Current HG DEI Committee Members

John Novembre (Chair)

Joe Thornton (he/him; joet1 [at] uchicago [dot] edu) is a professor in the Department of Human Genetics and the Department of Ecology and Evolution.  His laboratory reconstructs the genetic and biochemical mechanisms by which proteins have evolved new functions.  Before joining the University of Chicago, he was on the faculty at the University of Oregon for a decade.  Before he was a scientist, he was an environmental activist. 

Jennifer Blanc, HG Postdoc (she/her; jgblanc [at] uchicago [dot] edu) is a recent graduate from the Human Genetics graduate program. She works in Dr. Jeremy Berg’s lab studying the evolution of complex traits. Before joining the University of Chicago, Jennifer was an undergraduate at the University of California, Davis.  

Luke Anderson Trocme, Postdoc ()

Claire Gray, HG PhD Student ()

Fabian Halblander, HG PhD Student (fhalblander at uchicago dot edu). Fabian is a PhD student in the Ronan O’ Malley lab. Fabian is interested in using broad-scale functional genomics approaches to gain novel insights into fundamental and applied mechanistic questions, hoping to uncover “rules” of transcriptional control in gene expression. Fabian values the community and camaraderie of science, and is passionate about inclusivity and collaborative research. Outside of lab, he enjoys finding new music, reading books, and exploring Chicago.

Current GGSB DEI Committee Members

Hae Kyung Im (Chair)

Andy Dahl (andywdahl [at] uchicago [dot] edu) is an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine. Andy works on statistical methodology to understand the genetic basis of complex human traits, and previously trained at UChicago, Oxford, UCSF, and UCLA.

Busayo Bolonduro, GGSB PhD Student (he/him; olubusayob [at] uchicago [dot] edu) is a 3rd year PhD candidate in the lab of Dr. Andrew Koh. Here, he uses genomics data to study gene regulation in the thymus used to promote immune tolerance. Busayo is interested in how discoveries from basic scientific research can be leveraged to advance medicine and our understanding of disease. He is also passionate about advancing equity and inclusion in science.

Astra Hwang, GGSB PhD Student 

Vivaswat Shastry, GGSB PhD Student (he/him; vivaswat [at] uchicago [dot] edu) works on building models to estimate evolutionary parameters in Jeremy Berg’s lab. Additionally, he is deeply interested in matters pertaining to equity in higher education and is committed to fostering a diverse graduate community within the program. Outside of school, he enjoys writing jokes and performing stand-up comedy. 

Past HG DEI Committee Members

Jaeda Patton, GGSB PhD Student (she/her; jejpatton [at] uchicago [dot] edu)

Nathan LaPierre, Postdoc

Cecily Choy, HG PhD Student (she/her; choyc [at] uchicago [dot] edu)

Maanasa Raghavan (she/her; mraghavan [at] uchicago [dot] edu) (-2023)

Tauras Vilgalys (vilgalys [at] uchicago [dot] edu) (-2023)

Katie Aracena (karacena [at] uchicago [dot] edu (2022-2023)

Shreya Ramachandran (shreya23 [at] uchicago [dot] edu): 2020-2022