BMES Executive Board

President – Kaitlin Mrksich is a junior 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.

Vice President -McKenzie Davis a junior 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.

Treasurer – Risa Pollak is a junior 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.

Secretary –Kyulee Kim is a sophomore 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 – Ryann Joseph (SEAS ’25) is an incoming junior 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.

Krish Modi is a freshman 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 freshman 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 freshman 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.

Vice President – Josh Lee is a sophomore from Alpharetta, GA, majoring in Bioengineering with a minor in CIS. He is part of the Herman Lab, researching methods to computationally identify patients with underdiagnosed diseases. Apart from BMES, Josh is involved in WUHC, ECP, K-PENSA, and W-KUBS. In his free time, he likes to play soccer and watch Liverpool FC’s games.

Contact Josh at jlee0902@seas.upenn.edu.

Ayma Waqar, hailing from Lahore, Pakistan, is a Bioengineering major, with a focus on Biomedical Devices & Entrepreneurship. She engages in impactful research, including analyzing clinical research data for ASD diagnostic improvements and contributing to lung transplant research. Ayma is deeply involved in extracurriculars, and founding her own healthcare start up. In her downtime, Ayma enjoys soccer, cycling, and supporting animal welfare.

Eloise Gaudet is a freshman 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 freshman 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 freshman 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.

Ian Peng is a freshman 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 Lab. During his free time, he likes to go to the gym, try different foods, and spend time with friends and family.

Vice President – Alyssa Sherman is a junior 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.

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

Anya Stewart is a freshman from Orlando, Florida studying Bioengineering with a planned concentration in Neuroengineering, as well as a minor in American Sign Language & Deaf Studies. Outside of BMES, you can find her baton twirling for the Penn Band and working on the Penn Review literary magazine. In her free time, Anya loves to read, learn languages, and go to theme parks.

Vice President – Ellie Macmullan is a sophomore from Vero Beach, Florida majoring in bioengineering with a planned concentration in tissue/cellular engineering. Outside of BMES, Ellie is a tutor for Penn Reading Initiative, a basketball coach, a member of Penn Baking Club, and Penn Club Cross Country. In her free time, Ellie enjoys watching Parks and Rec, doing crosswords, and going for walks to local dog parks.

Contact Ellie at elliemac@seas.upenn.edu.

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.

Chiara Cline is a sophomore from Palo Alto, California. She is majoring in bioengineering and minoring in Italian Culture and Engineering Entrepreneurship. She works in the Tsourkas lab doing protein engineering research. In her free time, Chiara enjoys reading, cooking, and walking to center city!

Contact Chiara at chiaramc@seas.upenn.edu.

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.