Meet the 2025/2026 PCI Fellows Cohort

Patricia grew up in Tainan, Taiwan and is
currently pursuing her masters in
Bioengineering. She completed her bachelor’s
thesis from ETH Zürich and graduated from
Purdue University with her bachelors in
Biomedical Engineering.

Patricia is passionate about healthcare
innovation and aspires to leverage technology
for equitable medical solutions. She has
research experience in medical devices, signal
processing, and machine learning.

At Penn, she is developing a generative chatbot.
Outside of academics, Patricia is an avid
foodie and food blogger. She loves restaurant
exploring, traveling, video editing, and music.

• SEAS Bioengineering/1st
  year Masters student
• PI: Kevin Johnson MD, MSc
  AI4AI Lab / PSOM, SEAS

Shruthi grew up in suburban Atlanta and
graduated from Georgia Tech with her B.S. in
Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering.
Her research expertise lies in protein
engineering, antibodies, cell engineering, and
the tumor microenvironment. Her thesis
focuses on elucidating the therapeutic merit
of anti-tumor autoantibodies and harnessing
them as a form of cancer immunotherapy.
Outside of lab, she enjoys yoga, cooking for
friends, and hiking.

• SEAS/Bioengineering/4th
  year PhD student
• PI: Andrew Tsourkas, PhD, Bioengineering /SEAS.

Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, Isabella
earned her B.A. in Biochemistry and Italian
Studies. Planning to soon enter a Ph.D.
program in Biological Sciences, Isabella is
working as a Research Specialist.

At Penn, Isabella’s team utilizes novel CRISPR
editing technology to conduct a gene-knockout screening, which will ultimately elucidate genetic modifications that improve CAR T cell functionality in the context of
prostate cancer.

Isabella’s favorite activities include reading
philosophy, espresso tasting, and most of all,
traveling. Isabella first traveled outside of the
U.S. in 2022, but has since been to 10
countries… and counting!

• Research specialist, 1st year
• PIs: Carl June, MD, Regina Young, PhD, Center for Cellular, Immunotherapies, Dept. of Pathology

After earning her BS and MS in biochemistry
from Brandeis University, Shira worked for
two years as a research technician and
laboratory manager at Weill Cornell Medicine
in her native NYC.

Shira studies cancer immunology and
immunotherapy as a PhD student at Penn.
Her research focuses on T cell activity in
patients with genetic predisposition to cancer
and in patients treated with checkpoint
blockade therapy.

Away from the bench, Shira enjoys baking
treats for her friends, exploring Philadelphia,
and spending quality time with her cat, Mavi.

• BGS/PSOM/CAMB-CB/ 3rd year PhD student
• PI: Alexander Huang, MD, Department of Medicine/Hematology-Oncology/PSOM

Born in Canada, Oliver lived in Japan for 7 years before returning to Canada prior to high school. He received a dual degree in Mechatronic Systems Engineering and Medical Biophysics at Western University in Canada and is currently pursuing his MSE in Bioengineering at UPenn. Oliver has worked on multiple research projects in the past, such as leveraging machine learning methods to study mTBIs. Outside of academics, Oliver enjoys playing tennis and chess.

• 4 th year Postdoctoral Researcher, PSOM
• PI: Steven Albelda MD, Lung Biology, Institute/Centre for Cellular, Immunotherapies/ PSOM

Christine grew up in Northern Virginia and
obtained a dual degree in Experimental
Neuroscience and Medicinal Chemistry at
Virginia Tech. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D.
in Pharmacology and a Certificate in Law at
Penn.

Christine’s research focuses on the
mechanisms by which oncogenic
transcriptional profiles are amplified through a
specific nuclear substructure called the
nuclear speckle.

When not in the lab, she enjoys traveling and
collecting spoons from the places she visits!

• BGS/PGG/4th year PhD student
• PI: Shelley Berger, PhD, Daniel S. Och Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology/PSOM

Born in South India and raised in New Jersey, Sravana obtained a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. After working as a Systems Application Engineer in NYC, he is now pursuing his Masters degree in Bioengineering.

Sravana’s research lies at leveraging AI to analyze neural activity. His research focuses on developing deep learning models to explain brain activity in rodents. In his free time, Sravana enjoys traveling, snowboarding, and reading books.

• BGS/PSOM/NGG/ 3rd year PhD student
• PI: Kahlilia Morris-Blanco, PhD, Cell and Developmental Biology/PSOM

Ashley grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs
and attended the University of Maryland for
her B.S. in Cell Biology & Molecular Genetics.
As a PhD student in microbiology at Penn,
Ashley studies the interplay between
pathogenic bacteria, the gut microbiota, and
the human host with the goal of developing
novel treatments for gastrointestinal
infections.

Outside of lab, she enjoys creating artwork,
traveling, and spending time outdoors
including playing tennis and pickleball.
Physical Sciences.

• BGS/PSOM/CAMB-MVP/
• 3rd year PhD student
• PI: Joseph Zackular, PhD, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine/CHOP, Microbiology/PSOM

Originally from Central Jersey, Damilola
earned her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from
Columbia and her M.S. from the UVA, writing
her thesis on phase-field modeling of high-
temperature alloy solidification during
additive manufacturing.

At Penn, she studies the interplay between
structure and mechanics for the multi-scale
design and fabrication of functional hydrogels
via direct ink writing. She is a member of the
Architected Materials Laboratory.

In her downtime, Damilola delights in knitting
cozy sweaters, running half-marathons, and
attending live shows and concerts.

