Natasha De Silva
- Hometown: New York City, New York
- College: Baruch College, City University of New York
- Gap year work: Worked on clinical trials at Columbia University Medical Center testing novel treatments for substance use disorders and chronic pain. Also worked in a basic neuroscience laboratory studying the role of mitochondrial metabolism in neuroplasticity in Drosophila. Additionally, served as an adjunct lecturer for an undergraduate biology laboratory course.
- Scientific interest: Neuroscience, mitochondrial biology, and neuroplasticity.
- Hobbies: Photography and trying new restaurants.
- Favorite food: Mac and cheese
- Current show or book you’re watching/reading: Book - Calculus Reordered: A History of the Big Ideas by David Bressoud; show - Abbott Elementary.
- Fun fact: I recently taught kindergarteners about scientific methods and basic physics by making parachutes with them.
Erfan Jabari
- Hometown: Columbia, South Carolina
- College: University of Maryland, College Park
- Gap year work: Conducted research at the NIH in bone marrow engineering and worked with a regenerative dentistry startup.
- Scientific interest: Immunology, immune engineering, biophysics, and stem cells.
- Hobbies: Running, reading, watching anime, and spending time with my cat, Lentil.
- Favorite food: Margherita pizza
- Current show or book you’re watching/reading: Book - Love in the Time of Cholera; show - One Piece.
- Fun fact: Growing up, I had “shark teeth.” My baby teeth never loosened on their own, so I had to have them removed by a dentist one by one over the course of five years.
Sarika Kapadia
- Hometown: Ellicott City, Maryland
- College: University of Maryland, College Park
- Gap year work: NIH Postbaccalaureate Fellow
- Scientific interest: Tropical medicine and infectious diseases.
- Hobbies: Running, hiking, making clothes and jewelry, drinking matcha performatively, and reading.
- Favorite food: Pho
- Current show or book you’re watching/reading: Book - The Way of Kings (Stormlight Archive series).
- Fun fact: I am planning to run the District Half Marathon this September. Come join me!
Farid Shahid
- Hometown: Allentown, Pennsylvania
- College: Johns Hopkins University
- Gap year work: NIH Postbaccalaureate Fellow in Dr. Yi Gu’s lab, where I studied the computations underlying spatial navigation in the brain.
- Scientific interest: Systems neuroscience
- Hobbies: Singing
- Favorite food: Korean BBQ and anything with Sichuan peppers.
- Current show or book you’re watching/reading: Show - House of the Dragon; book - The Odyssey (Emily Wilson)
- Fun fact: I’ve ridden a pony, a camel, and an elephant.
Karen Zhai
- Hometown: Fremont, California
- College: University of California, Davis
- Gap year work: Continued working in my undergraduate lab with Dr. Mark Huising, studying endocrine pancreas biology. I then completed a two-year postbaccalaureate program at the NIH under Dr. Efsun Arda, studying exocrine pancreas biology.
- Scientific interest: Pancreas biology, oncology, and microscopy.
- Hobbies: Cosplay and costume making, video games, singing, and dancing.
- Favorite food: Dongbei Guo Bao Rou (it's like sweet-and-sour pork, but better!)
- Current show or book you’re watching/reading: Show: BoJack Horseman, My Little Pony, and Uma Musume: Cinderella Gray; game: Cyberpunk 2077.
- Fun fact: I used to be a competitive ice skater.