Melissa Fajardo (she/her):
Chapter President
Melissa Fajardo is a Neuroscience PhD Candidate in the NUIN Program at Northwestern University. Her birthplace is Miami, FL and she received a B.S. in Biological Sciences and a B.A. in Psychology from Florida International University. She is currently studying neural mechanisms behind human movement and their disruptions after injury or disease using human and computational approaches. Melissa is of Salvadorean/Guatemalan descent and is a first generation student. Outside of academia, she is also involved in teaching computer programming skills to high-school aged females and nonbinary folks and enjoys spending time tending to her indoor garden and weightlifting.
Laura Magana-Hernandez:
Chapter Vice President
Laura Magana-Hernandez is a Neuroscience PhD candidate in the NUIN program at Northwestern University. She was born in Santa Cruz, CA and received her B.S in Cell & Molecular Biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She also received her M.S in Cell & Molecular Biology from San Francisco State University. Her current research focuses on cell adhesion, which is crucial for aiding neurons to properly integrate into neural circuits. Protocadherins (PCDHs) are cell-cell adhesion molecules, which form the largest subfamily of the cadherin family in vertebrates. PCDHs have a key role in the development of the nervous system through neurite outgrowth, synaptic differentiation & refinement, and later, synaptic maturation. She studies pathogenic variants in PCDHs that have been associated with neurodevelopmental diseases (NDDs) such as autism spectrum disorder, microcephaly, epilepsy, etc. and looks at how these variants affect PCDH function, particularly cell-cell adhesion. Outside of academia, she is passionate about outreach and volunteering. She also enjoys reading, sports, and baking.
Michael Clark
Chapter Admin
Michael Clark is a second-year PhD student in Biomedical Engineering. He was born in Grapevine, TX but lived in North Carolina for most of his life where he earned his B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from North Carolina State University. His research is focused on understanding how stroke affects a person’s ability to engage in dynamic upper body activities as well as finding ways to quantify the contribution of motor deficit phenomenon on a person’s quality of movement. Michael is of Mexican descent with most of his family living in Monterrey. In his free time, he enjoys tending to the Tech vegetable gardens, singing in his church choir, and DMing for his D&D group.
Iván Méndez
Outreach Co-Chair
Iván Méndez is a Postdoctoral researcher in the Neurobiology Department. He uses fruit flies to understand how the brain changes during evolution to produce different behaviors among species. Iván was born in México and attended the National University (UNAM) where he obtained his Bachelors in Biology. He then pursued a master’s in Ecology and Evolution at the University of Munich in Germany and moved to the US in 2018 to study a PhD in Developmental Biology at the University of Pittsburgh.
In his free time, Iván likes to watch fútbol (soccer), listen to music (rock, jazz, norteño, salsa) and go out dancing.
Citlayi Villaseñor (she/her):
Chapter Treasurer
Citlayi is a fourth year PhD student in the Interdisciplinary Biological Sciences (IBiS) program. She was raised in Escondido, California and earned her bachelor’s degree from San Diego State University studying biochemistry. Her dad’s side of the family is from Degollado, Mexico while her mom’s side of the family is from Los Angeles, California and Sinaloa, Mexico. She is researching in Dr. Neha Kamat’s laboratory in the department of Biomedical Engineering. Citlayi uses biophysical techniques to study lipid membrane properties and how these properties affect alpha-helical membrane protein folding. She is a first-generation doctoral degree student who loves being immersed in nature and music when she’s done in lab for the day.
Karla Medina (she/hers/ella):
Professional Development Chair
Karla Medina is a third-year PhD student in the Interdisciplinary Biological Sciences Program in the lab of Dr. Vadim Backman. She studies the chromatin dynamics of cancer stem cells to characterize how structure and conformation relate to ensemble gene expression using a combination of molecular modeling, genomic sequencing, and nanoscale microscopy methods. A proud Mexican American and Californian; she was born and raised in San Diego, CA, and earned her bachelor’s degree from Cal State San Marcos and a master’s from San Francisco State University both in Molecular and Cellular Biology. In her free time, she likes to explore the vibrant city of Chicago, thrift-flip with her sewing machine, and cook a variety of different Mexican dishes.
Annmarie Dominguez (she/her/hers):
Archivist & Webmaster
Annmarie Dominguez is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Driskill Graduate Program for Life Sciences (DGP), within the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University. She grew up in Los Angeles, CA and received a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her current doctoral research is focused on elucidating how vascular endothelial cells sense and interpret hemodynamic forces (such as shear stress, which is caused by physiological blood flow) at the molecular level. She is a first-generation student and the proud daughter of Salvadorean-American immigrants. In her free time, she enjoys listening to podcasts, cooking and sleeping with her calico cat Pepper.
Dr. Toni Gutierrez (she/hers):
Chapter Co-Advisor
Dr. Toni Gutierrez is the Assistant Director of the Driskill Graduate Program in Life Sciences at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and has served as a chapter advisor to NU SACNAS since 2014. Toni grew up on Texas-Mexico border in Laredo, Texas and received her BS at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio. Toni completed her graduate work at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas where she studied B cell function and terminal differentiation in a murine model of lupus. Toni has family roots in the South Texas region and Michoacán, Mexico. Since moving to Chicago in 2012, Toni enjoys as many cozy and grand music venues as she can manage and loves to share recommendations!
Dr. Marcelo Vinces (he/him/his):
Chapter Co-Advisor
Dr. Marcelo Vinces is a Weinberg College Academic Adviser and Associate Professor of Instruction in Biology at Northwestern University and has served as a chapter adviser since 2020. He is also on the leadership team for Northwestern’s HHMI Inclusive Excellence grant. His research background is in molecular biology of fungi and evolution of gene expression. He advises several other undergraduate and graduate student groups, including Advancing the Undocumented Community and GoSTEM. He grew up in New York City in an immigrant family from Ecuador, was formerly undocumented, and navigated university as a low-income student. Besides biology, his other great love is learning languages.
