CURRENT MEMBERS
Selinda Qiu
Major(s)/Minor(s): Medical Anthropology, Neuroscience, Chemistry
Hometown: Austin, TX
Class Year: 2023
Role: Research Assistant
Research Interests: malnutrition & development, maternal-fetal medicine, health disparities
Involvements on Campus: Arts House Dance Company, research at CHOP
Hobbies: puzzles, doing the NYT crossword, ice skating
Plans After Grad: take a couple gap years to work before going to medical school
Sara Johnson
Major(s)/Minor(s): Medical Anthropology
Hometown: Kailua Kona, HI
Class Year: 2022
Role: Research Assistant
Research Interests: women at risk, foster youth, racial justice, medical disparities
Involvements on Campus: Water Polo
Hobbies: baking, swimming, hiking
Plans After Grad: Work for an NGO or nonprofit making a difference
Gabriela Daza
Major(s)/Minor(s): Anthropology & Political Science
Hometown: Bellmore, NY
Class Year: 2023
Role: Research Assistant
Research Interests: health disparities, sex work, archaeology
Involvements on Campus: ————–
Hobbies: reading, hiking, cooking
Plans After Grad: not sure quite yet!
Joey Lohmann
Major(s)/Minor(s): Medical Anthropology, Global Health, Neuroscience, Chemistry
Hometown: Menlo Park, CA
Class Year: 2022
Role: Research Assistant
Research Interests: public health, social determinants of health, pediatrics, LGBTQ health
Involvements on Campus: AIR, Lockdown Letters, Penn4LiNK, The Signal, Friars Senior Society
Hobbies: photography, soccer, poetry
Plans After Grad: working in community heath/clinical research and then applying to med school
Adriana Purcell
Major(s)/Minor(s): Medical Anthropology, Hispanic Studies
Hometown: Sparta, NJ
Class Year: 2022
Role: Research Assistant
Research Interests: reproductive health and agency, fertility, family planning, ethnography, perceptions of the feminine body, nutrition
Involvements on Campus: PennSingers, CURF, University Scholar, Writing Fellow
Hobbies: cooking, hiking, writing
Plans After Grad: MD/PhD program in medical anthropology
Nicole Da Costa
Major(s)/Minor(s): Biology, Anthropology
Hometown: Allentown, PA
Class Year: 2023
Role: Research Assistant
Research Interests: race, inter- and transgenerational trauma, stress, health inequities
Involvements on Campus: MERT, MAPS
Hobbies: listening to audiobooks, genealogy, cooking
Plans After Grad: taking at least one gap year to do research and then pursue medical school
Jordan Liu
Major(s)/Minor(s): Anthropology
Hometown:
Class Year: 2022
Role: Research Assistant
Research Interests: ——————
Involvements on Campus: PennSingers, Undergraduate Scholars Program
Hobbies: photography, journaling, reading
Plans After Grad: MD/MPH program
Michelle Nnaji
Major(s)/Minor(s): Medical Sociology, Chemistry, Neuroscience
Hometown: Jackson, TN
Class Year: 2023
Role: Research Assistant
Research Interests: mental health, global health, human behavior, health policy
Involvements on Campus: UNAP (UNAIDS @ Penn), GlobeMed, Learning Assistant for Biology 101
Hobbies: cooking, listening to music and playing saxophone, hiking, Netflix binges
Plans After Grad: planning on going to medical school after graduation
Maya Kreger
Major(s)/Minor(s): Anthropology, Biology
Hometown: Miami Beach, FL
Class Year: 2025
Role: Lab Member
Research Interests: human evolution
Involvements on Campus: The Moviegoer publication, Penn Dems, Fossil Free Penn
Hobbies: taking care of animals, watching movies, playing violin
Plans After Grad: not quite sure yet!
