Program Leaders

Cyrus Buckman, from Accra, Ghana, is pursuing an MD at Stanford School of Medicine as a Knight-Hennessy Scholar. He graduated from Earlham College with a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry. Cyrus aspires to bring improved healthcare access to people living in underserved communities across the globe. At Stanford, Cyrus served on the Organization for Global Health board to promote global health initiatives. He also served as the Community Outreach Chair of the Cardinal Free Clinics, which provides access to high-quality transitional medical care for underserved patient populations in the Bay area. Cyrus is passionate about providing mentorship and educational resources to help students achieve their potential. He has advised several pre-med students through the medical school application process to pay forward the support he received on his journey. When he is not studying or catching up with family and friends, Cyrus can be found playing tennis, ping pong, or soccer.

Chris is 4th year MD candidate at Stanford University School of Medicine and is also pursuing an MS in Community Health and Prevention Research. He graduated from Swarthmore College in 2020 with a BA in Biology. Chris is passionate about mentorship and expanding opportunities to students from traditionally underserved backgrounds and has worked with numerous students to help them gain admission to college and medical school. In his free time, Chris enjoys hiking, cooking, volunteering with local community organizations, and expanding his extensive houseplant collection.

Lauren is a second-year MD/PhD student at Stanford. She holds a B.S. in Neuroscience from Johns Hopkins University, where she studied nucleocytoplasmic transport and RNA binding protein dynamics in ALS. After graduating, she moved to Stanford to explore basic and translational cardiovascular biology. Outside of her research, Lauren has been deeply involved in teaching and mentorship, and hopes to dedicate her time to expanding access to physician and physician-scientist training. She has held positions as a head neuroscience TA and organic chemistry small group leader; a volunteer MCAT tutor; pre-health mentor with Stanford MSTP BOOST, Project SHORT, and MD Collective; and volunteer with Stanford Health Career Collaborative. In her free time, she loves to walk her cat, eat amazing food in the Bay Area, hike (slowly), and play tennis!

Suyash Raj graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 2015, after which he moved to Boston to research at Boston Children’s Hospital for two years, followed by working at Vertex Pharmaceuticals for another two years. He then joined the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine for his PhD in 2021. He currently works in Dr. Irv Weissman’s lab studying neural stem cells. In his free time he loves to play video games and cook

Edward C. and Amy H. Sewall Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology and Professor, by courtesy, of Molecular and Cellular Physiology. Dr. Ricci is the previous Director of the Neuroscience Graduate program as well as the co-founder and current faculty director of the ADVANCE summer institute, an onboarding program for graduate students within the biosciences who come from underserved communities. He presently serves as director of Research in the Department of Otolaryngology as well as the Associate Dean of Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs.

Victoria is a current PhD candidate in the biology department on the ecology and evolution track. She is a NSF GRFP Fellow and CMB Grant trainee who graduated from Duke University with a B.S. in Environmental science and certificate in Science & Society. Co-advised by Drs Molly Schumer and Dmitri Petrov, her research interests span across population genomics and the application of population theory to aid in species preservation. Often the questions Victoria seeks to answer land at the intersection of patterns of genetic diversity and their effects on species’ extinction risk.  Outside of the lab, Victoria enjoys traveling and hopes to see the Northern Lights this year!

James is the Director of the REACH Postbac Research Program. He received his PhD from Stanford School of Medicine, Immunology Program, where he studied the role of the immune response in acute rejection after solid-organ transplantation. He loves all things immunology and science related. Additionally, he is passionate about student wellness and addressing inequities that negatively impact minoritized students in academia. In his personal time, he enjoys medium distance trail races, watching and playing basketball, anime (or generally binging a good tv series), wine-and-paint nights, board games and video games, learning new musical instruments, and basking in the sun. He loves the performing arts and has spent 4 years as a dance choreographer and 3 years performing with Stanford Taiko (a Japanese-style drumming group). His favorite social activity with friends is to go on culturally themed food tours and eat amazing food all day.

Brenda is a 4th year PhD candidate in Biophysics studying the effects of anesthetics and psychedelics on the brain in the Airan lab. She is a first-generation, low-income student from Merced, CA. She majored in biology and psychology at UC Merced. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, cooking, and live music. She is an avid event manager and has organized large concerts and outdoor festivals for the past 8 years.