President

This position is charged with leading the BB GSA as a whole and keeping track of other leadership positions. They will serve as a faculty liaison- communicating comments and concerns between the faculty and/or chair and the graduate student body as needed. They will attend faculty meetings as the graduate student representative.

Brittany Lasher

Class Standing: 4th year Graduate Student

Lab: Hendrix

Hello, my name is Brittany Lasher and I am honored to be serving as the GSA president. I am a Pacific Northwest native, obtained my bachelor’s degree from UW in Chemical Engineering and my master’s degree from Johns Hopkins in Biomolecular Engineering. I am a fourth-year graduate student in the Hendrix lab, where I utilize data science to better understand biological processes related to gene rhythmicity and RNA structure. When I’m not on my computer doing research, I’m outside with my two wonderful dogs exploring the vast PNW. I chose to pursue my PhD at Oregon State University because of the amazing research opportunities as well as the close-knit department environment, which quickly felt like a family. I am excited to be serving on the GSA this year.

Vice President

This position is charged with representing the greater graduate student body in graduate student recruitment. They will serve as a full member of the Graduate Programs Committee and will serve as the point person for graduate student recruitment events.

Rachel Franklin

Class Standing: 4th year graduate Student

Lab: Beckman

Hi! I'm Rachel Franklin. I joined the BB grad program after graduating from UC Davis with my B.S in Forensic Chemistry. Now, I am in my 4^th year at OSU and my research focuses on using new tools to study protein modifications with mass spectrometry. In addition to graduate research, I also work full-time at a local technology company called e-MSion. When I am not working or doing research, I enjoy spending time with my son, Elliott, and tending to my garden. This is my second year as GSA vice-president and my favorite part about this position is taking part in the recruitment process for the next cohort of incoming graduate students!

Fellowship Coordinator

This position is charged with creating and maintaining a database of submitted fellowship applications (both successful and unsuccessful) from the department as well as organizing a list of fellowships and annual deadlines. They will organize peer reviews for fellowship applications and assist applicants with navigating applications/application websites as needed.

Vacant

Class Standing:

Lab:

Media and Publicity Coordinator

This position is charged with updating and maintaining a graduate roster and graduate student FAQ on the department website. They will assist in posting important departmental updates on BB’s socials.

Moriah Mathis

Class Standing: 2nd year Graduate Student

Lab: Cooley

My name is Moriah Mathis. I'm from Spokane, Washington, and received my undergrad degree from Brigham Young University in Chemistry. I am in Rick Cooley's lab, where I'm currently working on developing GCE strategies for incorporating phosphoserine mimics into proteins. Outside of research, I enjoy reading, crocheting, being outside, and spending time with my husband and our cat.

Secretary & Treasurer

This position is charged with maintaining the BB GSA shared drive and organizing resources for each year. They also assume responsibility for all allocated funds and for recording and distributing minutes from graduate student meetings.

Michael Youkhateh

Class Standing: 5th year graduate student

Lab: Hendrix

I was born and raised in New Britain, Connecticut, where I completed my undergraduate degree in Biochemistry at Central Connecticut State University. I am interested in the research areas of protein engineering and design. In my free time, I enjoy staying active and playing soccer or going for runs, in addition to reading!

Outreach Coordinator

The Outreach Chair will be charged with heading the BB Summer Camp, and other outreach events including Discovering the Scientist Within. This officer will be in contact with Cathy Law to organize these events.

Vacant

Class Standing:

Lab:

Diversity and Social Justice Chair

This position will be charged with being the student rep in the BB Diversity Equity Justice and Inclusion group. This officer will communicate DEJI efforts between the department and the COS.

Sanjay Ramprasad

Class Standing:

Lab:

Seminar Chair

This position is charged with organizing and initiating selecting and inviting seminar speakers, including at least one graduate student selected seminar speaker and the annual alumni speaker. They will also guide younger graduate students with hosting and planning duties and is responsible for ordering the plaque for the annual alumni speaker. They will coordinate with 3rd year graduate students and Faculty Seminar Chair to make sure Tsoo King Lecture arrangements are proceeding on schedule.

Monica Vidal-Franco

Class Standing: 3rd year Graduate Student

Lab: Vanegas

Mónica hails from a beautiful island in the Caribbean, Puerto Rico. She received a B.S. in Natural Sciences from the University of Puerto Rico in Cayey. She is a third-year graduate student in the Vanegas lab where she investigates mechanosensitive channels through molecular dynamics simulations and biochemical techniques. In her leisure time she reads, go on hikes, and watches documentaries. She is looking forward to planning and hosting seminars with her fellow grad students!

Seminar Chair

This position is charged with organizing and initiating selecting and inviting seminar speakers, including at least one graduate student selected seminar speaker and the annual alumni speaker. They will also guide younger graduate students with hosting and planning duties and is responsible for ordering the plaque for the annual alumni speaker. They will coordinate with 3rd year graduate students and Faculty Seminar Chair to make sure Tsoo King Lecture arrangements are proceeding on schedule.

Reginald Appiah-Kubi

Class Standing: 2nd year Graduate Student

Lab: Hendrix

I am Reginald Appiah-Kubi from Ghana, where I obtained my bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from the University of Cape Coast. I am a second-year graduate student in the Hendrix lab, where I use approaches in biocomputing and bioinformatics to study hops genomics and the general principles governing its genetic crossover and recombination. At my leisure, I like to play video games, soccer, hangout with friends and occasionally visit the gym.

Party Czar

This position will maintain events, celebrations, and socials for the BB GSA. They will organize quarterly events to promote positive interactions between graduate students.

Jesse Howe

Class Standing: 5th year graduate Student

Lab: Barbar

I’m Jesse Howe, and I’m excited to serve another year as Party Czar. I’m from just north of San Diego. I’m currently studying polybivalency in LC8, and am currently working towards determining whether molecular crowding from the cell can affect how LC8 binds its clients. In my free time, I enjoy playing board games, playing guitar, and watching old movies. I have a baby skink named Rex, and his favorite food is bananas.

Post-doc/Research Assistant Representatives

A representative will be selected for each class cohort. These positions are charged with serving as the primary contact for the class (particularly for department administrators).

Mareike Moller

Lab: Freitag

John Ridenour

Lab: Freitag

Savanna Avila-Crump

Lab: Mehl

Grace Galles

Class Representatives

A representative will be selected for each class cohort. These positions are charged with serving as the primary contact for the class (particularly for department administrators).

Nick Bretz

Class Standing: 1st year graduate Student

Reginald Appiah-Kubi

Class Standing: 2nd year graduate Student

Lab: Hendrix

Mónica Vidal-Franco

Class Standing: 3rd year graduate Student

Lab: Vanegas

Tolittama Chatterjee

Class Standing: 4th year graduate Student

Jesse Howe

Class Standing: 5th year graduate Student

Lab: Barbar