OCF Fellows

Zach Ormiston is a PhD student in the Immunology PhD program housed within the Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences. He graduated from the College of William & Mary in 2024with a degree in Biology, and went on to do two years of postbaccalaureate training at theNational Institutes of Health where he studied the rare […]

Yiliu Cao is a physical therapist and PhD student in the Movement Science program within the Department of Physical Therapy. She earned her BS in Movement Science from the University of Michigan in 2021 and her DPT and MPH from Northwestern University in 2025. During her graduate training, she was involved in several research projects […]

Travis Howard is a PhD student in the Institute of Materials Science and Engineering. Hegraduated summa cum laude from Texas Tech University in 2024 with a Bachelor ofScience in Physics. While pursuing his Bachelor’s degree, he conducted condensed mattertheory research on quantum annealing with superconducting qubits, which solidified hispassion for theory and computation. As part […]

Serene Tarabishi is a J.D. candidate at WashU School of Law. She graduated from the University of Cincinnati (UC) with a Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies in Law and Society and a Bachelor of Arts in Arabic Language and Culture. During her time at UC, Serene participated in a research cohort within the School of Public […]

L. Patty Flores is a Chancellor’s Fellow and PhD student in Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. Her research focuses on system-impacted youth, trauma, and how systems shape the lives of immigrant and foster youth. Patty holds an MSW and previously worked as a Mobile Crisis Therapist in Los Angeles County, providing trauma-informed […]

María Montoya is an organizational leader, cancer patient advocate, and emerging public health researcher whose experience bridges organizational development and psychosocial oncology care. She holds a Master of Social Work from WashU, where she is a PhD student in Public Health Sciences. With a tech startup career spanning over 20 years, including experience as an […]

Leendert (Leo) Schrader is a Ph.D. student in Mathematics and a St. Louis native. He graduated summa cum laude from Saint Louis University with a B.S. in Mathematics and Mechanical Engineering. While at Saint Louis University, his research explored partial differential equations, complex and functional analysis, and phase retrieval, along with interdisciplinary work in quantum […]

Katerina Trachtova is a PhD student in the Computational and Systems Biology program within the Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences. She graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2024 with a degree in Microbiology and minor in Computational Biology. Hoping to advance her knowledge of computational applications in biomedical research, Katerina completed a two-year […]

Kassandra Hamilton is a PhD student in the Neuroscience program within the Division of Biology & Biomedical Sciences. She graduated from Duke University in 2023 where she earned a BS in Neuroscience and a minor in Computer Science. While at Duke, she was co-president of CS Sidekicks, an educational nonprofit aimed at bringing accessible computer […]

Justin Connell is a JD candidate at WashU School of Law. He graduated from the University ofCentral Florida in 2024 with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy. During his undergraduate career, he engaged with community legal services as a Volunteer Advocate for Justice at the Legal Aid Society of the Orange County Bar Association. As […]

Hùng Lê is currently an MFA candidate in Visual Art at the Sam Fox School of Design & VisualArts. Immigrating to the United States from Việt Nam at a young age shaped a complex andmultifaceted sense of identity that has been a generative force in their thinking and studiopractice. As a bilingual and transnational, Lê […]

Faith Cherop is a first-year PhD student in the Medical Physics program within theDepartment of Radiology. Originally from Eldoret Kenya, she earned her BS in Physicsfrom Michigan State University in December 2025. As a Wielenga Honors ResearchScholar, she worked on validating tools for personalized therapies for patients withneuroendocrine tumors. She also participated in the Purdy […]

Evan Batteas is a PhD student in the Physics PhD program. He graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in Physics in 2025. During his undergraduate degree, he worked on a variety of astrophysical research projects, such as designing and building a spectrograph that utilizes an asymmetric Offner relay, characterizing differences in Type 1a […]

Aracely Watson (she/her) is a PhD student in the Plant and Microbial Biosciences program within the Roy and Diana Vagelos Division of Biology & Biomedical Sciences. She earned her Bachelor of Arts with highest honors in Biology, with a certification in Spanish and concentration in Latino Studies from Williams College in 2025, where she was […]

Andrew Tuz is a Master’s candidate in Architecture who is passionate about affordable housing and passive, site-responsive design. He graduated from Clemson University as a member of the National Scholars Program with a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture and Economics, earning both General and Departmental Honors. Andrew’s work with Tigers 4 Accessibility and Pickens County […]

Alex Li is a PhD student in Marketing at the Olin Business School. Prior to his doctoral studies, Alex received a bachelor’s degree in economics, English, and mathematics and a master’s degree in cognitive psychology from Vanderbilt University. During his master’s studies, Alex grew increasingly drawn to the complexities of market dynamics, which cannot be […]

Alea Hanley is a PhD student in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology program. She graduatedfrom the University of California, San Diego with her bachelor’s in biology in 2024 and master’s in biology in 2025. Her master’s research mainly focused on minimally misfolded proteins and since graduating she has worked as an Associate Cell Biologist in […]

Ahema Odeng-Otu is an Art student pursuing the Masters of Fine Arts inIllustration and Visual Culture. She graduated from the University of WisconsinMadison with a Bachelors of Science in Art and a certificate in GraphicDesign. She is interested in exploring how wisdom is expressed in visual art.Her approach is to use proximity to Ghanaian expression […]

Wenxuan Xue is a PhD student in Biomedical Engineering at WashU, where she works in the Computational Medical Imaging and Therapy (CMIT) lab. She earned her BS in Biomedical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where she worked in the AI-based X-ray Imaging System lab that sparked her interest in medical imaging. At WashU, her first-year […]

Shauntal (they/them) is currently a doctoral student in Social Work at WashU (Brown School) and a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) T32 Predoctoral Fellow in Mental Health Services Research. They have extensive experience in school-based mental health, including supporting clinical research trials for adolescents with ADHD, implementing district-wide K–12 mental health interventions, and developing […]