BMES Executive Board

President – Kyulee Kim is a junior from Seoul, Korea majoring in Bioengineering and is in the Accelerated Master’s program. She conducts research on Traumatic Brain Injury in the Meaney lab and on Alzheimer’s Disease in the Wei lab. Additionally, she is actively involved in the Penn American Red Cross and Pennsori A Capella group. Her hobbies include jogging, indulging in good food, singing, and playing the flute.

Vice President – Ellie Macmullan is a junior from Vero Beach, Florida. Her research is in recreating the biochemical and mechanical properties of meniscus tissues. Besides bioengineering, Ellie enjoys baking, running, and cheering for Philly sports teams. She’s part of the Club XCTF board, Penn Reading Initiative, and helps coach a middle school track and field team in West Philadelphia.

Contact Ellie at elliemac@seas.upenn.edu.

Secretary – Chiara Cline, from Palo Alto, CA, is majoring in bioengineering with an Italian Literature minor. She works in Dr. Andrew Tsourkas’ lab, where she works on developing a platform for intracellular protein degradation. She is the treasurer of the Biomedical Engineering Society, a teaching assistant for Introduction to Bioengineering, a member of the Penn American Red Cross club, and the Director of New Member Outreach for Alpha Phi Sorority. In her free time, she enjoys cooking and watching TV!

Contact Chiara at chiaramc@seas.upenn.edu.

Vice President – Krish Modi is a sophomore from Newark, DE majoring in Bioengineering with a minor in Engineering Entrepreneurship. Outside of BMES, Krish is involved in Greek Life, Penn Undergraduate Biotech Society, and Consult for America. In his free time, Krish enjoys listening to music, spending time with friends/family, and playing basketball. 

Makayla Cheng is a sophomore majoring in Bioengineering with a potential minor in Engineering Entrepreneurship. In the future, she hopes to work in the medical device industry. Outside of BMES, Makayla works on tutoring elementary school students in STEM subjects, holding weekly workshops about engineering disciplines with Access Engineering, and advocating for engineering students through USABE. In her free time, Makayla enjoys crocheting, reading, going to the beach, and baking.

Contact Makayla at mcheng15@seas.upennn.edu.

Jonathan Largoza is a sophomore from San Antonio, TX majoring in Bioengineering with a minor in engineering entrepreneurship. He does lung airway reconstruction research in the Gottardi Lab. Outside of BMES, Jonathan is involved in the Wharton Undergrad Entrepreneurship Club, Penn Undergrad Biotech Society, Penn ADAPT, Access Engineering, and the club lacrosse team. He likes to travel, play poker, ski, and play basketball in his free time.

Ben Nachod is a Junior studying Bioengineering from Clarksburg, MD majoring in Bioengineering with a minor in chemistry. Ben is interested in cellular engineering and immunology, and does research in the Mitchell Lab on lipid nanoparticle mRNA therapeutics for autoimmunity applications. Outside of BMES, Ben is involved in the immunology club , Penn Engineering Council, We Can Swim, and Penn Club Swimming. He loves to watch football and baseball, bike, and eat good food.

Jada Hembrador is a sophomore from the San Francisco Bay Area majoring in Bioengineering with minors in data science and computer science. She is an avid traveler and has conducted optoelectronics research abroad through Penn’s GRIP program, partnered with the National University of Singapore and A*STAR. Outside of BMES, Jada is involved in the Penn Society of Women Engineers and Penn Philippine Association as a board member, the pre-professional STEM sorority Alpha Omega Epsilon, and ADAPT. In her free time, Jada enjoys reading, listening to live music, and learning languages.

Kevin Han is a sophomore from Dallas, TX majoring in Bioengineering and Computer Science with a concentration in computational biology. He does multi-omics research with the Hirschey Lab at Duke. Outside of BMES, Kevin is involved in club tennis, CSA’s cultural show, Kesem, and is a teaching assistant for CIS 1600. In his free time, Kevin dabbles in poker, piano, and flying trapeze!

Yifan Zhai is a freshman from Woodbury, MN majoring in Bioengineering on the pre-med track. Outside of BMES, she is involved in SWE, PWBS, Access Engineering, and APAMSA. In her free time, Yifan enjoys reading rom coms or fantasies, swimming, shopping, and spending time with friends/family.

