THE GRADUATE SCHOOL

Kayla Boyden

ODI Graduate Intern

Jamie Guillen Magaña

ODI Graduate Intern

Jamie is a rising fifth-year PhD candidate in the Driskill Graduate Program at Northwestern University. In the lab of Dr. Leonidas Platanias, her research focuses on investigating the role of Schlafen12 in glioblastoma in the context of the immune microenvironment, as well as using SLFN12-modulating drugs as a therapeutic tool in Leukemia. In her undergraduate studies, she double-majored in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology and Psychology at Emory University as a Questbridge Scholar. During her time there, she conducted non-small cell lung cancer research in the lab of Dr. Wei Zhou at the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University as an Initiative to Maximize Student Development (IMSD) associate. Prior to that, she took part in the microbiology summer undergraduate research program (Micro-SURP) at UTHealth McGovern Medical School in Houston, Texas for two consecutive years as a Gilson Longenbaugh Foundation Fellow. While at Emory, she advocated for students who identified as undocumented or were part of mixed-status families. She also served on the executive board of Camp Kesem, an organization for kids whose parents have been affected by cancer. 

In her graduate studies, she serves as a member of the DGP Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) Committee, and on the cancer biology cluster leadership team to address issues surrounding diversity and inclusion. She is also the president of Comunidad Latinx, which was originally founded to foster community amongst Latinx graduate students at Northwestern. She is incredibly excited to serve as an ODI fellow and SROP group leader. As a first-generation student and proud Latina daughter of immigrant parents, she is very passionate about mentoring underrepresented students and advocating for student needs. In her free time, she likes to hike with her mini Australian Shepherd named Ollie, read, and explore Chicago.

Daisy Matias

ODI Graduate Intern

Daisy Donaji Matias is a Oaxacan-American writer, curator, and performance scholar from Richmond, Virginia. As a PhD student in the Department of Performance Studies, Daisy works at the intersection of performance theory, psychological anthropology, and phenomenology to consider the transformative potential of meditation, hypnosis, sound healing, and other emergent phenomena upon the minoritarian body. Highlights of her time at Northwestern have included participating in the Dissertation Proposal Development Program and co-convening Object Relations: Performance and Race at the Edge of Theory. Daisy also serves as a Statement of Purpose Advisor for the Institute for Recruitment of Teachers. Daisy holds dual BAs in Art History and Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies from Virginia Commonwealth University and an MA in Performance Studies from Northwestern University.

Spencer Nabors

ODI Graduate Intern

Spencer Alexandria Nabors is a PhD candidate in philosophy at Northwestern University. She began her philosophy journey at Spelman College where she graduated in 2020 with honors. Her research interests are in critical phenomenology, social epistemology, and philosophy of race. At Spelman, Spencer was a Mellon-Mays Undergraduate Research Fellow. In 2019, she served as president of the Martin Luther King Jr. Chapel Assistants Program at Morehouse College. She is only the second woman to hold the esteemed position. At Northwestern, Spencer is a Critical Theory Mellon Cluster Fellow. She also serves as a fellow in the Office of Diversity & Inclusion where she assists with retention programming and serves as a graduate mentor in the Summer Research Opportunities Program. In her free time, Spencer enjoys reading by the lake and exploring Chicago.

Tatiana Ortiz Serrano

ODI Graduate Intern

Tatiana is a fourth-year PhD candidate attending the Driskill Graduate Program in Life Sciences at Northwestern University. Under the mentorship of Dr. Karen Ridge, Tatiana’s research aims to understand the cellular-molecular aspects of the immune response against severe influenza infection. Her academic pathway in STEM started in the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras campus, where she completed a bachelor’s degree in Cellular-Molecular Biology with a minor in French Studies. She is currently a Northwestern University Lung Sciences Training Program (NULSTP) trainee, adding to previous fellowships in Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC) and Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD). As an NU-SROP alumna (2018), Tatiana has been thrilled to serve as a group leader for the last two years. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking and baking, among other crafty hobbies.

Erica Rosario

ODI Graduate Intern

Erica Rosario is currently a PhD candidate in the Interdisciplinary Biological Sciences Program (IBiS) at Northwestern University. Currently, Erica is leading several projects which investigate how membrane dynamics impact organelle distribution and membrane contact site formation. She received her bachelor’s with honors from CUNY Hunter College, where she developed her interest in science communication. Erica has taken part in several STEM outreach and DEI initiatives in the Chicago area, partnering with organizations such as Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Hispanics in Science (SACNAS), Girls4science and Diversity in Biological Sciences (DiBS). Erica joined the Summer Research Opportunity Program (SROP) as a STEM group lead the Summer of 2023.