OCF Fellows

Emma Groetecke (she/her) is a second-year PhD student in Chemistry working in the Wencewicz laboratory, where she studies the influence of natural product analogs on bacterial nutrient acquisition, with a focus on the total synthesis of novel antibiotic scaffolds. Emma completed her B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Kentucky in 2024, where she was […]

A PhD student in Mechanical Engineering, Savannah hopes to use engineering principles to gain a deeper understanding of pregnancy-related biomechanical changes in uterine tissue. After graduating from Scripps College in 2021 with a BA in Biophysics, she continued her education at WashU as a member of the Dual-Degree Engineering Program, where she earned a BS […]

Eric is a PhD student in the IMSE who seeks to use computation methods to predict material behavior for a vast range of uses. He is a First-Generation student who was the first in his family to get a college degree. He is a 4-year recipient of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund and has been awarded […]

Emily is a PhD student in the Marketing department at Olin Business School. She studies consumer behavior and more specifically, how human beings make decisions. She is interested in understanding human behaviors and the human mind and hopes to bring forth positive changes to society. 

Mona Jawad is a PhD student in Speech and Hearing Science with a focus on applied computation. With her bioengineering background, she seeks to use machine learning to create new clinical tools and investigate patterns in audiological data. The founder of a social enterprise for deaf learners, she is also passionate about improving educational opportunities […]

Stacey Chen is a PhD student in the Movement Science PhD program housed within the Department of Physical Therapy. She graduated from University of Evansville in 2015 with a degree in Athletic Training. While pursuing her clinical degree, she concurrently worked in a biomechanics laboratory to better understand mechanisms related to musculoskeletal pain. As she […]

Alexis Rivera is pursuing a PhD in Mechanical Engineering. She graduated summa cum laude from Hendrix College with a BA in Physics in 2020. While at Hendrix College, she was a mentor for the Increasing Retention and Inclusion in STEM program, which provided resources and community for students in demographics that are underrepresented in STEM. […]

Samuel Naranjo Rincón, originally from Barranquilla, Colombia, is a Computational and Data Science PhD student with research interests in large-scale brain architecture and temporal dynamics of functional neural connections. He earned his BS in Psychology at the University of Central Florida. There, he joined the McNair program where he became interested in pursuing a doctoral degree. […]

Brianna is a Molecular Cell Biology PhD student with research interest in the intersection of genetic diseases and neurodegeneration. She received her BA in Chemistry, BS in Psychology from the University of Missouri- Columbia in 2021. She became involved in research during her undergraduate career within the fields of Neuropsychology and Cognitive Neuroscience, where she […]

A PhD student in Cancer Biology, Alyssa aspires to deepen her understanding of the biological mechanisms that promote cancer initiation, growth, and metastasis. As a woman in STEM and the first in her family to pursue graduate education, she is enthusiastic about mentoring other young women in STEM and empowering students from all backgrounds. She […]

A PhD student in the Immunology department of The Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Crystal Lovato seeks to understand the immune system as it pertains to autoimmunity. With her background in Microbiology and personal connections to the challenges disease presents, she hopes to add to the body of knowledge that feeds treatment options of […]

Joseph Adjei is a first-year PhD student in the Plant and Microbial Biosciences (PMB) program seeking to explore intracellular/intercellular communication within organisms, with the aim of improving food security and human condition. He is a deaf student from Ghana, West Africa. Joseph received his BS with Honors in Biomedical Science from the Rochester Institute of […]

Izzy Howerton (she/her) is a PhD student in Public Health Sciences, with a passion for investigating systems-level facilitators and barriers to LGBTQ+ health—particularly as it relates to intimate partner violence and gender norms. Since graduating with an MPH from the Brown School in 2020, Izzy has worked as an epidemiologist, whose work was dedicated to […]

An incoming PhD student in the Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences (EEPS), Alexander Nguyen aims to use radar remote sensing to study earth processes on the planets and moons in our solar system. In his experience of navigating predominately white and affluential spaces while being biracial, low-income, and the child of a refugee, […]