Our Team

VP, Communications and Curriculum

Shirley is a second-year PhD student in the Neurobiology & Behavior program at Columbia, where she studies the neural mechanisms and circuitry by which excess striatal dopamine induces hallucinations. Shirley joined CUNO in 2023 and is now the Vice President of Communications and Curriculum. Shirley maintains the CUNO website, quarterly newsletters, Instagram, and the CUNO Virtual Educational Resource Database. Additionally, Shirley enjoys listening to music, playing musical instruments, reading and trying out different food with friends.

Co-President

Risa is a PhD student in the Neurobiology & Behavior Program at Columbia, where she studies the aging and diseased nervous system. She joined CUNO in 2020 and worked primarily with the Saturday Science and Curriculum Development teams to develop neuroscience lessons for NYC children. Now, she is excited to be CUNO Co-President with Briana! Risa hopes that CUNO efforts will make science more accessible to more people, thereby increasing public interest and support for science.

VP, Late Night Science

Nathan is a PhD student in the Neurobiology & Behavior program at Columbia, where he studies how auditory memories guide vocal learning in zebra finches. Nathan leads the media branch of Late Night Science. He is excited to make science more accessible to a wider audience, especially those traditionally underserved by the scientific community. In his free time, Nathan is an avid climber and also enjoys playing soccer and drumming.

VP, Late Night Science

John is a PhD student in the Neurobiology & Behavior program at Columbia. He runs the Events team as part of Late Night Science because he wants to show people what life in science is really like. John also enjoys going to concerts and eating pretzels.

Co-President

Briana is a PhD student in the Neurobiology & Behavior Program at Columbia, where she studies how motherhood changes the brain and has an interest in science policy. Briana joined CUNO in 2020, when she began volunteering for Saturday Science and helping to translate existing curriculum from English to Spanish. She then spent 2 years as Co-Vice President of Saturday Science, and is now excited to be Co-President of CUNO with Risa! Briana is passionate about outreach because events like Saturday Science were very influential in her path to becoming a scientist, and she hopes to provide such inspirational opportunities to the next generation. 

VP, Saturday Science

Arnav is a second-year PhD student in the Neurobiology & Behavior program at Columbia, currently working with Lea Duncker on how RNNs deal with noise. Arnav is Vice President of Saturday Science along with Aidan, and also helps out with the Late Night Science media team. Outside of science, Arnav enjoys hanging out with animals, learning languages, and staring wistfully over large bodies of water.

VP, Spanish Programming

Amanda is a PhD student in the Neurobiology and Behavior Program at Columbia. She joined CUNO in 2021 and is now Vice President of CUNO Spanish. Amanda looks forward to engaging with Spanish-speaking communities in NYC and developing fun brain science activities that transcend language barriers.

Amanda es una estudiante doctoral en el programa de Neurobiología y Comportamiento en Columbia. Se unió a CUNO en 2021 y ahora es Vice Presidenta de CUNO en Español. Amanda espera poder compartir con las comunidades hispanohablantes en NYC y desarrollar actividades divertidas sobre el cerebro que trasciendan barreras de lenguaje.

VP, Saturday Science

Aidan is a PhD student in the Integrated Cellular, Molecular, Biomedical Studies Program at Columbia, where he studies disease and inflammation of the nervous system. He joined CUNO when he first came to Columbia in 2023 and now is Vice President of Saturday Science. Aidan is excited to continue working with a passionate team of volunteers to develop interactive science activities and programs for NYC children and families to enjoy.