Alumni
Meet our former trainees and summer studentsFormer Research Staff
Liana Massey, BA
(She/her)
Behavioral Research Coordinator II
Liana joined the Kan Collaboratory in August of 2022 after graduating from the University of Chicago with a double major in Comparative Human Development and Gender & Sexuality Studies, as well as a minor in Creative Writing. During her time in college, she gained an interest in research and worked as a research assistant in a behavioral economics lab, a public health lab, and a sociology lab. Liana is so excited to be a part of the Kan Collaboratory because of her passion for using research to improve care. Outside of the lab, Liana enjoys volunteering at a therapy start-up called Hope For Men, spending time in some of Chicago’s Public Libraries, and watching scary movies.
Former Research Assistants
Bella Vences
(she/her)
Student Research Assistant
Bella joined the Kan Collaboratory as a summer intern in 2025.
She received her B.S. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Interdisciplinary Health Sciences with a concentration in Health Diversity and a double minor in Public Health and Health Administration. In the fall of 2025, she will pursue her Masters in Healthcare Administration at the University of Illinois – Chicago. In her free time, she likes playing sports, shopping, and cheering for Real Madrid.
Karlee Waugh
(she/her)
Student Research Assistant
Karlee joined the Kan Collaboratory as a summer intern in 2025. At the time, she was a rising senior at the University of Notre Dame majoring in Biochemistry with minors in Global Health and Health, Humanities, and Society. She is passionate about community health and creating equitable systems in rural areas through innovative interventions. She sits on the executive board for her school’s Global Health Club and is helping to conduct a Community Health Needs Assessment of West South Bend. In her free time, she likes to spend time with friends and family, run, and watch early 2000s Rom Coms.
Kenneth Ogunniyi
(He/His)
Student Research Assistant
Kenneth Ogunniyi joined the Kan Collaboratory as a summer intern in June 2025. At the time, he was a rising junior at the University of Illinois – Chicago majoring in Neuroscience and minoring in Black Studies on the Pre-Med track. His interests include expanding health care access, and increasing health literacy for underserved communities. As he pursues a career in the medical field, he hopes to be able to make a change in how medicine is understood and appreciated. In his free time, he likes to play basketball and enjoys spending time with friends.
Kiran Bhat
(She/her)
Student Research Assistant
Kiran joined the Kan Collaboratory as a summer intern in 2024. At the time, she was a rising Junior at Northwestern studying Cognitive Science and Social Policy with a minor in Data Science. She is excited by the health systems-oriented research at Kan and hopes to enact change in the maternal and immigrant health spaces through epidemiological research and health data analysis. At Northwestern she co-leads the Asian Pacific American Coalition and directs fundraising for the Undergraduate Prison Education Program. In her free time, she can be found with her film camera, a book, or an iced matcha latte.
Lizbeth Sanchez
(She/her)
Student Research Assistant
Lizbeth Sanchez joined the Kan Collaboratory as a summer intern in June 2024. At the time, she was a rising junior at DePaul University studying Health Sciences with a Bioscience concentration on a pre-nursing track. Her interest in the research aspect of healthcare was sparked when enrolled in courses centered on public health, health policy, and ethics. She was excited to join the Kan Collaboratory and expand her knowledge on patient- centered research. As she pursues a career as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner she hopes to integrate what she learned throughout her experience in the lab to improve care and be an advocate for underserved communities.
Sierra Rios
(She/her)
Research Student Assistant
Sierra joined the Kan Collaboratory as a summer intern in 2023 and continued into the academic year. During her time at Kan Collaboratory, Sierra was a student at Northwestern University studying Biology, Psychology, and Gender and Sexuality Studies on the pre-med track.
During Sierra’s time interning at the Collaboratory, she practiced literature reviews and building visual abstracts and gained valuable skills relating to preparation for a clinical trial including screening of patients via the Lurie Children’s hospital electronic medical records and workshops with clinicians and families.
Angelique Leon
(She/her)
Research Student Assistant
Angelique is a native Chicago resident who has grown up in various different areas of the South Side. She was a senior at the University of Michigan studying sociology with a health & medicine concentration and a minor in quantitative methods during the internship.
During the summer of 2022, she participated in the Katz and Manne Research Institute Summer Scholars Program and was paired to work in the Kan Collaboratory, where she developed her data visualization and research skills while exploring the field of pediatrics.
Michelle Ran
(She/her)
Research Student Assistant
Michelle was a rising junior at Northwestern University studying Neuroscience on a pre-medicine track at the time of her 2023 summer internship.
In her role as a student research assistant, Michelle participated in data collection and patient screening for the TEACCCH project at Kan Collab, developed her expertise in data visualization and conducting comprehensive literature reviews, and explored the expansive field of pediatric medicine.
Emma Wall
(She/her)
Research Student Assistant
Emma joined the Kan Collaboratory as a summer student in June of 2022 and continued into the academic year. During her time at Kan Collaboratory, Emma was a student at Northwestern University where she studied biology and psychology.
Greta List
(She/her)
Research Student Assistant
Greta attended Brown University studying public health on a pre-med track at the time of her 2022 summer internship as a student research assistant.
During her time in the lab, she was able to work on multiple projects, learn valuable skills pertaining to literature reviews, create and achieve goals, write parts of a research paper, and so much more.
Dr. Kan awarded me the opportunity to shadow her in the clinic throughout the summer! This experience was one that I cherish, as it has taught me so, so much about being a researcher, advocate, and doctor!