2020 - 2021 Board
Heather Ciallella
Fifth-year PhD candidate
Pronouns: she/her
Term: 05/2021 - 04/2022
Heather earned her BS in Chemistry (2015) and MS in Forensic Science (2017) from Arcadia University. She currently works in the cheminformatics lab of Dr. Hao Zhu. Her dissertation research focuses on deep learning applications and uses of big chemical data in mechanism-driven toxicity modeling predictions. As a student in CCIB, Heather completed her teaching assistantship in the Chemistry department. Since 2018, she has been an active member of the Graduate Student Advisory Council. Within the AAUP-AFT union, Heather serves as the CCIB graduate student representative and a member of the Graduate Community Working Group and Rutgers Grads United. She also serves as the Center's Student Event Coordinator. Recently, she was appointed by University leadership to represent the campus's graduate students on the Rutgers-Camden Board of Directors and served on the Search Committee for the new Rutgers-Camden Chancellor. She is excited to continue fostering an environment for new students to feel welcomed into the Center with open arms and current students to feel motivated to raise issues with Center leadership and be engaged with each other in a community. Outside of school, she enjoys true crime and science podcasts and books, reality television, and playing with her pet bearded dragon Delilah.
Experimental Vice-Chair
Nidhi Sheth
Fourth-year PhD candidate
Pronouns: she/her
Term: 05/2021 - 04/2022
Nidhi Sheth earned her BS in Pharmacy from Nirma University, India (2014) and MS in Forensic Science from Pace University, New York (2017). She is a National Institute of Justice graduate fellow. Currently, she works in Dr. Grgicak’s lab, where her research focuses on selectively analyzing and interpreting DNA from multiple donors using a single-cell strategy. As a student in CCIB, Nidhi completed her teaching assistantship in the Chemistry department. She is an active Executive Committee Member of the Rutgers-Camden AAUP-AFT union chapter. This year is her first serving as the SOC's Experimental Vice-Chair, but she is super excited to share her experiences in the US and help the current and incoming CCIB students to the best of her ability. Outside of school, she enjoys reading and watching The Office. Her new favorite show is What We Do in the Shadows. She also loves dancing, enjoys kickboxing, and is a die-hard Batman fan.
Computational Vice-Chair and MS Program Representative
John Orgera
Second-year MS candidate
Pronouns: he/him
Term: 05/2021 - 04/2022
John received his BS in Environmental Biology from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and joined CCIB in fall 2020. He currently works on identifying deletions in SARS-CoV-2 in the Grigoriev Lab. In the past, John worked with the USDA managing wildlife in his hometown of New York City. While he has only been in the program for a short time, he has learned so much from his peers and wants to continue to foster an environment that makes new students feel welcome even in uncertain times. He has served as the Success Circle 'Czar' in CCIB crafting the questions and forms since January 2021. In his free time, he enjoys rock and ice climbing, mushroom foraging, and cooking.
Past Board Members
Chair: Heather Ciallella (doctoral candidate, Zhu lab)
Experimental Vice-Chair: Cody Stevens (doctoral candidate, Yakoby lab)
Computational Vice-Chair: Jesse Sandberg (MS candidate, Brannigan lab)
MS Representative: Anushriya Subedy (MS candidate, Klein lab)
2019 - 2020 Board
Chair: Heather Ciallella (doctoral candidate, Zhu lab)
Experimental Vice-Chair: Sung Won Oh (doctoral candidate, Fu lab)
Computational Vice-Chair: Liam Sharp (doctoral candidate, Brannigan lab)
MS Representative: Anushriya Subedy (MS candidate, Klein lab)
2018 - 2019 Board
Chair: Daniel Russo (doctoral candidate, Zhu lab)
Experimental Vice-Chair: Christopher Sottolano (doctoral student, Yakoby lab)
Computational Vice-Chair: Heather Ciallella (doctoral student, Zhu lab)