WhizKids

Officers

Erika Ebbel, Chief Executive Officer

Alicia Bielik, Chief Operations Officer

Alicia Bielik completed her Ph.D. in Chemistry at Boston University in 2007. Her research at BU focused on the quantification of sulfated carbohydrates in healthy and osteoarthritic cartilage using the technique of mass spectrometry. Alicia currently works for New England Biolabs as the Glycobiology Product Manager.

In her spare time Alicia enjoys traveling, running, shopping, and watching Grey's Anatomy.

Maureen Griffin, Chief Financial Officer

Maureen earned a Ph.D. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 2003. While at Penn, she developed a novel micro-mechanical technique called micropipette peeling to investigate the role of muscle cell adhesion in normal and diseased skeletal muscle cells. After graduating, Maureen worked full time as a post-doctoral researcher and then a staff scientist a SelectX Pharmaceuticals until the birth of her son in 2006. Currently, she is a consultant for SelectX in addition to teaching for the WhizKids Foundation. Maureen uses her spare time to read, blog, cook, and renovate her house.

Jerrad Pierce, Chief Program Officer

Jerrad studied Environmental Policy within the Urban Studies program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, although he flirted with Chemistry as a major and has a strong technical background. Jerrad's interests include research in sustainable development and environmental policy with a focus on diffusion of technology. He is currently completeing a Master's in the Urban and Environmental Policy department at Tufts University.

Staff

Lisa Christadore

Lisa is a fourth-year PhD candidate in the Chemistry Department at Boston University. Her research focuses on microarray transcription profiling in human cells for determining the biological effects of quinolinone drug candidates. Lisa received her undergraduate degree from Loyola University Maryland where she majored in Chemistry and minored in Spanish. She has served on the Boston University Women In Chemistry board for three years and currently oversees the group's website. She has a strong interest in science writing and policy, and she enjoys the beach, running, reading and traveling.

Leonierose Dacuycuy

Leonierose attended the University of Southern California as an undergraduate and obtained a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology and a minor in Spanish. She then attended Boston University School of Medicine and received a Master of Arts in Medical Sciences after completing a lab thesis on the effects of different incubation times with serum-free medium on fatty acid uptake and oxidation in L6 skeletal muscle cells. Her strong interest in clinical research led her to pursue a second Masters in Clinical Investigation (MACI). She is currently working on her MACI thesis to investigate the effect of vitamin D on measures of bone health and gene expression. In her spare time, Leonierose enjoys reading, singing, dancing and running.

Vlada Doktor

Vlada is pursuing her graduate degree at Boston University School of Medicine. She has attained her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology with concentration in Art History and Public Health at Brandeis University. Her current research project at Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Center involves determining more precise clinical criteria of diagnosing Mild Cognitive Impairment that leads to Alzheimer's disease. Vlada's two passions aside from clinical medicine are art history and music. Also, she loves traveling and learning new cultures.

Faith Dukes

Faith is currently a PhD candidate in Chemistry at Tufts University. Her research focuses on sum frequency studies of iron and tungsten doped titatnium dioxide. She received her bachelors degree in Chemistry from Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia. In her spare time, Faith enjoys reading, shopping and spending time with friends.

Jeremiah Farelli

Jeremiah Farelli is a Ph.D. candidate in biophysics in the division of Graduate Medical Sciences at Boston University School of Medicine. In the autumn of 1999, Jeremiah moved to Amherst, MA to attend the University of Massachusetts. While there, he finished a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry in 2003, as well as a Master of Science degree in Biochemistry in 2004. Currently, Jeremiah is working on elucidating the structural and biochemical roles of IcmQ in the Type IVb Secretion System of the pathogen Legionella pneumophila. Jeremiah is interested in teaching future generations of scientists and researchers.

Kathleen Krohne

Katie is a MPH candidate at the Boston University School of Public Health. She completed her BA in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology and German at the University of Colorado, where she worked on a project involving lots of flourescence microscopy and D. melanogaster (fruit fly) embryos. Her concentrations at BU are Epidemiology and Maternal and Child Health, and she hopes to work abroad for at least part of her career.

When not reading the gobs of literature for her degree program, Katie enjoys hiking, cooking and anything new.

Erika Kullberg

Erika Kullberg graduated from Emory University in 2005 where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry. She is currently pursuing dental medicine at Boston University Goldman School of Dentistry and plans to specialize in either Orthodontics or Pediatrics. In her free time, Erika enjoys running, dancing, swimming, tennis, and going out with friends. She is also very excited about the opportunity to teach and inspire young children through WhizKids. Her hometown is Gastonia, North Carolina.

