Alumni

Yuanwei Li earned her doctorate in chemical and biological engineering in 2023 from Northwestern University, where she studied the self-assembly of nanoparticles and their optical and mechanical properties. She works at the intersection of chemistry, nanophotonics, and materials science. Her work has been published in the journals Nature and Science. At Stanford, she focused on developing new optical nanomaterials and modular molecular probes for biosensing and detection with applications in medical diagnostics and therapeutics. She is also dedicated to the design and synthesis of novel nanoparticles and their assemblies for photocatalysis and Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS). She is passionate about mentoring and committed to inspiring the next generation of scientists. Li is an Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana.

Antonio Del Rio Flores earned a doctorate in chemical and biomolecular engineering from UC-Berkeley in 2023. Del Rio Flores studies natural products with the aim of developing new treatments for human diseases and uncovering novel enzymology. He worked with Chaitan Khosla to study the biosynthesis of a natural product (NOCAP) produced by bacteria associated with clinical cases of nocardiosis, a potentially life-threatening pulmonary disease. By researching the biological activity of NOCAP, Del Rio Flores plans to further our understanding of host–pathogen interactions to uncover new ways to treat nocardiosis. Del Rio Flores is now an Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Avaneesh Narla earned a doctorate in physics from UC-San Diego in May 2023. The focus of Narla’s research has been understanding how microbial populations respond to and shape their environment. At Stanford, he worked with faculty hosts Daniel Fisher and Benjamin Good to study the adaptations of microbial populations in changing environments. This research will be used to help understand how biological collectives respond to climate change and biodiversity crises. Narla also plans to extend what he has learned from studying microbial populations to collective adaptation and resilience to environmental changes in social-insect colonies, such as ant mounds and bee swarms. Narla is currently an Assistant Professor of Integrated Sciences: Physics of Living Systems at Claremont McKenna College.

Huy Tuan Pham earned a doctorate in mathematics from Stanford and was named a Clay Research Fellow in 2023.  His research focuses on combinatorics and probability, in particular the analysis of large networks and random networks. His work has applications in fields such as number theory, theoretical computer science, and machine learning. Among his research contributions to different areas in combinatorics and probability, he has proved the Kahn-Kalai conjecture on thresholds and Talagrand’s conjectures on suprema of selector and empirical processes. Pham worked with SSF faculty host Jacob Fox, as well as other faculty members in related areas, to further his research. He also hopes to help disadvantaged students from developing countries on their paths to pursuing research in mathematics. Pham was a scholar at the Institute for Advanced Studies before joining the faculty of CalTech as an Assistant Professor in the Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy.  

Kimberly Carter-Fenk earned a doctorate at The Ohio State University.  At Stanford she pursued research on fundamental dynamics and intermolecular interactions in deep eutectic solvents, which have applications in the development of fuel cells. Carter-Fenk’s interests span quantum chemistry, spectroscopy, and climate science and sustainability. She was recognized for outstanding teaching at Ohio State, and at Stanford she has served as a mentor to first-generation and low-income students and a representative on the Disability Staff Forum. Kimberly is a Teaching Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh.

Mia de los Reyes earned a doctorate in astrophysics at Caltech, where she studied the formation and evolution of galaxies, especially low-mass “dwarf galaxies.” As a Science Fellow, she investigated how the Milky Way and nearby galaxies differ from others in the universe. She was an active member of Astrobites, an international team of graduate students who make astrophysical research accessible to the general public. Mia is an Assistant Professor of Astronomy at Amherst College.

Diptarka Hait came to Stanford from the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned a doctorate in physical chemistry. His interests lie in computational quantum chemistry, and he has conducted research into how X-rays can be used to study chemical transformations. His graduate work was highly productive, leading to more than 20 publications. As a Science Fellow, Hait used the tools of physics and mathematics to advance understanding of photocatalysts and chemistry in general. He also enjoys sharing his love of science as a teacher and mentor to younger scientists. Hait is currently an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Columbia University and the Flatiron Institute.  

Alexander Jaffe studies microbial ecology and evolution, with a special interest in microbial metabolism. As a Stanford Science Fellow, he investigated how lifeforms in the deepest parts of the ocean contribute to the global carbon cycle, with implications for efforts to mitigate climate change. Jaffe earned a doctorate in microbiology at the University of California, Berkeley, where he has was involved in the CLEAR Project, which encourages early-career scientists to communicate with the public and be involved in their communities. In collaboration with Girls Who Code/College Track, he offered an introductory course in Python programming for high school students in Oakland. Alex is continuing his research at Stanford with Professors Ali Boehm and Anne Dekas.

