Stacey Alfonso
she/her
Ph.D. Student, Learning Sciences and Human Development
College of Education, Seattle
With Nature: An Ethnographic Study of Child-Nature Connectedness
Stacey Alfonso is a doctoral candidate in Learning Sciences and Human Development at the College of Education, guided by the mentorship of Dr. Gail Joseph. With an ardent commitment to promoting nature-based learning and equitable access to nature for all children, Stacey’s research centers on early childhood experiences about, in, and with nature. Her investigation delves into the intricate processes by which children cultivate understanding of and connections with the environment. Stacey’s mission is to enrich educators’ and researchers’ perspectives on child-nature relationships, as well as deepen the understanding of nature’s features that facilitate development and learning. Stacey’s dissertation entails an immersive ethnographic exploration within a nature-immersion preschool. This intensive study untangles the relationship between children and nature, tracking child-nature connectedness throughout the academic year. Using an amalgamation of various ethnographic techniques, she has examined the emotional, cognitive, and physical dimensions of children’s bonds with the natural world.
- Affiliations: Pre-doctoral instructor; Cultivate Learning RA; co-lead of UW RSO Student-Parent-Caregiver Advocacy (SPCA); co-lead of Natural Start Alliance/NAAEE NatStart Grad Network; AERA Environmental Education (SIG #33), Early Education and Child Development (SIG #32)
- Scholarships, fellowships, or awards received: Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) Student and Early Career Council (SECC) Dissertation Research Funding Awards; UW Graduate Student Conference Presentation Award; internal advisee funding; UW Resilience Lab: Resilience and Compassion Seed Grant
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stacey-alfonso-82210962
Harsha Amaravadi
she/her
Ph.D. Student, Health Services
School of Public Health, Seattle
Too Sick to be True? Evaluating Medicare’s Patient Driven Payment Model
Harsha Amaravadi is a PhD candidate in Health Services Research at the University of Washington and a population health scientist in training. Her research examines how payment policies shape care delivery, particularly in cancer rehabilitation and post-acute care settings. Harsha’s dissertation evaluates the effects of Medicare’s skilled nursing facility payment reform on care for people with advanced cancer. More broadly, she is interested in using quasi-experimental methods and observational data to generate real-world evidence that informs value-based payment reforms, centering patient outcomes while addressing healthcare costs. Prior to her doctoral studies, Harsha supported the implementation of Medicare quality and innovation initiatives across hospital and post-acute settings, including MIPS and Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation demonstrations. She holds an MPH from Tufts University and is currently an NIH TL-1 scholar. Originally from Boston, Harsha enjoys dancing, cooking, and exploring Seattle’s music and park scenes.
- Affiliations: UW Academy Health student member
- Scholarships, fellowships, or awards received: National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under award number TL1TR002318 (2024-2025); National Research Service Award, Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research T32 Fellow (2021-2024)
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harsha-amaravadi/
Daniil Filienko
he/him
Master’s Student, Computer Science and Systems
School of Engineering & Technology, Tacoma
Fighting Tuberculosis: AI Conversations that Change Lives
Daniil Filienko is a graduate student in Computer Science and Systems at the University of Washington, Tacoma, where he has earned his M.S. and B.S. degrees with distinctions. His research lies at the intersection of machine learning and health AI with a particular focus on large language models (LLMs), privacy preserving machine learning, and responsible AI deployment. Daniil has contributed to interdisciplinary projects tackling real-world healthcare challenges such as tuberculosis treatment adherence and mental health support for caregivers using LLM-based tools. He is a current NIH AIM-AHEAD Research Fellow and has been recognized with numerous awards including the UW Husky 100, NSF GRFP Honorable Mention, and UW Tacoma’s SET Outstanding Graduate Researcher Award. His research works has been presented at venues such as the AMIA Annual Symposium and various workshops, focused on deploying LLMs and Generative AI for healthcare applications.
- Affiliations: PPML/RHAIL Research Lab
- Scholarships, fellowships, or awards received: Carwein-Andrews Distinguished Fellowship; NIH AIM-AHEAD Research Fellowship; GSEE Tuition Award; UW Graduate University Grant
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniil-filienko-800160215/
Gizem Gökçe-Alpkılıç
she/her
Ph.D. Student, Molecular Engineering & Sciences Institute
The Graduate School, Seattle
Disarming a Killer: A New Way to Fight Superbugs
Gizem Gokce Alpkilic is a Ph.D. candidate in Molecular Engineering at the University of Washington and a Fulbright Scholar, with a bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering. At the Institute for Protein Design, her research focuses on de novo peptide design against disease-related targets, combining machine learning, Rosetta modeling, and AlphaFold with experimental methods like yeast surface display, peptide synthesis, and protein expression and purification. She has co-authored publications in Cell and Science, contributed to a patent on orally bioavailable macrocycles, and received first-place honors for her senior design project and poster presentations. Gizem has presented her work at international conferences, including Keystone Symposia and the International Materials Research Congress.
- Scholarships, fellowships, or awards received: Fulbright Ph.D. Scholarship
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gizem-gökçe-alpkılıç-b724a089/
Nicole Gregorio
she/her
Ph.D. Student, Bioengineering
College of Engineering & School of Medicine, Seattle
How Can Jell-O Help Us Heal Better?
Nicole is a Ph.D. student in Bioengineering who has worked to develop new protein-based hydrogels for applications in regenerative medicine. Outside of her research she has a passion for teaching, science communication, and STEM outreach work.
