Javier Portillo (PhD Candidate, MCDB)
Co-Founder
javier.portillo@yale.edu
Javier Portillo is a PhD candidate in MCDB. He is a National Science Foundation Fellow, a Yale Prize Teaching Fellow, and leads the initiative to create Yale’s first university-wide mentorship program between Yale College, Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and Yale’s various professional schools. His research interests are aimed at elucidating the molecular/biochemical mechanisms of the genetic and chemical origins of life.
Sami Elrazky (SY ’22)
Co-Founder
sami.elrazky@yale.edu
Sami Elrazky is a senior pursuing a dual degree in MCDB and HSHM. He developed the GUMI Mentor Database as a tool to connect graduate students/postdocs with valuable experience and undergraduates looking for meaningful mentorship relationships. In the Strittmatter lab, he studies receptors that bind misfolded α-synuclein in Parkinson’s disease.Maxine Mackie (MC ’23)
Co-Chair
maxine.mackie@yale.edu
Maxine Mackie is a junior pursuing E&EB on the pre-med track. She works as a research assistant in the Ishizuka Immuno-oncology lab on the Yale Medical School campus. Outside of GUMI, she works with the Migration Alliance at Yale and loves to volunteer. She is currently the Chair of GUMI.Kevin Chen (MC ’24)
kevin.chen.kc2252@yale.edu
Kevin Chen is a sophomore who hopes to double major in MB&B on the pre-med track and archaeological studies. He is working on the Graduate-Undergraduate Mentorship Initiative (GUMI) to expand on mentorship resources and promote diversity and inclusion in the Yale research community. Outside of YURA, he works as a paleoarchaeology research assistant in the Thompson lab.
Aarthi Vijayakumar (GH ’23)
aarthi.vijayakumar@yale.edu
Aarthi Vijayakumar is a junior pursuing MB&B on the pre-med track as well as a certificate in Spanish. Outside of YURA, Aarthi helps direct Yale Undergraduate Science Olympiad and is an undergraduate researcher in the Steitz lab, where she studies the role of noncoding RNAs in the antiviral response.
Siraj Patwa (BK ’23)
siraj.patwa@yale.edu
Siraj Patwa is a junior pursuing Neuroscience on the pre-med track and a certificate in Spanish. He conducts research on neuroanatomical changes following injury to the nervous system in the Waxman lab. In addition to being a part of the Yale Undergraduate Research Association, he serves as a volunteer at the HAVEN free clinic.
Mia Haraguchi (DC ’22)
mia.haraguchi@yale.edu
Mia is majoring in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology. She works on the Graduate-Undergraduate Mentorship Initiative (GUMI), developing resources for graduate mentors and contributing to outreach efforts.