Maira Asif
Major(s)/Minor(s): Medical Anthropology & Global Health
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA
Class Year: 2024
Role: Lab Member
Research Interests: medical anthropology, biological anthropology, global health, epigenetics
Involvements on Campus: PennFERBS, TIMBA Tutoring, BFS, Mayor’s Scholars (MSP)
Hobbies: reading books, visiting museums, watching movies
Plans After Grad: hopes to attend graduate school and study for a Ph.D. in Anthropology
Clara Nolan
Major(s)/Minor(s): Neuroscience, Medical Anthropology
Hometown: Murrieta, CA
Class Year: 2025
Role: Research Assistant
Research Interests: social determinants, intersection of neuroanatomy, gender, and sexuality
Involvements on Campus: CAFSA, Penn Neuroscience Society, PAGE, Platypus Penn
Hobbies: painting, drawing, taking care of bonsai trees
Plans After Grad: attend medical school and become a physician
PAST LAB MEMBERS
Grace Choi
Major(s)/Minor(s): Medical Anthropology, Nutritional Science
Hometown: New Jersey
Class Year: 2023
Role: Research Assistant
Research Interests: food insecurity, nutrition
Involvements on Campus: Full Measure, IMPAC
Hobbies: cafe hopping, jamming with friends, kayaking, grocery shopping and reading the labels
Plans After Grad: take a gap year to figure out and expose myself to areas that I may pursue!
Jacky Chan
Jacky is a senior from Sydney, Australia, studying general anthropology. She is particularly interested in nutrition and healthcare. At home, Jacky surfs, but since there aren’t too many waves in Philly, during the semester you can find her running along the river trail and swimming laps at Pottruck. She is also an RA in New College House. Some of her residents call her Mum (yes, with ‘u’) because she is in bed by 10 PM most evenings. Other organizations Jacky is involved in include Penn Traditions, Penn Appetit, Chinese Students Association, Vietnamese Students Association, Japanese Students Association, and the College Alumni Mentoring Series.
Olivia Bridges
Olivia is from Highland Park, New Jersey, studying Health & Societies with minors in Anthropology and Nutrition. She is interested in food sovereignty, food empowerment, ethnography in public health policy and socially-just public health research. Olivia is involved in Penn V-Day, Bloomers Comedy, PennQuest, and interns with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health in the opioid surveillance team. Her passions include cooking paleo, urban gardening, and fiber arts!
Anne Lally
Anne is an undergraduate student from Moorestown, New Jersey. In the Fall of 2018 she transferred to the School of Arts and Sciences from Tulane University. She is studying biological anthropology and chemistry. Some of her academic interests include animal behavior and reproductive ecology. Outside of the lab, she is a transfer student mentor, a transfer student PHIN, a member of Zeta Tau Alpha, an avid yogi, and a cold brew enthusiast.
Danielle Orie
Danielle is an undergraduate student from Buffalo, New York (Class of 2021) and a member of the University of Pennsylvania Women’s Cross Country and Track and Field program. She studies anthropology, environmental studies, and nutrition. Her interests include human evolution, agriculture and farming, diet, and food accessibility. When she isn’t experimenting or making a mess in the kitchen, she likes to travel or explore new places in Philly. Danielle loves all carbohydrates (she does not discriminate) and anything cheesy, and she also enjoys reading in her spare time. Special talents include being able to eat a jar of peanut butter in one sitting and running in many circles around a track.
Nicole Mayer
Nicole (2021) is an undergraduate from Manchester, New Hampshire. Originally a student in the School of Nursing, she transferred to the College of Arts and Sciences in Spring 2019. She plans to study biological anthropology and minor in nutritional science. Her interests include diet and exercise, women’s health, bones, trauma medicine, and baking chocolate chip cookies. If Nicole is not saving lives with Penn MERT, you will probably find her at the Schuylkill River Dog Park or the Woodlands Cemetery with her dog Ruby.
Zoe Belardo
Zoe is an undergraduate student from Cleveland, Ohio. She is currently studying anthropology and the biological basis of behavior to pursue her interests in global health, the human brain, and the culture and biology of what makes us human. Outside of class, Zoe is part of Alpha Phi Omega, the community service fraternity on campus, GlobeMed at Penn, and is a volunteer at CHOP. Her current life goals (in no particular order) are: to travel as much as possible, to get into medical school, and to convince her roommates to let her get a cat.
Zoe Osborne
Zoe is interested in biology, and especially interested in genetics and health. She plans on majoring in Environmental Science and Anthropology. Originally from Philadelphia, having resided in the Mt. Airy neighborhood, she now lives on campus. Outside of classes, Zoe is involved in the Penn Dance Company, the Kite & Key Society, and the Osiris Senior Society. She is currently also an RA in Riepe College House and works an on-campus job in the undergraduate admissions office. In her spare time, Zoe enjoys knitting, and has made a sweater, some crop tops, and “many, many hats.”