Diego Hernandez
Co-President
I am a first-year graduate student at Cold Spring Harbor. I have a bachelor’s in biology with a focus in plant biology from Cornell University. While at Cornell I was interested in the genetic basis for complex plant morphologies. Following my undergraduate education I spent a year in industry working for the plant biotechnology company Sound Agriculture. I improved my skills as a wet lab biologist and explored how we can leverage plant-microbe interactions as well as develop novel molecular tools for breeding. I am excited to begin my graduate school journey here at Cold Spring Harbor and will pick a lab to join this fall!
Disha Aggarwal
Co-President
I’m a graduate student in the Spector lab working on understanding the role of a long non-coding RNA MALAT1 in breast cancer using patient-derived breast tumor organoids. After my B.Tech majoring in Biotechnology from Mumbai, India, I moved to Boston to pursue a Master’s degree in Molecular and Cell Biology at Brandeis University. Post-graduation, I worked at Moderna Therapeutics in the Boston biotech hub as a Research Associate in the platform development group optimizing mRNA therapeutics. I then joined CRISPR Therapeutics as a Research associate in the Hematology team working on pre-clinical experiments for the first ex-vivo therapy for beta-thalassemia and sickle cell disease that is now in clinical trials. Apart from science, I really enjoy traveling, painting, gardening and co-founded a blog called Planet Ninjas focused on spreading awareness on climate change issues and solutions!
Elliot Smith
Vice-President
Profile coming soon!
Jed de Ruiter-Swain
Director of Operations
I am a third-year graduate student in the Lukey lab, studying the metabolic interactions between brain metastatic breast cancer cells and astrocytes. Prior to joining Cold Spring Harbor, I studied Biochemistry at the University of Oxford. This included a Masters project undertaken at the Jenner Institute, characterizing antibodies isolated from volunteers exposed to a malaria vaccine. Outside of the lab, I enjoy hiking, camping, and fishing, preferably all together!
Yuriko Nishino
Editorial Content Director
I’m a graduate student at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. I’m fascinated by RNA biology and interested in studying its regulatory mechanism. Prior to studying at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, I completed my undergraduate studies in Bioscience at Keio University in Japan where I studied the behavior of regulatory networks using a mathematical model and a computational simulation. After graduation, I worked in consulting for a few years and supported clients in pharmaceutical companies and medtech companies. In my free time, I really enjoy yoga and hiking. Now I’m curious to try outdoor yoga.
Emmanuella Nnuji-John
Ex-Vice President
I am a first-year Ph.D. student in the School of Biological Sciences at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Prior to starting at CSHL, I completed my undergraduate studies in Biochemistry at Alcorn State University in 2020. As an undergrad, I participated in internships at Duke University School of Medicine, and Schepens Eye Research Institute at Harvard Medical School where I worked on innate immune sensing of RNA viruses, and the role of inflammation in age-related macular degeneration. When I am not doing research, I love singing and trying new recipes. Beyond CSHL, I am also the Co-Director of Communications at Nucleate Bio, New York. My interest in BEC stems from my excitement about commercializing science and bringing new therapies to the market for the benefit of patients all over the world. I am very excited to be a part of CSHL BEC and I look forward to doing awesome things with this team.
Yihan (Leonie) Qin
Executive Member
I am a Ph.D. student in the School of Biological Sciences at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. I graduated from the College of William and Mary, double-majoring in biology and chemistry. For my undergraduate research, I studied the concise synthesis and biological testing of quinone-based natural products. As for my graduate study, my research interest is in cancer immunology. When I am not in the lab, I enjoy traveling, checking out restaurants, and playing badminton. I am excited to join BEC to bridge academia and industry and to help with exciting events!
Jessica Kahng
Executive Member
Jessica is a Ph.D. candidate out of the School of Biological Sciences at CSHL. She joined CSHL in 2020 and is part of the Cheadle Lab where she investigates the role of oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) during development and adulthood. Specifically, she is interested in understanding the molecular mechanisms regulating OPC engulfment of thalamocortical inputs into the visual cortex.