Katie Yu is a freshman from Bellevue, WA majoring in Bioengineering. She does mRNA vaccine research in the Hogan Lab in the Vet School. Outside of BMES, Katie is involved in Wharton Women, Wharton Undergraduate Healthcare Club, and Penn Undergraduate Biotech Society. In her free time, Katie loves cafe hopping, trying out restaurants in Chinatown, hanging out with friends, and binge watching TV shows.

Vice President – Ian Peng is a sophomore from Arcadia, California majoring in Bioengineering and minoring in Chemistry on a pre-med track. Apart from BMES, Ian is interested in diagnostic and therapeutic biomedical devices and does research in the Jiang Group. During his free time, he likes to go to the gym, try different foods, and spend time with friends and family.

Eloise Gaudet is a sophomore from Atlanta, GA majoring in Bioengineering. She is interested in biomedical devices and stem cell research. Outside of BMES, Eloise is a member of the Penn Engineering Council’s Professional Development Committee and Greek Life. Eloise also enjoys playing the piano, cooking and baking, and hanging out with friends.

Pedram Bayat is a sophomore from Los Altos, CA majoring in Bioengineering. He investigates different antigen targets for CAR-T cell immunotherapy in the Ruella Lab and is also interested in medical technologies. Apart from BMES, Pedram is involved in WUHC, SOUP, and Theta Tau. In his free time, he likes to play piano, travel, and spend time with friends.

Anya Mittal is a sophomore from Acton, Massachusetts majoring in Bioengineering. Outside of BMES, she is involved with the board of the Society of Women Engineers, stroke-related robotics research, and 180 Degrees Consulting. In her free time, Anya enjoys figure skating, dancing, and watching FRIENDS.

Iris Wong is a sophomore from Hong Kong majoring in Bioengineering with minors in Engineering Entrepreneurship and Neuroscience & Healthcare Management. On campus, Iris serves as Co-President for Penn Engineers Without Borders and the Hong Kong Student Association. She’s also involved in hands-on projects in Penn ADAPT and Penn Aerospace Club. In her free time, Iris enjoys her weekly hot yoga, video editing, and curating sensational charcuterie boards.

Contact Iris at iriswong@seas.upenn.edu.

Rachel Kim is a freshman from Irvine, California majoring in Bioengineering on a pre-health track. She is currently researching tissue construction in vitro, with a possible concentration in kidney organoid development. Apart from BMES, Rachel is involved in W-KUBS, the Society of Women Engineers, and Penn Bioethics Journal. Her hobbies include discovering good eats around the city, enjoying late-night conversations with friends, and curating playlists on Spotify!

Emmanuel Tawiah is a sophomore from Plano, Tx majoring in Bioengineering with a minor in Chemistry on pre-med track. Outside of BMES, Emmanuel does research as part of the Bernstein Lab and is involved in the Educational Pipeline Program, Access to Engineering and volunteers at the Penn Presbyterian Hospital. In his free time, Emmanuel enjoys going to the gym, playing and watching basketball, and watching movies.

Vice President – Ryan Ong is a sophomore from Berwyn, PA majoring in Bioengineering. Ryan is involved with several volunteering organizations on campus, such as PMMP and minhuet. Outside of classes, Ryan enjoys producing music and playing games with friends.

Anya Stewart is a second-year from Orlando, Florida studying Bioengineering with a focus in Neuroengineering, as well as acquiring a minor in American Sign Language & Deaf Studies. Anya studies the restoration of somatosensation in artificial limbs as a member of the Richardson Lab, but outside of her academic pursuits, you can find her baton twirling for the Penn Band and working for the Penn Review Literary Magazine. In her free time, Anya enjoys reading, learning languages, and going to theme parks.

Jazlyn Tang is a freshman from Annandale, VA majoring in bioengineering and interested in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. At Penn, she also plays the viola in the Penn Symphony Orchestra and participates in the PEER Mentoring program. Outside of Penn, she enjoys rock collecting, trying new food, and thrifting.

Liza Murphy is a Freshman from Killingworth, CT, majoring in Bioengineering on the Pre-Med Track. She is a part of the Murray Lab, researching developmental genetics. Outside of BMES, Liza is on Penn Club Swim and is a Hive Manager for Penn Beekeeping. She enjoys swimming, hiking, and watching movies with her dog.

