Course Associates 2024-25

Welcome to the HumBio core! My name is Bryant, and I look forward to being an A-side CA for you all. I am from rural Illinois, but Stanford and the HumBio community have become my second home. I hope to make HumBio the same for you all! The faculty treat you with respect, the department gives you flexibility, and the professors teach you valuable knowledge and life skills to take on the world’s greatest challenges surrounding humans and our environment. My Area of Concentration was Genetics in Healthcare and Ethics, which taught me about groundbreaking medical technologies and how to use them ethically. HumBio brings in people of all backgrounds and interests. As an undergrad, I worked in the Abu-Remaileh lab on Salmonella metabolism and gene editing. My minor was Spanish, which led me to study abroad in Madrid, where the food was so good that it had me rethinking the flight back. I assisted in teaching adult Spanish classes, where we went to Valencia. I also volunteered as a companion of two veterans with United Students for Veterans’ Health. Soccer is my passion, and I manage the most decorated (unconfirmed) IM soccer team, E. Wandless F.C., at Stanford. I am looking forward to getting to know all of you and crush A-side!

Hi everyone, and welcome to the HumBio Core! My name is Leila, and I'm excited to be one of your A-side CAs. As a sophomore, I decided to take the Core literally the day before it started, after dabbling in many other majors during my freshman year (English, Math, and Aero/Astro being just some of them!). It didn't take long for me to fall in love with HumBio, both for the flexibility it offered in exploring my interests and for the incredible faculty, CAs, and students I met in the Core. My concentration was Gastrointestinal Health and Disability Studies, which included classes ranging from archaeology and design to microbiology and immunology. I minored in Spanish and studied abroad in Spain, where I interned in a Women's Hospital and traveled to many amazing places in Europe and North Africa. I also completed an honors thesis in the Howitt Lab, where I did research on pediatric Crohn's disease and helminth (worm!) infections. I spend most of my free time outside and especially love rock climbing, backpacking, hiking, and surfing. I also enjoy playing the clarinet, reading, going to concerts, and spending time with friends and family. Please reach out about anything at all – I loved my time as a HumBio major, and hope that I can be a resource to support you throughout your time in the Core and beyond. I'm stoked to meet you soon! 

Hello and welcome to the Core! My name is Melody, and I can’t wait to work with you as one of your B-side CAs this year. As a FLI student from Wisconsin, I was unsure what to expect when I first took the Core but was grateful to find a welcoming and supportive community that had diverse passions in the realm of human health. When I was a HumBio major, I concentrated in ‘Race, Ethnicity, Social Class, and Health.’ Through HumBio, I was able to dig deeper into my interests in health disparities, social and environmental determinants of health, and health equity. Outside of academics, I volunteered as a Spanish interpreter at the Cardinal Free Clinics, advocated for asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border, served as the Community Engaged Learning Coordinator and teaching assistant for Dr. Bruce’s Social and Environmental Determinants of Health, and worked in Dr. Jill Helms’ plastic and reconstructive surgery lab where I completed my Honors Thesis on midfacial growth arrest caused by cleft palate repair. In my free time, I love going to the beach with my dog Winnie, listening to The Marias, and trying out new restaurants with my friends. Please feel free to reach out with any questions you may have, whether it’s related to Core content or navigating life at Stanford. I’m so excited to meet you all soon! 

Hello everyone and welcome to the HumBio Core! My name is Ali, and I am thrilled to be one of your A-side CAs. As a HumBio major, my area of concentration was Physiology, Behavior, and Technology. This broad and interdisciplinary concentration allowed me to customize my Stanford experience and explore my various interests. I also love to teach! During college, I served as a Teach for America Ignite Fellow and a TA for Human Physiology (HumBio 133) with Professor Kao. I can’t wait to continue teaching as a CA and look forward to getting to know you all this year. Clinical volunteering at Stanford’s Cardinal Free Clinics (CFC) was also a large part of my undergraduate journey. I served as a Preclin and DEI Chair and highly encourage any interested students to get involved. Eager to apply what I learned in my HumBio classes, I have spent the past two years conducting research in the Department of Hematology at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital. Specifically, I focus on abnormal renal function in patients with sickle cell disease. Outside of the classroom and lab, I love swimming, spending time at the beach, and trying my hand at surfing. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions at all. 