Jessica is passionate about increasing awareness and diversity in STEM and finding ways to provide opportunities and resources to groups marginalized due to race, ethnicity, socioeconomic class, religious beliefs, sexual preferences, and gender identity. She believes that creating a supportive community is critical for creating a productive environment, and hopes to build a strong community at CSHL that is welcoming and respectful of all.
The BEC Faculty Advisory Board consists of CSHL faculty who, through their research programs, have become leaders in translational science and academia-industry engagement. The primary commitment of the Faculty Board is to provide mentorship and guidance to our members in an endeavor to fulfill BEC’s mission statement. In addition, the Faculty Board also meets with BEC members to discuss past and future Club events and activities, act as chairs for keynote speaker sessions, provide industry networks for BEC events and workshops, and occasionally serve as a conduit between BEC and the CSHL administration.
Christopher Vakoc
Professor
Cancer Center Program Co-Leader
Chromatin, Transcriptional regulation, Acute Myeloid Leukemia, BET bromodomains, Lysine Methyltransferases
Zachary Lippman
Professor & HHMI Investigator
Jacob Goldfield Professor of Genetics
Plant developmental genetics, mechanisms of phase transitions for flowering time and inflorescence branching, heterosis
Nicholas Tonks
Professor & HHMI Investigator
Jacob Goldfield Professor of Genetics
posttranslational modification, phosphorylation, phosphatases, signal transduction, protein structure and function
10/26/21 – We were joined today by Dr. Fatih Mercan, former post-doc in the Vakoc lab at CSHL, who gave an excellent overview of patent law. We discussed key skills helpful for the transition from academia, as well as avenues for gaining experience. Thanks Fatih for a great talk!
Click on an image below from the meeting, to see a larger version
10/12/21 – We were joined today by Dr. Emilis Bružas, Medical Director at FCB Health and CSHL alum. Emilis provided great insights into the various roles he plays on a daily basis, the opportunities available within the healthcare marketing sector, and the skills Ph.D.s can leverage for a transition into the field.
09/25/21 – We were delighted to be joined today by Manu Lakshmanan, Director of Strategy & Innovation at UnitedHealth Group and McKinsey alumnus. Manu provided insights into the parallels and distinctions between a scientific and consulting-based approach to a problem. He then coached participants through applying that method in a simulated case interview.
09/22/21 – We were delighted to be joined by Gregg Sando, founder of Cell Medica (later re-named to Kuur Therapeutics) and an investor, adviser and board director in several start-up life sciences companies. Gregg shared terrific insights into launching biotech companies, and how to mitigate the risks involved.
02/04/2021 – We were delighted to host Nancy Thornberry (CEO, Kallyope) and Kaja Wasik (Co-founder & CSO, Variant Bio) for a panel discussion on Women STEM Entrepreneurs in conjunction with WiSE. They provided terrific insights into the transition from academia to biotech.
11/2020 – 12/2020 – We collaborated with Scismic to host a four-part workshop series focused on transitioning from academia to industry. We networked with professionals in consulting, patent law, industry R&D, and clinical operations. We also had the opportunity to learn what makes a CV stand out from biotech HR and talent acquisition professionals.
06/26/2020 – We endorsed the Joint Statement from Diversify Biotech to continue working towards greater diversity and inclusivity in the biotech community.
06/26/2020 – Former CSHL Alum Luis J. Mejia shared his experience transitioning from the bench to Associate Editor at Nature Publishing. His insight into the company’s operations was very interesting. Thank you Luis!
11/07/2019 – The Alexandria Launch Labs provided a great tour of the NYC facility. Thank you for the visit and we hope to see you again.
10/24/19 – We welcomed Dr. Sue Klapholz, VP of Nutrition & Health at Impossible Foods Inc. to talk to our scientists regarding all things Impossible Foods & her career journey to her position today. Impossible Foods Inc. looks to limit the health and environmental impacts of a meat-based diet, through rigorous science and the production of tasty meat-free alternatives. Thank you for a very informative session, Sue!