Noa Katz earned a doctorate at the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, and came to Stanford as a postdoctoral scholar in 2021. As a Science Fellow, she pursues research at the intersection of physics, engineering, and the life sciences. Katz uses synthetic gene circuits to understand and manipulate the mechanics of neuro-regeneration in the human body, with therapeutic applications. She is the recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship and the Weizmann Institute of Science-Israel National Postdoctoral Award for Advancing Women in Science. She has long been involved in the iGEM international competition for students in synthetic biology, first as a participant and later as a mentor. In 2025 Katz was awarded a Synthetic Neuroscience grant from Stanford's WuTsai Neurosciences Institute, Sarafan Chem-H, and Bio-X.  She is continuing her research at Stanford with Brad Zuchero and Xiaojing Gao. 

Cheng Lyu studied physics and computational biology at Peking University and went on to a doctorate in neuroscience at the Rockefeller University, where his experimental research yielded discoveries about how the brains of fruit files help them better navigate in space via vector computations. As a Stanford Science Fellow, Lyu studied how neural circuits, specifically the fly’s olfactory circuit, are assembled during the brain’s development. He enjoys teaching and is eager to be a mentor to young scientists.  Lyu will join the School of Life Sciences at Westlake University as an Assistant Professor in early 2026.

Rong Ma is interested in using nanotechnology to answer questions in cell biology. After studying environmental science, Ma earned a doctorate at Emory University with research bridging chemistry and biophysics to investigate T cells, which defend against infections and cancer. As a Science Fellow, Ma collaborated with researchers in medicine and bioengineering to pursue breakthroughs in immunotherapy and cancer immunology. Ma was awarded the Michelson Prize for Human Immunology and Vaccine Research in 2021. Ma is continuing her research in the Covert lab at Stanford.

Jonathan Tidor earned a doctorate in mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His interests lie in the areas of discrete geometry and additive combinatorics. Tidor was part of a research team that solved a 70-year-old problem in geometry by determining the maximum number of equiangular lines for a given angle. He was active at MIT as an advisor and mentor in programs such as SPUR+, which aims to increase representation of women and underrepresented minorities in research mathematics. Jonathan is currently an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Princeton University.

Vicky Watson-Zink studies how marine animals made the transition to terrestrial modes of life beginning more than 300 million years ago. Her doctoral research at the University of California, Davis, assessed the genetic changes that have allowed crabs to adapt to living on land.  As part of that work, Watson-Zink is assembling the genome of the coconut crab, the planet’s largest terrestrial arthropod. Her published research has highlighted efforts to conserve the coconut crab and other threatened species.  As a Science Fellow, Watson-Zink explored the genetic basis of sea-to-land transitions by studying developmental transcriptomics in land crabs. Watson-Zink was named a Hanna H. Gray Fellow in 2025 and will join Cassandra Extavour's lab at Harvard in January 2026.

Zoe Zhu’s research uncovers the physical properties of systems across scales, from quantum materials to climate systems. At Stanford, she used machine learning to design tunable quantum materials and to explore the connections between quantum systems and climate science. Zhu completed a doctorate at Harvard University in the fields of physics and computational science and engineering. She was part of the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration that received the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics in 2019. Zhu is dedicated to teaching and mentoring, especially students from backgrounds underrepresented in physics. She was awarded Harvard’s Certificate of Distinction in Teaching, Harvard University in 2021. Zhu is currently an Assistant Professor of Physics at Boston College. 

Stepfanie Aguillon holds a bachelor's and a master's degree from the University of Arizona and a PhD in ecology and evolutionary biology from Cornell University. She has interests in behavioral ecology and evolutionary biology and seeks to understand how genes influence the way organisms look and behave. As a Science Fellow, she studied the genetic basis of mate choice behavior in a hybridizing fish system. Aguillon’s research has appeared in Proceedings of the Royal Society B and PLoS Genetics, among other venues, and she has published on the topic of science education. Stepfanie is an Assistant Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UCLA.

Brian Hie is interested in using technology to understand interactions between pathogens and their host organisms. As a doctoral student in electrical engineering and computer science at MIT, he developed novel applications of machine learning to biology and achieved important insights into viral mutation, and he is first author of papers appearing in venues such as Science and Nature Biotechnology. Brian has worked as a software engineer for Google X, Salesforce, and Illumina and holds three patents.  He currently holds a joint appointment as an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Data Science and Chemical Engineering at Stanford.

Zhurun Ji earned a doctoral degree in physics at the University of Pennsylvania. She pursues experimental and theoretical approaches in the area of condensed matter physics. Her work has appeared in the journals Science and Nature Materials. At Stanford she investigated the nature of electrons and worked on developing quantum materials for use in the next generation of green electronics. Ji is currently a Panofsky Fellow at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center and will be joining the faculty of MIT in early 2026.