- Affiliations: STEM Pals Co-Lead; Engage Board Member; STEP-UP Trainee; ISCRM and IPD collaborator
- Scholarships, fellowships, or awards received: NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicoleegregorio/
Kevin Jiang
he/him
Ph.D. Student, Bioengineering
College of Engineering & School of Medicine, Seattle
Preventing The Next Pandemic: Developing Next Generation At-Home Diagnostics
Kevin pursued his PhD in bioengineering in Dr. Paul Yager’s group, which he defended in April 2025. His research focuses on the development of diagnostic technologies that could be implemented in remote or home settings without compromising test accuracy or requiring complex protocols. Prior to grad school, he spent four years working in the Bay Area biotech space at Cepheid and Boehringer Ingelheim. For him, diagnostics is not only a passion, but a powerful tool that is instrumental in the fight against any disease. Outside of the lab, Kevin is active in educational outreach, working with local community college students through the UW HEARO initiative and high school STEM teachers through Fred Hutch’s Science Education Partnership program. You can find him in his free time either on a tennis court or the nearest boba shop.
- Affiliations: Senior Venture Analyst (Washington Research Foundation); Graduate Student Mentor (Science Education Partnership); Lead Mentor (HEARO)
- Scholarships, fellowships, or awards received: Finalist, UW Graduate School Medal
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinpjiang/
Eric Osnes
he/him/his
Master’s Student, Jurisprudence
School of Law, Seattle
Charting New Frontiers: Adapting Maritime Salvage and Rescue Laws for the Space Age
I am a former ship Captain and marine salvage expert. I attended the California Maritime Academy where I obtained a BSc degree and subsequently earned an MBA in international business at Seattle University. My career has been focused on heavily regulated industries such as maritime and business aviation, which are very similar in nature. I have had the opportunity to live and work in Norway and have traveled throughout the Pacific Ocean, Gulf Coast, Asia, and Europe. I’m a true Seattleite, having been born here and lived here for a large portion of my life. I just keep coming back to the Pacific Northwest, which I will always call home. My husky, Miss Ripley, agrees that we should stay here.
- Affiliations: Law Student Member of American Bar Association and King County Bar Association; Pacific Northwest Business Aviation Association (PNBAA).
- Scholarships, fellowships, or awards received: Law School Scholarships in Fall 2023, Winter 2024, and Fall 2024.
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ericosnes
Lakshmipriya Rajakumar
she/hers
Master’s Student, Architecture
College of Built Environments, Seattle
Brighter Spaces, Better Learning
Lakshmipriya Rajakumar is a Master of Architecture student at the University of Washington, specializing in Sustainable Systems and Design. A licensed architect with over five years of experience, she integrates Building Information Modeling (BIM) and computational tools like Revit, Rhino, and Climate Studio to design high-performance environments. Her 3MT research focuses on enhancing daylighting and visual comfort in middle school classrooms, aiming to improve student well-being and academic outcomes. She also serves as a Teaching Assistant in architectural history and has received honors from The Architect’s Newspaper and Mango Architecture. Lakshmipriya is passionate about merging design technology with sustainable strategies to create impactful educational spaces.
- Affiliations: American Institute of Architecture Students and American Institute of Architects
- Scholarships, fellowships, or awards received: Honor Mention from The Architect’s Newspaper 2023 and Research Presentation at UW Scholars Studio 2025
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/lakshmipriya-rajakumar
Marti Tooley
she/her
Ph.D. Student, Molecular Engineering & Sciences Institute
The Graduate School, Seattle
Computational Design of a Novel Platform to Colocalize Cell for Therapeutic Effects From Cancer Killing to Vaccine Boosting
Marti discovered her passion for viral engineering as an undergraduate at the University of Tennessee, where she earned her degree in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering in 2017. In Dr. Eric Boder’s lab, she explored ways to re-engineer components of the influenza virus. She continued this path at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, contributing to a CRISPR-Cas9 project in Dr. Justin Taylor’s lab that aimed to engineer immune cells against RSV, flu, HIV, and EBV. For the past six years, Marti has been a Ph.D. student in Molecular Engineering, jointly advised by Dr. David Baker and Dr. Neil King. Her work focuses on designing next-generation vaccines and therapeutics using computational protein design—an intersection of biology and technology that she finds both challenging and inspiring. She remains driven by the potential of protein engineering to transform how we prevent and treat disease.
- Affiliations: AiChE; SWE; SHPE; TBP; UW Science Explorers
- Scholarships, fellowships, or awards received: NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP); UW Engineering Scholar Award
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marti-tooley/
Grace Umutesi
she/her/hers
Ph.D. Student, Global Health Metrics & Implementation Science
School of Public Health & School of Medicine, Seattle
Single-Dose HPV Vaccination: A Dose of Hope in the Fight Against Cervical Cancer in East Africa
Grace Umutesi is a dynamic global health professional with over a decade of experience in public health research and programmatic work in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). She has devoted her academic and professional work to contribute to the design and implementation of innovative strategies to improve health outcomes. Her work spanned from supporting Polio surveillance in West Africa and yellow fever outbreak response activities in DRC to managing health system strengthening activities in Rwanda. More recently, she supported initiatives that generate evidence to improve equitable access to diagnostics services in LMICs and inform strategy to improve HPV vaccination coverage in Kenya. She has co-authored over two douzaine peer-reviewed articles, and her work earned her several awards including: L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women In Science Young Talents Award, CDC’s Charles C. Shepard Science Award, the Consortium of University for Global Health Young Leader Award, and Vanderbilt University’s MPH Rising Star Award among others.
- Affiliations: International Clinical Research Center (ICRC); 2021-2022 Dean’s Advisory Council for Students (DACS), School of Public Health
- Scholarships, fellowships, or awards received: 2023 L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women In Science Young Talents Awardee; 2023 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) New Investigator Scholarship; First place award for the scholar’s competition organized at the 2024 International Papillomavirus Conference (IPVC); 2024 International Papillomavirus Society (IPS) Travel Scholarship; 2024 Academy Health’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion scholarship
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/grace-umutesi