07/12/19 – We had a great turnout for Beyond the Bench 2019! We thank all our fantastic keynote speakers and panelists for coming to CSHL to tell us more about the different career paths they have taken after doing a Ph.D. in science! (You can check out previous Beyond the Bench agendas under our “Past events” tab.)
03/22/19 – It was a pleasure to have Peter J. Weinberger (the ‘W’ in the AWK language) visit the lab and share his views on programming languages, working at the Bell Labs, Renaissance, and Google, and trying out management responsibilities. Students and postdocs also have the opportunity to visit Google in NYC on April 23, please get in touch if you want to go (limited spots)!
11/28/18 – Please join us for a tour of the Estée Lauder research labs in Melville on December 5th, Wednesday, 9am-noon. The trip will be an excellent and fun opportunity to learn the work environment in the personal care and cosmetics industry. If you are interested in joining the Estée Lauder tour, please reply to Yushu Chen (yuchen@cshl.edu) ASAP before noon of this Friday, November 30. See you there!
10/10/18 – Thank you Christine Ardito-Abraham from Amgen for discussing all facets of a Medical Science Liaison (MSL) with us. MSL positions are expected to grow in the coming years and these career paths are generally for advance degree holders. Could this be a career for you?
8/21/18 – We appreciate all the lawyers from Dilworth & Barrese who provided great insight about intellectual property law of science and engineering technologies.
7/12/18 – 2 teams of 9 CSHL scientists made it to the top 25 teams invited to the Tufts New England Case Competition (TUNECC) 2018. We wish them the best in the next round. Congrats Matt Lee, Sofya Polyanskaya, Sergey Shuvaev, David Johnson, Jue Xiang Wang, Sonali Bhattacharjee, Johanna Syrjanen, Katie Meze, and Deborah Rupert!
6/20/18 – We are hosting Mr. William Doyle, Chairman of the Board of Novocure, to discuss about venture capital, investment banking and the best way to transition from bench science to roles outside of academia. Join us on Thursday, June 21st @ 3pm in Samet.
6/5/18 – The advanced Illustrator workshops will take place on June 13 and June 28. Please get in touch if you haven’t signed up yet!
5/23/18 – Due to popular demand, the Adobe Illustrator Workshop will be hosted again. Join us on May 31st for the basic session and TBD for the advanced session.
4/26/18 – We are hosting our first Adobe Illustrator Workshops. Join us on May 8th for the basic session and May 11th for the advanced session.
4/12/18 – Thank you Lisa Napolione, Dr. Kurt Schilling and Dr. Klodjan Stafa from Estée Lauder for joining us in discussing about career paths in industry today!
3/15/18 – Thank you Dr. Bernadette So from New York University for giving us great advice on CV/ résumé today!
Below are the types of events BEC organized in the past. To suggest speakers for future events or to volunteer, please contact one of our executive committee members.
Beyond the Bench symposium
Beyond the Bench is a biennial one-day event attended by post-docs and graduate students, which features talks and panel discussions about careers in biotechnology, entrepreneurship, finance, data science and other science-related disciplines.
Previous symposiums agenda: 2019, 2017, 2015, 2013.
Career events
We invite speakers who transitioned from science to diverse careers to CSHL for a one-hour informal Q&A seminar. Occasionally, we also host a networking session to follow the seminar.
Skills workshop
We invite experts to give CSHL students and postdocs seminars on professional development skills. Previous workshops include: Illustrator tutorials, resume/CV workshop, and bioinformatics tutorials.
Campus tour
Seeing is believing—BEC hosts campus tours to companies in the New York area, such as Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. CSHL students and postdocs spend a day seeing the company, networking with current employees, and learning about the research in industry.
Interested in joining BEC? Get in touch!