Tyler Longmire

Tyler Longmire is a PhD candidate in the department of Molecular Medicine; program of Cellular and Molecular Biology at Boston University School of Medicine. Tyler received a Bachelor of Science degree in cellular and molecular biology and minors in biochemistry and computer science from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts. His thesis research focuses on the role of chromatin remodeling in cell fate specification and lineage commitment during lung development utilizing mouse embryonic stem cells as an in vitro model. Tyler enjoys music, hanging out with friends, science and technology.

Laura Packer

Laura Packer is a Biophysics PhD candidate in the department of Physiology and Biophsics at Boston University School of Medicine. Laura received a bachelor of science degree in biochemistry from Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA. Her research focus is in protein folding, structure and design. She enjoys music, being with her friends and family, getting outdoors... and of course science!!!

Stephanie Seidl

Stephanie Seidl is a Ph.D. candidate in Biochemistry at Boston University School of Medicine. Stephanie received a bachelor of science degree in Biochemistry from University of Wisconsin Madison. Her research focuses on lipid metabolism and atherosclerosis. To do this she many works with smooth muscle cells. When not in the lab, Stephanie enjoys running, traveling, and anything adventurous.

Patricia Silva

Patricia Lopes Silva completed her Master's in Medical Sciences with concentration in Medical Microbiology and Immunology at the University of South Florida College of Medicine. She has researched in the area of diabetes where she tested the efficacy of a cinnamon extract in rat models of type II diabetes. Patricia has extensive clinical experience as an assistant in facial plastic surgery, internal medicine, pediatrics and urgent care, and will be entering medical school in the near future. She is originally from Brazil and fluent in Portuguese, Spanish and English, and has used her skills to teach ESL to adults. Aside from her passion for science and medicine, Patricia enjoys spending time with her niece and nephew and working out.

Tara Stewart

Tara Stewart is a dual Ph.D. candidate in Biomolecular Pharmacology & Biomedical Neuroscience programs at Boston University School of Medicine. Tara received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology & Neuroscience from Wake Forest University in North Carolina before finishing a post-baccalaureate program in Biomedical Sciences at Tufts University School of Medicine. Her research involves a systems pharmacology approach in the mechanisms of learning and memory as modulated by the GABA-A receptor and associated therapeutics. To achieve this, she works as an electrophysiologist to directly monitor place cell activity in the brains of freely behaving rats and transgenic mice in real-time while they execute specific tasks. When not in the lab, Tara enjoys reading, running, traveling, and having fun with friends.

Jeff Unger

Jeff earned an M.S. in Zoology from Texas Tech University and a B.A. in Biology from Wake Forest University. He enjoys teaching young kids and currently works for High Touch High Tech of New England, traveling to schools in the Boston area to teach hands on science programs for elementary classes. In his spare time, Jeff likes to meditate, hike, run, engage in anything physically active, and naively root for Wake Forest basketball with the hopes they will a national championship in my lifetime.

Cassandre Voltaire

Cassandre attended the University of Connecticut and graduated in 2008 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology. She is currently pursuing a Masters degree at Boston University and is completing her thesis in the Department of Endocrinology. Her current research project involves studying the effects of vitamin D supplementation on genomic expression. Cassandre enjoys the theater, reading, biking, dancing, and learning about new and upcoming scientific achievements.

Michelle Walk

Michelle Walk is a new graduate of Boston University with her Master of Arts degree in Biochemistry. Her research focused on growth factor signaling between endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells in the vasculature and how that related to atherosclerosis and restenosis. Instead of persuing a traditional science career, she has since taken up the Director/CEO position at The UrbanSoph Initiative, an up and coming non-profit in the Boston area. Michelle aims to keep a busy schedule and loves the outdoors, traveling, painting and trying all types of cuisine! In the future she wants to move back to Australia, having fallen in love with the country when she studied abroad there.

Erica Walsh

Erica Walsh is a Cell and Molecular Biology PhD candidate in the department of Biochemistry at Boston University School of Medicine. Erica received a bachelor of science degree in biology from Lycoming College in Williamsport, PA. Her research focuses on discovering how MDM2 regulates p53 and RB proteins during cell differentiation. In her free time, she likes to go sailing and skiing.

Jared Walsh

Jared Walsh is a M.A. - Medical Sciences candidate in the Department of Graduate Medical Sciences at the Boston University School of Medicine. Jared received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology with a focus on Biological Psychology from Boston College. Between college and graduate school Jared worked at the Massachusetts General Hospital as a Clinical Research Coordinator in the Department of Psychology-Neurosciences. His thesis research focuses on the effects of partial agonists of the glycine recognition site of the NMDA receptor on memory consolidation and negative symptoms in individuals with schizophrenia. Outside of the clinic Jared enjoys running, music, having fun with friends, and of course science.

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