Officers
President
Nicholas Galle
ngalle@nd.edu
(he/him/his)
Nick is a 4th year PhD candidate in the Rohr Lab. His research is focused on the incorporation of physiology into species distribution modeling approaches. Outside of work, Nick enjoys being outdoors, playing TTRPGs with friends, and hanging out with his cat, Percival.
Vice President
Max Scheel
mscheel2@nd.edu
(he/him/his)
Max is a 4th year PhD student from South Bend, IN in the Coverdale Lab and is excited to serve as BGSO vice president this year. He is studying the effects of prescribed fire and grazing on tallgrass prairie restoration in Indiana and Illinois. Outside of the lab, Max enjoys running and cross country skiing.
Secretary
Kathryn Currie
kcurrie@nd.edu
(she/her/hers)
Kathryn is a 3rd year PhD student from Hartford, CT in the Pérez Romero Lab. She is studying Human Cytomegalovirus immune evasion mechanisms and developing monoclonal antibodies as potential therapeutics. Outside of lab, she enjoys reading Agatha Christie, baking extremely caloric confections for her friends, and learning about the brocade guards of the Ming dynasty. She is excited to be a part of BGSO this term as Secretary and GSG representative!
Treasurer
Diana Cervera
dcervera@nd.edu
(she/her/hers)
Diana is a 4th year PhD student from South Bend, Indiana in the Klatt Shaw Lab. Her scientific interests lie in spinal cord regeneration, and she is currently working on investigating the role of immune cell death during spinal cord injury in zebrafish. Outside of the lab, Diana enjoys making pottery and spending time with her dog.
Professional Development Chair
Lauren Young
lyoung5@nd.edu
(she/her/hers)
Lauren is a 4th year PhD student from Atlanta, GA in the Schafer Lab. She is interested in metabolic reprogramming of ECM-detached cancer cells. Within her role on BGSO, she is excited to share grant, career, and networking opportunities with students in the department. Aside from science, Lauren loves to travel and learn new languages.
Outreach Chair
Kylie Lawson
klawson2@nd.edu
(she/her/hers)
Kylie is a second year PhD student from Amherst, Ohio in the Miranda and Pfrender labs. Kylie studies how contaminants affect ecosystems using traditional ecology approaches and multi-omic molecular tools. Primarily, Kylie is working on two projects using Walleye, an important fish to the Great Lakes region, to study how PFAS ("forever chemicals") affect the fish transcriptome and bioaccumulation, as well as their micobiomes using genomics. Kylie is excited to expand and grow current BGSO outreach innitiatives and bridge the exciting biology being done at Notre Dame to our broader community. When not in the lab, Kylie enjoys hiking, baking, and line dancing.
Activities Chair
Maya Ardon
mardon@nd.edu
(she/her/hers)
Maya is a second year PhD student from Salt Lake City, Utah, in the Rohr Lab. Overall, her interests are environmental drivers of parasite transmission to humans and interdisciplinary solutions for disease control. She is using experimental and remote sensing methods to understand how ecological factors affect detectability of invasive aquatic plant species that mediate schistosomiasis infection in freshwater ecosystems. Maya is excited to plan exciting social events for biology graduate students. Outside of the lab, she enjoys spending time outdoors, making jewelry and crocheting, and improving her trivia skills.
Senior Recruitment Chair
Rachel Berg
rberg4@nd.edu
(she/her/hers)
Rachel is a 3rd year PhD student from Duluth, Minnesota in the Torres-Dowdall Lab. She is interested in the genomic basis of adaptation, to better understand how organisms respond to environmental change, and specifically how Trinidadian guppies are responding to a recent novel parasite invasion. In her free time, she loves knitting and gardening.
Junior Recruitment Chair
Dorrian Cohen
dcohen2@nd.edu
(he/him/his)
Dorrian is a third year PhD student originally from Poughquag, New York, in the Schorey Lab. He is broadly interested in microbiology and immunology, and studies extracellular vesicles released by macrophages as a diagnostic for Mycobacterium avium infections. Dorrian is especially excited for his role in BGSO to allow him to meet exceptional scientists and draw them to our illustrious program. Outside of lab, he enjoys weightlifting, playing card and board games, and dreaming of Biology Recruitment Weekend.
Social Media & Webmaster Chair
Audrey Hyke
ahyke@nd.edu
(she/her/hers)
Audrey is a 2nd year PhD student from Saint Paul, MN in the McLachlan lab. She studies how ecological processes evolve across landscapes and through time, and is working on a project that combines fossils and genetic data to reconstruct oak migration in the Upper Midwest throughout the Holocene. This year, Audrey is excited to share the work being done in BGSO with the community through social media. Outside of the lab, she enjoys watching basketball, going to concerts, and spending time with her cats.
Access and Advocacy Chair
Bella Wiebelt-Smith
iwiebelt@nd.edu
(she/her/hers)
Bella is a second year PhD student from St. Louis, Missouri, in the Smith Lab. She studies what regulates formation of nervous system circuits during development. Outside of the lab she enjoys reading, baking, and weightlifting.
International Student Representative
Ashini Kaushik
akaushi3@nd.edu
(she/her/hers)
Ashini Kaushik is a 4th year PhD student from Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India, in the Wingert Lab. Her broader scientific interests include kidney regeneration and stem cell-based approaches to renal disease research, and her research focuses on understanding the role of multiciliated cells in kidney development using zebrafish as a model organism, with a particular interest in the genetic and developmental mechanisms that regulate nephron formation and ciliogenesis. In BGSO, she is excited to foster a welcoming and inclusive community for international students, encourage cultural exchange, and advocate for resources and support that help students feel connected and empowered throughout their graduate journey. She loves cooking and trying new cuisines, traveling to new places, and spending time around water — very fitting for a Pisces! She's also passionate about ice skating and absolutely loves fishes, which makes working with zebrafish even more fun for her.
First Year Representative
Hannah Stevenson
hsteven2@nd.edu
(she/her/hers)
Hannah is a second year PhD student from Woodinville, Washington in the Adams Lab. She is interested in neuroimmune mechanisms, CNS repair mechanisms, tissue regeneration capacity, and specifically studies oligodendrocyte biology and cell cycle arrest proteins. She is excited to interact and support first years for her time in BGSO. Outside of the lab, she loves line dancing, the stair master, and yoga.
Faculty Advisor
Prof. Pilar Pérez Romero
mperezr3@nd.edu
(she/her/hers)
Dr. Pérez Romero's lab focuses on characterizing virus-cell interaction to identify viral gene products that play a role in regulating the host immune response for the development of therapeutic and preventive approaches against infection. Click here to learn more about her research! Aside from science, Pilar has 3 kids and her husband is also a faculty member in the department. She loves watching and playing tennis. Since moving to ND, she has also become a big football fan (Go Irish!).