Our Team
Sruti Akula
Organizer
Sruti is in her fourth year of the MD program at SUNY Upstate Medical University. In her spare time, she likes exploring the world from a different perspective: with drone photography. Fun fact, this is her ninth TEDx event that she has organized.
Lawrence Chin, MD
Team Advisor
Dr. Chin grew up in Detroit, Michigan and attended the University of Michigan for college and medical school. He completed his neurosurgery residency at USC in 1994 and joined the faculty at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. At Maryland, he served as director of the Neuro-oncology program at the Gamma Knife Center. In 2006, Dr. Chin became Chair of Neurosurgery at Boston University School of Medicine and started a number of multi-disciplinary programs including the neurovascular, skull vase surgery, and CyberKnife radiosurgery. In 2011, he was named the Robert B. and Molly G. King Professor and Chair of Neurosurgery at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York. Dr. Chin was the neurosurgery residency program director from 2011 to 2019 and from 2018-2019 served as chair of the Upstate Practice Plan. In September 2019, Dr. Chin was named Interim Dean of the College of Medicine and became the permanent Dean in January 2020.
Samuel Herberg, PhD
Team Advisor
Dr. Herberg is originally from Germany, where he received his B.S. in Biotechnology Engineering from the University of Applied Sciences in Darmstadt in 2005. After a 3-year stint in the pharmaceutical industry, Dr. Herberg came to the United States as a graduate student and earned his Ph.D. in Cellular Biology from Augusta University in 2013. He then trained as a NIH-supported postdoctoral fellow in Biomedical Engineering at Case Western Reserve University and Regenerative Medicine at Wake Forest School of Medicine. Dr. Herberg joined the faculty in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at SUNY Upstate Medical University in 2018. He also holds a joint appointment at neighboring Syracuse University in the Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering. Dr. Herberg’s NIH/NEI-funded research program is centered around understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying outflow tissue dysfunction in primary open-angle glaucoma.
Aria Soltani
Head of Technology
Aria is in his fourth year of the MD program at SUNY Upstate Medical University. Outside of academics, he enjoys doing calligraphy.
Craig Rose
Head of Finances
Craig is in his third year of the MD program at SUNY Upstate Medical University. Outside of biomedical science, his interests include paleontology and evolutionary studies.
Katie Farkouh
Finances
Katie is a second-year MD student at SUNY Upstate Medical University. She is interested in the intersectionality between women’s health and global health. During her free time, she enjoys playing piano and spending time outdoors.
Katrina Stevens
Logistics
Katrina is in her third year of the MD program at SUNY Upstate Medical University. She is interested in pursuing wilderness and global medicine. In her modest free time, Katrina enjoys hiking and mountain biking.
Anjlee Panjwani
Logistics
Anjlee is in her third year of the MD/MPH program at SUNY Upstate Medical University. Although she enjoys watching TED talks, she can also sing the alphabet backwards.
Andrew Williams
Secretary
Andrew is a first-year medical student at SUNY Upstate. He is currently doing neuroscience research on Glioblastoma. His professional interests include biotechnology, plastic and reconstructive surgery, neuroscience, and LGBTQ issues in healthcare.
Christine Zhang
Public Relations and Media
Christine is in her third year of the MD program at SUNY Upstate Medical University. She is a big fan of figure skating and fruits.
Abhishek Akula
Public Relations and Media
Abhishek is a senior at Ohio State University where he majors in Medical Studies. In his spare time, he loves playing tennis.
Abhishek Doshi
Logistics
Abhishek is interested in understanding treatment disparities and involved in cancer research. Outside of medicine, he enjoys snowboarding and playing basketball.
Shervin Razavi
Public Relations and Media
Shervin is a second-year MD-PhD candidate at Upstate. In his free time, he writes free-style pretentious analytical essays on his blog.
Brittany W. Geiler
Public Relations and Media
Brittany is a 5th year PhD student in the Microbiology & Immunology Department at SUNY Upstate Medical University. She is also cohost of Upstate’s Student Podcast Admission Granted.
Deanna Chezzarae Clemmer
Public Relations and Media
Born in Connecticut, Deanna moved to Arizona at the age of 7 where she stayed until she went to college in North Carolina. After college, she spent some time in El Paso, TX where she volunteered with underprivileged youth, teaching them the basics of biology in after school programs.
Gracy Lin
Public Relations and Media
Gracy is a first year MD student at SUNY Upstate Medical University. She is still amused by the Syracuse snow as she went to college in Atlanta where it basically never snowed.