Executive Board

Adrienne D. Cox is a Professor of Radiation Oncology and Pharmacology, Director of UNC's Cancer Cell Biology T32 Training Program, and a member of the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. Her laboratory studies the Ras family of small GTPases, with particular emphasis on molecularly targeted therapeutics directed against Ras signaling pathways. She is a slow writer, a first-rate editor, and a voracious reader of both scientific and non-scientific writing. She also enjoys visual storytelling via photography.

Manuel is a 4th year Ph.D. social psychology student in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience. He works with Drs. Keith Payne and Keely Muscatell and studies economic and social inequality. He also co-hosts a podcast called A Bit More Complicated where he interviews experts to discuss the problems of society and what to do about them.

Nila is a 4th year Genetics and Molecular Biology PhD candidate researching mechanisms of meiotic crossover patterning in the Sekelsky Lab. In her free time, she enjoys reading, swimming, knitting, and digital art.

Bree Iskandar is a 5th year Ph.D. candidate in the Chemical Biology & Medicinal Chemistry department within the Eshelman School of Pharmacy. She studies peptide therapeutic discovery platforms in the lab of Dr. Albert Bowers and is passionate about making and communicating scientific discoveries. Away from the bench, she is an avid home cook, the proudest cat mama, a hot yoga and circuit training enthusiast, and an escape room fiend. Find her at breezyscience.com or follow her on Twitter @breezyscience.

Mikayla is a 3rd year Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Ph.D. student. She currently studies metastatic breast cancer genomics in Dr. Katherine Hoadley's lab. Since joining UNC, Mikayla has developed a love of both written and visual science communication. Outside of the lab she enjoys traveling, photography, and language learning.

Jillian is a 3rd year behavioral neuroscience Ph.D. student in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience. She conducts her research in the lab of Charlotte Boettiger where her project currently focuses on the intersection of cognitive aging and alcohol misuse. She finds necessity in effective communication, including written, illustrative, and verbal, in all aspects of the scientific process. She especially promotes science communication practice in unfamiliar topics and ideas geared toward the general population. When she is not in the lab, she enjoys running, hanging out with friends, or spending time with her cat.

Kirsten is a 5th year applied math PhD student. She develops computational models of blood flow in embryonic chick hearts in the Griffith lab and conducts benchtop research on embryonic chicks in the Bressan lab.  Kirsten is a contributor at SciCommBites where she writes about the latest in science communication. In her spare time, she can be found foraging mushrooms alongside her dog or starting a new crafting project.