President: Kristina Schaufele
Kristina is a senior from Atlanta, Georgia, who is majoring in neuroscience and minoring in chemistry and computer science. She intends to pursue a career within healthcare, which has been in part inspired by her research on post-operative delirium and attention through the Woldorff-Acker lab and the impact of social support on spine surgery outcomes through the Spine Surgery Patient Navigators Bass Connections. In addition to NMU, she is involved in Femmes+, PhiDE, and DTech at Duke. Outside of academics, Kristina loves to run and workout, try new coffee shops and restaurants, travel, and learn to cook new recipes.
VP: Nana Osaki
Nana is a senior from Madison, Wisconsin and Okayama, Japan. She is majoring in neuroscience and minoring in Spanish and Korean. She is a part of the Minga Right Hemisphere Stroke lab and is passionate about studying the intersection between language, cognitive neuroscience, and communication. She intends to pursue a career in academia after graduation. In addition to NMU, she is involved in Femmes+, Duke Swing, and the Duke Athletics marketing department. Outside of academics, Nana loves to attend concerts, spend time with her family, and try new restaurants.
Secretary: Aman Maredia
Aman is a junior from San Antonio, Texas, majoring in Neuroscience with a minor in Chemistry. He conducts research in the Bilbo Lab, where he studies the effects of maternal high-fat diets on neuroimmune interactions, with a focus on microglia, the resident immune cells of the central nervous system. Aman plans to pursue medical school and a career as a physician. At Duke, he is involved with the Duke Medical Ethics Journal, Camp Kesem, and intramural basketball. He also volunteers at Duke Regional Hospital and the Samaritan Health Center. In his free time, he enjoys playing basketball and exploring new restaurants.
Webmaster: Isabella Falcone
Isabella is a sophomore from Long Island, New York, exploring Neuroscience, Psychology, and English. She has assisted in research with the Scott-Hewitt Lab, studying cell interactions in the nervous and immune systems and investigating glial and neuroimmune mechanisms in relation to aging and disease. On campus, Isabella is involved in NeuroCare, The Muse Magazine, and Best Buddies. In her free time, she loves painting, reading, writing, and going for long walks.
Treasurer: Soojin Lee
Soojin is a junior from San Jose, California, majoring in Neuroscience and Statistics with a certificate in Decision Sciences. She has conducted research on Alzheimer’s disease, autism biomarkers, and VR medical training tools. Passionate about the intersection between healthcare and technology, she hopes to pursue a career in biotech or product management. In addition to NMU, she is involved in Duke Medical Ethics Journal, Product Space, Technify, HackDuke, Business Behind Health, and Freewater Productions, and serves as an instructor for Club Taekwondo. Outside of academics, she enjoys watching movies, drawing, and searching for free food on campus.
Upperclassman Rep: Nicol Milev
Nicol Milev is a senior from Tupelo, Mississippi, majoring in Neuroscience with minors in Biology and Psychology. She currently researches with the Sweitzer Lab, where she uses task-based fMRI to study cigarette smoking quit attempts, focusing on reward processing and the neuro-behavioral and biological mechanisms underlying addiction and relapse. Outside of academics, she serves as Editor-in-Chief of Muse Magazine, leads the Body Empowerment Project, and works as an Orientation Leader for Project Media. She also volunteers with the Arts & Health program at Duke University Hospital. In her free time, she enjoys exploring new coffee spots or getting lost in a good book.
Underclassman Rep: Runda Li
Publicity Chair: Libby Gough
Libby is a senior from Tampa, Florida, majoring in Neuroscience and minoring in Global Health and Chemistry. After graduation, she plans to pursue a career in medicine, with a specific interest in neurology and neurodegenerative disease. At Duke, Libby conducts research on Alzheimer’s disease, studying the effects of diet and age on peripheral Tau pathology in mice expressing human APOE, as well as the progressive neurodegenerative disease AD-HSP through a Drosophila melanogaster model. Libby is editor-in-chief of the Chanticleer, Duke’s yearbook, as well as a member of Duke Medical Ethics Journal, AMWA, and GlobeMed. Outside of academics, Libby loves to try new coffee shops and restaurants, travel, and photograph Duke Basketball.
Peer Mentoring: Caleb Bekele and Kiara Lavana
Caleb is a Junior from Silver Spring, Maryland, who is majoring in Neuroscience with minors in Computational Bioinformatics and Chemistry. He is part of the Varghese Lab, where he works on developing Organ-on-chip models for various systems and tissues in the body. On top of that, he volunteers at the Duke Hospital. He plans to go into medicine and pursue a career in Neurology, with a focus on treating neurological disorders. Apart from NMU, he is involved in clubs such as RUF, NeuroCare, PhiDE, and BMWC. Outside of Academics, he enjoys playing soccer and basketball, watching movies/shows, and picking up new skills every now and then.
Kiara is a junior from central Massachusetts majoring in Neuroscience and minoring in Sociology and Chemistry. She is interested in the intersection of molecular neurobiology with larger-scale human behavior in societies. She currently researches with the West Lab studying the molecular mechanisms of alpha-synuclein aggregation in Parkinson’s disease. She also volunteers at the Duke Hospital and Croasdaile Rehabilitation Center. Outside of school, Kiara is involved with the bhangra (Indian dance) team at Duke, Duke Dhamaka. She also loves traveling and trying new food from around the world!
