Student Representatives

About Student Representatives

Each year graduate students and postdocs are elected by their peers to representative positions.  These representatives play a critical role in enriching graduate student life through recruitment and orientation of new students, participation in Graduate Training Committee meetings, organization of the Pharmacology retreats, coordinating special events and communicating the needs of the graduate students to the Graduate Training Committee and the department chair. They also participate in faculty meetings. Through these activities, the student representatives gain valuable leadership experience, the ability to positively influence the department’s graduate program, and serve as an information conduit between the graduate students and the faculty.

Meet Our Current Representatives

Aleks Bogoniewski

Aleks graduated from California State University, Northridge with a B.S. in Biotechnology. During his time in university, he was selected for the UCLA CIRM Bridges to Stem Cell Research fellowship under the guidance of Dr. Harley Kornblum. During his time in the fellowship, his research centered around cerebral organoid development and analysis from patients with the heterozygous PTEN mutation and control lines. His interests lie in using stem cell or organoid models in an in-vitro or in-vivo system. His aim for graduate school is to refine his scientific toolbox, especially bioinformatic analysis of patient samples, and to assist in developing effective applications and therapies using stem cell derived systems.

Lindsay Lathrop

Chris Massey

I received my B.S. in Biochemistry and Environmental Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. While at UW I studied a theranostic pan-cancer targeted radionuclide therapy agent in various cancer models and its combination with immunotherapy. After graduation, I stayed at UW as a research intern, during this time I investigated several molecular imaging probes with a primary focus on fibrosis. I developed a localized, rapidly progressing lung fibrosis model and imaged it with both 68Ga-FAPI-46, and an 89Zr labeled FAP antibody to monitor disease activity. My primary research interests include both theranostic approaches to cancer treatment, in addition to, investigating molecular imaging probes to elucidate disease mechanisms and monitor progression. When I’m not in the lab I enjoy spending time outside, especially at the beach, and exploring new places.

Austin Rennels

I graduated from UC San Diego in 2017 with a B.S. in Biochemistry and Cell Biology. After graduating, I worked at Fate Therapeutics in San Diego working with CART cells augmented with small molecules during production before joining the June Lab at the University of Pennsylvania in 2019. In the June lab, I have been involved in projects aimed at understanding T cell dysfunction in the tumor microenvironment and enhancing the efficacy of CART cells in solid tumors. My current interests include the development and translation of cancer immunotherapies with a particular emphasis on adoptive cell therapies. Outside of the lab, I enjoy cooking, playing music, and spending time outdoors either at the beach or in the mountains.