and patient diagnosis. Outside of lab work, Kasia enjoys playing tennis, biking, climbing and going to concerts.
Joey Federico
Contact: jvfederico@uchicago.edu
Joey Federico is a fourth year PhD student in the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering. Joey uses transcriptomics to study T cells and the molecular mechanisms that facilitate their cytotoxic functionality, with the translational goal of determining how these mechanisms control autoimmune disease pathogenesis. He would like to apply the skills and knowledge from his academic training to identifying new promising science and technology to solve unmet medical needs in the biopharma industry.
Yuqing Xue
Yuqing is a third year PhD student in Cancer Biology program. Her research is focused on understanding the genomic changes in blood cancers with the goal of identifying novel therapeutic strategies. She is interested in careers in biotechnology and biomedical. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, climbing and planting.
Advisory Board
William Grubbe
Former UCBA Exec
Contact: wgrubbe@uchicago.edu
William (Will) Grubbe is a sixth year PhD student in the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering and is the Secretary of the UCBA. His research focuses on improving the pipeline for protein therapeutic research using protein engineering and computational systems, specifically as it relates to the interferon family of immune proteins. Will is a Teaching Consultant for the Chicago Center for Teaching, a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council for the engineering school, and acts as a graduate advisor to the University of Chicago’s International Genetically Engineering Machine (iGEM) program. In addition to his passion for science and education, outside of the lab he enjoys scuba diving, music, and nature.
Weihan Liu
Former UCBA Exec
Contact: liuweihan@uchicago.edu
Weihan is excited about biotechnology commercialization, innovation and investment. He is a sixth year PhD student in cancer biology and studies development and therapeutic targeting in acute myeloid leukemia through bioinformatics. In his spare time, he enjoys triathlon, hiking and traveling.
