Vennela Avula is a fourth-year medical student with a background in public health who is passionate about health equity and environmental justice. In her free time, she loves to run, teach yoga and play the piano.
Angelica Camilo is a Ph.D. pharmacology student who also enjoys writing, embroidering and watching reality TV. An immigrant from the Dominican Republic, she is very passionate about empowering women from marginalized communities to thrive in all environments.
Oishika Das (Editor) is a first year Johns Hopkins medical student who studied biochemistry and government at the University of Texas at Austin. Moving nine times during her childhood, she loves exploring new places. In her free time, you can find her reading, playing piano or watching random YouTube videos.
Abdelrahman Gad, a native of Egypt, is a radiology postdoctoral fellow with a background in medicine. He’s passionate about groundbreaking research, and he enjoys exploring Baltimore’s diverse culture and cuisine. Gad spends free time savoring local coffee, reading, watching movies, collecting global souvenirs and enjoying baseball games.
Marcos Jaso-Vera is a Mexican postdoctoral research fellow at Johns Hopkins who likes drawing, reading and video games. He loves hard science fiction, and his favorite author is Isaac Asimov. He thinks using sci-fi books and electronic media is the right way to approach young generations regarding science and progress.
Heejin Jo is a postdoctoral research fellow at Johns Hopkins’ Institute of Cell Engineering studying neurodegenerative disease, with roots in Korean medicine and clinical practice. Originally from Seoul, she enjoys discovering Baltimore’s charms on foot, meditative cooking, reflective writing and perfect moments when coffee and conversation flow into unexpected insights.
Katie Pham is a neuroscience Ph.D. student interested in visual processing and memory research. She was born in Hanoi, Vietnam, and raised in Northern California. When not in the lab, she enjoys spending time with her cats, watching Family Guy and reading literary fiction.
David Lee is a Johns Hopkins medical student who studied chemistry and philosophy at Stanford University. Outside of school, he enjoys working out and talking philosophy. Lately, he has been reading Camus. He has become a big fan.
Sahithi Madireddy is a medical student at Johns Hopkins who studied biology at MIT. She is originally from San Jose, California. She loves coffee, her apartment and trivia (in that order). She is passionate about environmental advocacy, writing, internal medicine and yapping with her friends.
Marissa McGilvrey has a Ph.D. in biomedical science and is a postdoc at Johns Hopkins All Children’s in St. Petersburg under Dr. Martin Trapecar. When not in the lab, she is outside exploring nature and collecting bits of nature to include in her artwork.
Hassan Moukhadder, who is driven by a passion about eye health and systemic diseases, aims to lead global vision health initiatives, reduce preventable vision loss and empower people who are visually impaired. His diverse experiences in internal medicine, ophthalmology and leadership fuel his commitment to collaborative research and sustainable health care solutions for underserved communities.
Greg Pommier is a second-year medical student who grew up in California. He likes to ask everyone he meets what their go-to trivia categories would be. His are Sichuan recipes, hikes in the French Alps, minutiae of the Three-Body Problem trilogy and embarrassing moments in Baltimore politics.
Shreya Srivastava is a first-year resident in internal medicine. She is from Haslett, Michigan — a small, suburban town with the most beautiful fall scenery. In college, she majored in world music, which exposed her to global perspectives on life and “living.” She is fascinated by how music, health and culture all intersect.
Sydney Sun is a medical student at Johns Hopkins and a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. Born and raised in Lexington, Kentucky, she developed a love for the outdoors through hiking, canoeing and ziplining. Sydney is passionate about piano and painting, as well as serving people experiencing homelessness.
Mira Swartzlander is a second-year neuroscience Ph.D. student at The Johns Hopkins University. Their research interests include investigating the mechanisms regulating neuronal plasticity. Outside of the lab, Swartzlander likes dancing, cooking and attempting to garden.
Ethan Thio is a first year Johns Hopkins medical student who hails from Orange County, California. Apart from trying to stay afloat in medical school, he spends time making PowerPoint presentations, reading, having long conversations with friends and lying on his couch.
Jenny Xu is a PGY-3 resident in physical medicine and rehabilitation. In her spare time, she enjoys going rock climbing, crocheting tiny hats for her Smiski collection, taking care of her houseplants and sending snail mail.