• 3rd Year PhD student/ Department of Materials Science and Engineering/SEAS
• PI: Jordan Raney, PhD, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics/ SEAS and Applied Mathematics

Dheepak hails from India, and is currently
pursuing his Masters degree in Electrical
Engineering at Penn. He holds a Bachelor’s
degree in Electronics and Communication
Engineering and brings professional
experience in software engineering.

His research interests converge at the
intersection of neuroscience, AI, networking,
and quantum computing, with a primary focus
on brain-based computing and decision-
making mechanisms. He aims to leverage AI
for clinical diagnosis and treatment.

Beyond his academic and research pursuits,
Dheepak actively develops his leadership skills
and contributes to the UPenn student
government and community initiatives across
Philadelphia.

• SEAS/ ESE /Electrical/ Engineering /1st year Masters student

Oluwatoyosi was born in Nigeria and received
her Bachelor’s degree in Plant Science and
Biotechnology from the Federal University
Oye and her Masters degree in
Developmental Biology from the Chinese
Academy of Science in Beijing, China.

As a doctoral student in biology at Penn,
Oluwatoyosi is studying plant hydraulics using
single-cell RNA-Seq. Oluwatoyosi is also
pursuing a Certificate in Law at Penn,
specializing in intellectual property law.

Outside of the lab, she enjoys traveling,
dancing and photography.

• DOC/SAAS/Biology /3rd
  year
  PI: Brian Gregory, PhD, Penn Arts & Sciences, Biology

Born and raised in Beijing, China, Yi attended
William & Mary for college at the beautiful
Colonial Williamsburg, and earned his B.S. in
Computational Biology.

At Penn, Yi’s research specializes in HIV cure
and human immunology. His thesis aims to
develop a single-cell platform to study
molecular mechanisms driving HIV-1 reservoir
persistence.

Yi enjoys cooking Chinese and European
cuisines. He is also passionate about a variety
of sports, including Formula 1, tennis, soccer,
and football.

• SEAS/BE/4 th year PhD student
• PI: Laura Vella MD, PhD, Infectious Disease/CHOP

Amanda was raised in Connecticut before receiving her B.S. in Biology form Gettysburg College. After matriculating from college Amanda conducted research at Yale University in the Biomedical Engineering Department leveraging single cell technologies to understand CAR T cell biology.

At Penn, her thesis work focuses on improving solid tumor-directed CAR T cells to improve their persistence and antitumor efficacy.

Outside of the lab, Amanda likes kickboxing and trying new restaurants in Philly with friends. As one of three sets of twins, she also enjoys visiting with her large family.

• BGS/PSoM / Immunology / 5th year
• PI: Dr. Carl June Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine/ Center for Cellular Immunotherapies

Maura grew up outside of Philadelphia and received her B.A. chemistry from Oberlin College in Oberlin, OH. At Penn, her research focuses on the upcycling of discarded plastic to more valuable specialty polymers. In her free time, Maura enjoys playing grass volleyball and listening to live music around Philly.

• DOC/SAS / Chemistry / 4th year
• PI: Karen Goldberg SAS/Chemistry

Born and raised in the mountains of Nepal, Rupa moved to UPenn for my Ph.D.   She studies worm embryos to investigate how cell types change during evolution. She is interested in learning more about bridging the gap between bench research and real-world impact by learning more about tech transfer as a PCI fellow.   One fun fact about Rupa – she had a really close encounter with a leopard in the wild when she was 7!

• DOC/SAAS/ Biology/4^th year
• PIs: John I Murray  Genetics/PSoM
• Junhyong Kim/ Biology/SAAS

Nicholas is a Philly native of Italian-American descent. He attended Philadelphia University (now Thomas Jefferson University) studying chemistry on a pre-med track. After graduation, he worked in the chemical industry, then at CHOP in the center for fetal research.

He works full-time as a research technician studying the molecular biology of coronaviruses while pursuing a masters degree in biological chemistry part-time. Nick loves to cook when he is not spending quality time with his partner and cats.

• MS/Chemistry/SAAS/3^rd year
• PI: Susan Weiss /Microbiology/PSOM

Originally from Boston, Helen received her B.A. in anthropology and global health and health policy at Princeton University. After working for several years at a start-up biotech company, Helen received her M.S. in narrative medicine from Columbia University.

As a PhD student in microbiology at Penn, Helen studies the basic biology of coronaviruses and the innate immune system.

• DOC/PSOM/BGS-CAMB-MVP/2^nd Year
• PI: Susan Weiss /Microbiology/PSOM

Stephanie grew up in Florida and received her bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Science at the University of Central Florida. She participated in the Penn Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SUIP) in 2019 and 2020 in Dr. Sunny Shin’s lab and returned in 2021 to continue her work in Dr. Shin’s lab.

She’s interested in studying how the innate immune system responds to bacterial infection with hopes to identify pathways to mitigate sepsis. In her free time, she enjoys watching shows on Neflix, hanging out with her partner and two cats, and playing video games. She also owns a small business that sells science themed merchandise online.

• BGS / PSoM/ Department of Immunology/ 3rd year PhD
• PI: Dr. Sunny Shin Professor of Microbiology / Department of Microbiology

Wan Ting Saw wsaw@upenn.edu

Wan Ting grew up in Malaysia and received her B.S in Biology from the University of Virginia and Masters of Biotechnology from the University of Pennsylvania. She currently works in the Cohen lab, studying the mechanisms of herpes simplex virus entry for vaccine and therapeutics design.

• Biology and Biotechnology
• School of Dental Medicine
• Researcher
• Cohen Lab