SURPAS Leadership 2020-2021

Elaina Jones
Co-Chair

Elaina is a postdoc in Aida Habtezion’s lab in the department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, studying the immune mechanisms regulating pancreatitis development and progression. Originally from upstate NY, she completed her undergrad at the Ohio State University and her PhD in Cell Biology at the University of Wisconsin. As a former collegiate athlete, she is acutely aware of the importance of community, which lead her to join SURPAS. She is passionate about making sure we all have a support network to fall back on through the thick and thin of our postdocs. Outside of the lab, Elaina can be found baking, hiking or doing Crossfit most mornings before work.

Arianna Celis Luna
Co-Chair

Arianna is a second-year postdoc in the labs of Dr. David Relman and Dr. KC Huang. Originally from Mexico, she spent most of her life in Southern California and then did her graduate work at Montana State University in Bozeman, MT before coming to Stanford. Her current research focuses on understanding iron processing by gut bacteria and determining whether there is an association between certain microbiome compositions and the development of iron-deficiency anemia during pregnancy. Arianna enjoys meeting new people, interacting with people from different departments, and learning new things, which has landed her in her current role as SURPAS Advocacy coordinator. Outside of work, she spends her time running with the Los Altos running team, swimming, practicing Olympic lifts, and cooking.

Gina Bouchard
Operations Manager

Gina is currently a postdoc in Sylvia Plevritis’ lab in the department of Radiology. Her work focuses on the role of the tumor microenvironment in metabolic reprogramming of cancer cells. Gina is originally from Québec, Canada and has a PhD in radiation sciences and biomedical imaging from the University of Sherbrooke. She left her cold hometown to learn more about big data analysis and enjoy California outdoors. Gina is convinced that the postdoctoral experience should be all about passionate science and enjoyable years, building your future scientific network. By being a member of the SURPAS leadership team, she wants to help making this experience amazing for every Stanford postdoc.

Katie Walwyn-Brown
Communications Director

Tim MacKenzie
Advocacy Coordinator

Tim is a postdoc in Mike Snyder’s lab in the Genetics Department. His work in molecular genetics aims to uncover the interplay between the molecular structure of the genome and transcriptional regulation. He grew up in the suburbs of Boston and studied both Chemistry and Russian Languages & Literature at the University of Notre Dame before coming to Stanford, where he earned a Ph.D in Chemistry. Tim finds it unconscionable that nearly 10% of postdocs suffer from food insecurity at Stanford, one of the wealthiest institutions in the world. As Advocacy Coordinator, he is passionate about improving material conditions for postdocs. Two specific policy changes he hopes to push for are (1) standardized minimum 12-week paid parental leave for all postdocs and (2) matched contributions to retirement accounts for postdocs. When not working in lab or advocating for postdocs, Tim enjoys reading, riding his bike on the Bay Trail, listening to records on vinyl, and looking forward to the days when he will be able to dance to live music again.

Sumin Lee
Events Coordinator

Sumin is a postdoc in Matthew Bogyo’s lab in the Department of Pathology, studying the bacterial infection mechanisms identifying new toxins in the infection sites with activity-based probes. Originally grew up in South Korea, she moved to CA to proceed with her Ph.D. in Chemistry at UCB. She participated in SUPRAS through a coffee hour and would like to contribute to creating a more interactive environment between researchers on the campus. As an event coordinator, she wants to build a solid structure to organize events for a clear goal and to increase attendance. In her free time, she loves to do rock climbing, swimming, and cooking.

Thaidy Moreno
Social Media and Web Manager Director

Thaidy is currently a postdoc in Ruijiang Li’s lab in the Department of Radiation Oncology. Her work focuses on understanding the interaction between chromosome instability and tumor microenviroment. Originally from Colombia, Thaidy has a background in clinical microbiology, and Bioinformatics and got her PhD in Molecular Biology and Biomedicine from the Universidad de Cantabria in Spain. Now, she’s moved to the Bay Area in search of that perfect balance of sun and science. She joined SURPAS council to become Social Media and web manager Director to encrich postdoc experiences by building a stronger sense of community both in and out of the University.

Eamon Byrne
Community Engagement Liaison (1st Term)

Eamon is a postdoc in the Deisseroth Lab in the Department of Bioengineering working on the development of new optogenetic tools for neuroscience research. Originally from Australia, he completed his D.Phil. in Structural Biology at the University of Oxford in the UK. Eamon is passionate about representing the interests of postdocs through SURPAS and as Community Engagement Liaison he hopes to connect postdocs to the resources that they need to run great events and build strong communities here at Stanford. Outside of the lab he enjoys rock-climbing, hiking, and baking bread.

Nathan Richey
Communications Engagement Liaison (2nd Term)