Emily Jiang is a freshman studying Bioengineering with potential minors in Engineering Entrepreneurship or Consumer Psychology. She is currently a research assistant in the Murray lab and outside of BMES, Emily is also involved in PCS and DJ@Penn. In her own free time, she enjoys to play and listen to music, workout, draw, and most recently, explore food spots around Philly.

Vice President – Cassidy Schuman is a sophomore from Bedford, MA majoring in Bioengineering with a minor in Mechanical Engineering. She does AI research with the Center for Data-Driven Discovery at CHOP on pediatric brain MRI’s. In addition to BMES, Cassidy is involved with the Society of Women Engineers and the Wharton Undergraduate Founders and Funders Association. She also enjoys sports, community service, art, and traveling.

Devin Gottlieb is a sophomore from Marlboro, NJ majoring in Bioengineering with an intended master’s in Robotics. He conducts mechanobiology research in the Boerckel Lab, studying the role of timed maternal exercise on cellular response and limb development. Outside of BMES, Devin is involved in Strictly Funk, Penn Hype, and Access Engineering. Some of his hobbies include lifting, playing the saxophone, and traveling/eating with friends and family.

Saw Nwe is a sophomore from San Francisco, CA majoring in Bioengineering. She researches lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technologies for acute critical illnesses in the Brenner Lab and is interested in nanoengineering therapeutics. Outside of BMES, Saw is involved in SWE, WUHC, and Women Who Lift (weightlifting club). In her free time, Saw enjoys volunteering, going to the gym, playing soccer, and making Chinatown trips with friends.

Kaitlin Mrksich is a senior from Hinsdale, IL majoring in Bioengineering with a minor in chemistry on a pre-med track. She does drug delivery research in the Mitchell Lab. Outside of BMES, Kaitlin is involved in Kite and Key as a tour guide and board member, Greek Life, and West Philadelphia Tutoring Project. In her free time, Kaitlin enjoys traveling, spending time with friends, and learning how to cook.

Contact Kaitlin at kmrksich@seas.upenn.edu.

McKenzie Davis is a senior from Bethesda, MD majoring in Bioengineering. She conducts rehabilitation robotics research in Michelle Johnson’s lab. Outside of BMES, McKenzie is the Vice President of the Underrepresented Student Advisory Board in Engineering (USABE), the Equity & Access Chair for the Kite & Key Society, and the co-chair of the DEI committee of the Student Committee on Undergraduate Education (SCUE). McKenzie also tutors and enjoys cooking and baking with friends in her free time. 

Contact McKenzie at davismck@seas.upenn.edu.

Ryann Joseph (SEAS ’25) is an incoming senior studying Bioengineering and minoring in Chemistry and Mathematics. Ryann is originally from Powell, Ohio and, as a result, is a staunch OSU football fan. On campus, she devotes most of her time to research in the Mitchell Lab, with her work focusing primarily on lipid nanoparticle mRNA delivery methodologies. Other than her research, she is a MATH2400 TA and remains heavily involved in a number of different extracurriculars including club lacrosse (secretary), being an OPA, and Theta Tau. During her free time, you find her catching up on the latest MCU movie, finding the best halal cart on campus, and working out to Taylor Swift’s Reputation album. 

Contact Ryann at ryannj@seas.upenn.edu.

Alyssa Sherman is a senior from Fort Lauderdale, Florida majoring in Bioengineering with a minor in Economics. She is interested in the medical device industry. Outside of BMES, Alyssa is involved in Engineering Consultants at Penn, Wharton Women, and the West Philadelphia tutoring project. In her free time, she likes to go cycling and hang out with friends. 

Contact Alyssa at alyssa1@seas.upenn.edu.

Risa Pollak is a senior from Fort Lauderdale, Florida majoring in Bioengineering and minoring in Engineering Entrepreneurship. Within BE, she is interested in the medical device industry. Outside of BMES, she is involved in SWE, WUHC, ADAPT, and Penn Dance Company and enjoys traveling, exploring the outdoors, and baking.

Contact Risa at risap@seas.upenn.edu.