Cody McCoy received her PhD in organismic and evolutionary biology from Harvard University. She holds a master’s degree in environmental policy from Oxford University, where she was a Rhodes Scholar. The focus of McCoy’s research is biological adaptations related to light, such as the coloration that allows birds and spiders to absorb more than 99 percent of light and thus appear “super black.” Her work has been featured in outlets including Scientific American and The New York Times. McCoy is an Assistant Professor in Ecology and Evolution and the Marine Biology Lab at the University of Chicago.

Maggie Miller obtained her PhD from Princeton University where she was an NSF Graduate Fellow. Before coming to Stanford, Maggie was an NSF Postdoctoral Fellow at MIT.  Maggie is a Clay Research Fellow.  She works on geometric topology and is interested in understanding surfaces in 4-dimensions. At Stanford Maggie broadened her work on topology of low-dimensional manifolds to include modern ideas from gauge theory.  She is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at the University of Texas-Austin.

Vishal Patil received his PhD from MIT in the field of applied mathematics. His work deals with topology and geometry in the context of elastic materials, including fibers with adaptive properties that are capable of mimicking neural networks and biological systems such as tumors. Patil’s research, which has been published in the journals Science and Nature, has applications in a range of fields, including engineering and medicine; he was collaborated with cardiac surgeons at Massachusetts General Hospital to improve surgical knots. Vishal is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at the University of California, San Diego.

Cody Aldaz studied chemistry at the University of New Mexico and the University of Michigan. He has received support for his work from the Department of Energy and the California Alliance Research Exchange, which brought him to Stanford as a visiting graduate student in 2018, where he pursued collaborations spanning the areas of photochemistry, computational chemistry, organic chemistry, and spectroscopy. As a Stanford Science Fellow, he continued his work developing materials for application in medicine, defense technology, and other fields.  Cody is currently a data scientist at Acelot.

Ina Anreiter is a behavioral biologist and geneticist with interests in human development, neuroscience, and computer science. She studied at the University Lisbon and the University of Toronto, where she earned a PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. In 2019–20 she was a Schmidt Science Fellow and a visiting researcher at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research. She is currently developing computational tools for the study of genetics and furthering her research on the long-term effects of environment and experience on biological processes. Ina is now an Assistant Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at the University of Toronto.  Congratulations, Ina!

Sarah Cooley holds a PhD in Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences from Brown University. Cooley’s research focuses on harnessing miniature satellites to remotely study greenhouse methane emissions from Arctic waters. She is passionate about building a stronger community of women and underrepresented minorities in her field and seeks opportunities to engage with, and learn from, the Indigenous Arctic residents of the regions she studies.  Cooley is currently an Assistant Professor of Planetary Health at Duke University. Congratulations to Sarah, the Stanford Science Fellows program's first alum!

Ivana Cvijović holds a PhD in Systems Biology from Harvard. As a Lewis-Sigler Theory Fellow at Princeton, she studied how populations of white blood cells, the basis of the immune system, evolve over the course of an individual’s lifetime. Her work combines evolutionary theory and the methods of physics and mathematics to understand how mutation and natural selection shape genetic diversity within large populations.  After completing the Stanford Science Fellows program, Ivana is continuing her research at Stanford.

Caleb Lareau studied biochemistry and mathematics at the University of Tulsa and biostatistics at Harvard. With support from the National Cancer Institute, he conducted his doctoral research at Harvard Medical School and the Broad Institute, where he developed new biotechnical and computational tools for understanding the genetic mechanisms underlying blood production in humans. As a Stanford Science Fellow, he collaborated with researchers in the School of Medicine to understand genetic relationships among cells in the human body and investigate how cells respond to damage and disease.  Caleb is now an Assistant Professor in the Computational & Systems Biology program at the Sloan Kettering Institute.

Shankari Rajagopal earned her MS and PhD in physics from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Prior to that, she graduated with an SB in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. As a Science Fellow, Shankari pursued experimental investigations of novel phases of matter in the Schleier-Smith lab. She joined the physics department at the University of Michigan as an Assistant Professor in January 2025.

Viktoryia Shautsova received her bachelor’s degree in computer science from Belarus State University and a PhD in physics from Imperial College London. She draws upon her deep knowledge in physics, material science, neuroscience and biology to develop nanoscale brain-computer interfaces for studying the human brain that could one day be allow people to interact with artificial intelligence systems. Viktoryia is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Central Florida. 

Alfredo Valencia earned a doctoral degree in chemical biology from Harvard where he conducted research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He was also an active member of the Minority Biomedical Scientists of Harvard and received recognition as a Diversity and Inclusion Fellow.  Alfredo is also the recipient of a Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship.  As a Stanford Science Fellow, he continued his work on genetics and developmental disorders.  Alfredo is currently a Senior Scientist at Pfizer.