2024 Executive Committee Members
Diego Hernandez
Co-President
dihernan@cshl.edu
Disha Aggarwal
Co-President
aggarwa@cshl.edu
Elliot Smith
Vice-President
elsmith@cshl.edu
Jed de Ruiter-Swain
Director of Operations
deruiter@cshl.edu
Yuriko Nishino
Editorial Content Director
nishino@cshl.edu
Emmanuella Nnuji-John
Ex-Vice President
nnuji@cshl.edu
Yihan (Leonie) Qin
Executive Member
yqin@cshl.edu
Jessica Kahng
Executive Member
jkahng@cshl.edu
Former Executive Committee Members
Zakeria Aminzada, Executive Member
Iacopo Gentile, Director of Communications
Martyna Sroka, President
Asad Lakhani, Vice-President
Daniele Rosado, Co-Director of Operations
Alexa Pagliaro, Co-Director of Operations
Jonathan Werner, Newsletter Editor
Kuhulika Bhalla, President
Yushu Chen, Co-Vice President
Kelly Hills-Muckey, Co-Vice President
Luce St. Surin, Liaison Officer
Ilgin Ergin, Executive Member
Matt Jaremko, President
Matt Lee, Co-Vice President
Jue Xiang Wang, President
Ngoc Tran, President
Sarah Diermeier, President
Brad Gulko, Co-Vice President
David Nowak, President
Rober Aboukhalil, Co-Vice President
Maria Nattestad, Co-Vice President
Katie Liberatore, President
Jan Bergmann, Vice President
Patrick Finigan, Founding Member
Lolahon Kadiri, Founding Member
Dr. Fatih Mercan
Patent attorney
Dr. Emilis Bružas
Medical Director at FCB Health
Manu Lakshmanan
Director of Strategy & Innovation at UnitedHealth Group, McKinsey alumnus
Gregg Sando
Founder of Cell Medica (now Kuur Therapeutics), investor, adviser and board director in several start-up life sciences companies
Peter J. Weinberger
Computer Scientist, Google (formerly Bell Labs and Renaissance Technologies)
Lisa A. Napolione
Senior Vice President, Estee Lauder
Kurt Schilling, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President, Estee Lauder
Klodjan Stafa, Ph.D.
Senior Scientist, Estee Lauder
Genevieve Smith, Ph.D.
Insight Data Science Program
Yvette Seger, Ph.D.
Director of Science Policy at FASEB
Laure Haak, Ph.D.
Executive Director at ORCID
Rebecca Goldburg, Ph.D.
The Pew Charitable Trusts
Joanne Marquardt
Breast Cancer Research advocate
Ethan Perlstein, Ph.D.
CEO and Founder, Perlara
George Yancopoulos. M.D., Ph.D.
President and CSO, Regeneron
David Frendewey, Ph.D.
Sr. Director, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Gustavo Stolovitzky, Ph.D.
Group Manager, IBM Functional Genomics & Systems Biology
Melinda Thomas, MBA
Entrepreneur in Residence for NYC
Matthew Stadler, Ph.D.
Entrepreneur in Residence for Stony Brook’s Small Business Development Center
David Calone, JD
CEO, Jove Equity Partners LLC
Mark Lesko, JD
Executive Director, Accelerate Long Island
Kate Hutchinson
Manager, Programs & Events; Center for Biotechnology
Micheal Bielski, JD, MS
Assistant Director, Science & Technology Commercialization; Center for Biotechnology
Mark Fasciano, Ph.D.
Managing Director, Cranrock Ventures
Irvin Barash, MBA
President, Vencom Management, Inc.
Steven Isaacman, Ph.D.
Founder & CEO, Nanometics LLC
Barbara Gebhardt
President, Opus Staffing
Kakuri Omari, Ph.D.
Associate Scientific Director, Medicus International
Julianne Dunphy, Ph.D.
Vice President & Scientific Director, Medicus International
Bernadette So, Ph.D.
Director of Graduate Student Career Development at New York University
William (Bill) Doyle, M.B.A.
Chairman of the Board of Novocure
Christine (Tina) Ardito-Abraham, Ph.D.
Medical Science Liaison; Amgen Oncology Northeast
Speakers from Dilworth & Barrese, LLP (Rocco Barrese; Peter Dilworth; Michael Musella; Stephen Barrese; Michael Dilworth; Anthony Sabatelli, Ph.D.; Matthew Siegal – all JD)
Intellectual Property lawyers