Our Team

Co-President

Akshita Virdy

Akshita is the Co-President of the Undergraduate Research Club. She is a third-year majoring in Cell and Molecular Biology on the pre-medical track. Akshita is currently on co-op as a Patient Care Technician at Beth Isreal Deaconess Medical Center working in the Hematology/Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplant Unit and is also a certified clinical medical assistant. Before this co-op, she worked as a medical assistant at Carbon Health Urgent Care. Akshita is also an ambassador for the College of Science.

 In the past, Akshita assisted with a cancer research project examining cancer stem cell markers associated with triple-negative breast cancer and androgen-independent cancer, using the molecular analyzation system called Pymol. More recently, this past summer, she was awarded the COS Dean’s Undergraduate Research Award. Akshita worked as an Undergraduate Research Assistant to develop microfluidic models of the retina barrier with the TUMOR lab and Dr. Cynthia Hajal.

Furthermore, her interests include oncology, gynecology, immunology, and pediatrics. In her leisure time, you can find Akshita reading, dancing, and exploring Boston.

Co-President

Lia Maag

Lia is the Co-President for the Undergraduate Research Club. Lia is a second-year at Northeastern pursuing a major in biochemistry and minors in math and business administration. Her topics of interest include oncology, endocrinology, immunotherapy, and neurodegenerative diseases. Lia is a member of NU’s club roundnet team and on the e-board for Peace Through Play, a club dedicated to after-school programs in Roxbury elementary schools.

Vice President, Director of Art and Design

Swathy Narayan

Swathy is the Vice President and Director of Art and Design and the creator of the URC logo. She is a second-year Business Administration and Design major with a concentration in Corporate Innovation. Swathy wants to design solutions to real-world problems, as well as start her own design business in the future. She’s very passionate about design and enjoys anything that allows her to use her spark for creativity.

Secretary

Leia Hockstein

Leia Hockstein is a fourth year honors student majoring in Behavioral Neuroscience. She completed her co-op in neuro-genetics research at Boston Childrens Hospital under Dr. Catherine Brownstein. She is currently working as a student researcher in the Amiji Lab at Northeastern University studying drug delivery in otolaryngology. As an aspiring physician, Leia is passionate about public health, particularly in providing access to quality women’s healthcare. In her free time, she volunteers with Horizons for Homeless Children and is a member of Northeastern’s Nu Rho Psi honors society.

Director of Mentorship

Isabella Rando

Isabella is a fourth-year student at Northeastern studying Behavioral Neuroscience on a pre-med track. For her first co-op, she worked as a Medical Assistant at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in the Department of Medicine. For her second co-op Isabella was a Clinical and Research Intern in the Center for Child Development at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She also worked as a Research Assistant in the Center for Cognitive and Brain Health at Northeastern during her freshman and sophomore years. Outside of the URC, Isabella is a COS Ambassador, Husky Ambassador, COS Peer Advisor, and COS Peer Tutor. In her free time, Isabella enjoys running and baking.

Director of Mentorship

Sara Wolf

Sara Wolf is a sophomore in the Honors program at NU. She is studying health sciences in Bouvee College with a business minor. She is an intern with a mentor at Mt. Sinai studying Mendelian Genetic research which explores patterns of traits passed from parents to offspring. Biology is Sara’s favorite subject. She is from Cooper City, Florida. Her hobbies include skiing and photography. Sara plans to pursue a career in medical research.

Director of Media

Ally Descoteaux

Ally is the Director of Media and the creator of the URD website. Ally is a third-year undergraduate student majoring in Computer Science and Mathematics. She is currently on co-op at TJX where she is working as a risk assurance and data systems analyst. She is passionate about the intersection between technology and psychology, focusing on the uses of AI to solve innovative problems. Ally is currently working with AerospaceNU and NURobotics to expand her knowledge of computer systems and integration.

President of Oakland

Gabrielle Kim-Levesque

Gabrielle is the director of the Oakland campus. She is a driven first-year student majoring in biology on the pre-medical track. Her dream of becoming a doctor stems from her vivacious love for all things science. She intends to focus her future in the field of either neurology or oncology. Gabrielle is actively involved around the Bay Area through the Red Cross, intending to help underserved communities. Gabrielle also works as an ambassador for Northeastern’s College of Science, where she helps plan events and acts as a resource for current and prospective COS students. She seeks to establish research opportunities for Oakland undergraduate students and inspires people to use scientific inquiry to become engaged in their local communities. Outside of lecture halls, you can find Gabrielle reading, spending time with friends, going for hikes, and at the beach.

Director of NU.in Greece

Ananya Arunkumar

Ananya is the director of N.U in Greece. She is a dedicated first-year student majoring in Biology with a focus on the pre-medical track. Her passion for biology drives her to pursue a career in healthcare with the aspiration of becoming a doctor. She is actively involved in creating research opportunities for students at the N.U. in Greece location, aiming to promote academic and scientific exploration within the community. In her leisure time, Ananya enjoys bullet journaling and reading.

Co-Founder

Dillon Nishigaya

Dillon Nishigaya is the Co-founder of The Undergraduate Research Club. He is very passionate about finding tomorrow’s cures and transformative research. Through Northeastern University, he traveled to the American College of Thessaloniki, Greece and researched breast cancer and its relation to food additives and preservatives. At Northeastern in Boston, he became an undergraduate research assistant at the Laboratory for Aging and Infertility Research. He was also a member of a full-time summer research pilot program titled REALTIME (Research Experience And Learning Through Integrated Mentorship and Engagement) where he investigated the impact of chemotherapeutics on germline stem cell differentiation and function. He is an ambassador for the College of Science and Biology Department and a proud winner of four Ascent and Summit research awards.

Outside of Northeastern, he worked at Sana Biotechnology in South San Francisco. At Sana, he developed and optimized novel allogeneic chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR T) cell manufacturing processes and conducted his own independent research projects. Dillon also worked as a research associate and program leader at the NASA Ames Research Center in the Space Life Sciences Training Program. At NASA, he investigated how simulated radiation and altered gravity affect the female reproductive system.

He is currently working part-time on a research team at the Whited Laboratory at Harvard University’s Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology focusing on conducting studies on tissue regeneration in axolotls.

Co-Founder

Dominic Nishigaya

Dominic Nishigaya, Co-founder of The Undergraduate Research Club is passionate about the practice of law and legal research. He studied international relations and international business at Northeastern University London before arriving on the Boston campus. As a freshman in Boston, he was hired as a research assistant at Northeastern’s Violence and Justice Research Laboratory. He worked on multiple different research teams analyzing human trafficking. Researching trafficking within the agriculture industry, he used 14 federally prosecuted cases and performed nation-wide statutory research to co-author a paper set for publication. He is now working on labor trafficking within the construction and hospitality industry, facilitating data collection, coding, and legal research. He is set to perform field research in Boston, Colorado, and New York.

Outside of research, Dominic performed two internships at the Hall of Justice, Superior Court of Santa Clara County, California. He clerked for the judges by researching procedural and substantive issues during trials and writing recommendations about remands for resentencing ordered by the appellate court. He also worked full-time at Silicon Valley trial firm McManis Faulkner in San Jose, California. At the firm, he prepared deposition outlines, worked on discovery, and facilitated client meetings in high profile cases representing both corporations and individuals. He also prepared trial exhibits, attended court, and assisted in Pro Bono litigation.