Hello! My name is Alina and I am beyond excited to be one of the B-side CAs for this year. Within humbio, I took classes that focused on aging and development, and I’m especially interested in how we can create a better healthcare system for older adults. During my undergraduate years, I also minored in math and completed an honors thesis in human biology that focused on the genetic basis of Type 2 diabetes. Teaching has always been something I enjoy, and so I spent a lot of my time at Stanford as a CTL Chemistry tutor (highly recommend CTL’s services!) and leading trips through the outdoor center. The outdoors are my happy place—you will probably find me backpacking or hiking on the weekends—as well as running marathons and doing triathlons. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me about anything and everything—the CA’s and I are here to support you this entire academic year! 

Hi everyone and welcome to the HumBio core! My name is Sarah and I’m so excited to be one of your A-side CAs this year! I absolutely loved my time as a HumBio student, and I can’t wait to help you find a home within this wonderful community. As a HumBio major, I concentrated in Human Physiology and Disease and completed an Honor’s Thesis in the Helms lab, exploring the effects of an osteoporosis drug on bone structure and composition. Outside of HumBio, I minored in computer science, volunteered as an EMT on campus, was a trip leader for Stanford’s Outdoor Center, and swam with the Club Swimming team. Beyond that, I love hiking the Dish, I am a big tea drinker, I am very addicted to all of the NYT mini games, I am both a dog person and a cat person (why is there always pressure to pick a side?), and I love live music of any kind. I was born and raised in Dallas, TX so if there are any Texans out there, come say hi! (or if you’re not from Texas, please also come say hi!). I am beyond excited to get to know you all and am looking forward to a great year.

Hi!! I’m so glad you’re here! The HumBio core was truly one of the experiences I am most grateful for from my undergraduate time at Stanford. It exposed me to so many new ways of thinking about science, people, and our world more broadly. It also introduced me to so many kind and interesting people, including other students and faculty. From my roots in the core, I grew fascinated by intersections between human wellbeing, environmental health, and political/social systems. I developed a concentration called the Ecology of Human Health and used this as a framework to study everything from the health impacts of migration to the selection pressures driving the evolution of infectious disease agents. In addition to the breadth HumBio allowed me, I dove deeply into immunology research as a research assistant in the Jagannathan lab, where I studied an epigenetic mechanism of hyperresponsivity among innate immune cells responding to malaria infection. This research ultimately became my honors thesis and afforded me the amazing opportunity to travel to Uganda to present my work and collaborate with scholars there. In addition to research, I had the privilege of being a TA for Dr. Kurina’s Principles of Epidemiology course. Beyond academics, I love all things outdoorsy (hiking, backpacking, kayaking, etc.), yoga, knitting and weaving (and more recently, crocheting!). I can’t wait to meet you all and to learn about what drives you as scholars and people! 

Hi everyone! As a B-side CA, I’m thrilled to welcome you to one of the best communities on campus and support you as you explore your new passions! 

My academic journey has been shaped by my desire to understand how behavior and environment influence well-being, which led to my concentration in 'Bio-Social Determinants of Health.' My interests in public health led me to Stanford’s Food for Health Equity Lab where I conducted nutritional intervention research for Latine adults with diabetes. These experiences then inspired me to pursue a minor in Human Rights where I learned how immigration and geopolitical forces shape the quality of life for displaced populations. I continued to explore my interests in immigrant health by volunteering as a math tutor for undocumented students at Sequoia High School, supporting ICE detainees through a national hotline, and providing trauma-informed medical care to refugees in Mexico. Lastly, I also really enjoyed being a frosh RA at Cedro!

School and extracurriculars aside, I enjoy cooking, running (I’m working on finding the motivation to run a marathon), or recreating DIY projects from my Pinterest board. I remember having sooo many questions when I took the HumBio core so please don’t hesitate to reach out. School can be overwhelming at times, but know that we’re here to help you every step of the way!!