Anisa Ghosh, Ph.D.
Chair of USPA Development and Social Media Coordinator
Department of Biomolecular Engineering
A postdoc in the Biomolecular Engineering (BME) Department, Anisa studies molecular mechanisms of viral infections and uses this information to develop new vaccines and therapeutics. Besides research, she keeps herself busy cooking and watching movies.
Saran Chattopadhyaya, Ph.D.
Treasurer
Department of Biomolecular Engineering
A postdoc in the Camilla Forsberg Labs since April 2022, Saran joined the USPA as a board member in 2023. When not in the lab, he enjoys time with friends, watching movies, and hiking. Three famous words in his life: research, eat, and drink.
Linda Hirsch, Ph.D.
Board Member
Department of Computational Media
A postdoctoral fellow with the Center for Coastal Climate Resilience and the Computational Media Department at UCSC, Linda Hirsch works under the supervision of Katherine Isbister. She holds a magna cum laude doctoral degree in Media Informatics from LMU Munich, Germany. Her research focuses on exploring, conceptualizing, and creating meaningful human-environment interaction to strengthen communities toward increased climate resilience. Since 2021, Linda Hirsch has been an elected executive committee member of the German group “Be-greifbare Interaktion," an expert research group within the German Society of Information Technology focusing on the topics of tangible and embedded interfaces.
Alison Mills, Ph.D.
Board Member
Department of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology
A postdoc in the Sullivan Lab, Alison studies mechanisms of preserving genomic integrity using Drosophila and human cell culture as model systems. Her hobbies include video games, reading, and tabletop roleplaying games. (She’s a huge fan of Dungeons & Dragons and Pathfinder.)
Maryam Moarefian, Ph.D.
Board Member
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Maryam received her M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Tennessee Technological University and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She is currently an NIH IRACDA Postdoc Fellow in Professor Mircea Teodorescu’s lab at UC Santa Cruz. An engineer by training, Maryam now works closely with colleagues in the biological sciences within the interdisciplinary research group Braingeneers to create platforms for growing cerebral organoids—miniature, three-dimensional models of brain tissue grown from stem cells. Her contributions are helping the Braingeneers scale up their studies on the genetics of how neural connections form and the underpinnings of certain neurological conditions.
Alessandra Rodriguez y Baena, Ph.D.
Board Member
Department of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology
A postdoc in the Camilla Forsberg Labs, Alessandra (Ale) studies aging of the hematopoietic (blood) system. When not in the lab, you can find her soaking up the sun, cooking and eating good food, and reading.