About Us

Shamitha is a PhD candidate in Biomedical Engineering at Duke University, where she develops needle-free vaccines targeting chronic inflammatory conditions. She holds certificates in Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Fuqua School of Business) and Computational Biology & Bioinformatics, and serves as a Senior Associate at Duke Capital Partners, performing due diligence on investment opportunities and communicating key metrics. She is the case competition director at DACC.

Anna is a Ph.D. candidate in the Program of Genetics and Epigenetics at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Before coming to Houston, she completed her B.S. at McGill Univeristy in Montreal, CA. Her current research in Dr. Don Gibbons's lab ivestigates drivers of checkpoint inhibitor resistance in lung cancer. She is also a co-VP of Fianance and Communication at Consulting Club at Texas Medical Center. 

Brooke is a Ph.D. candidate in the program fo Genetics & Genomics at Baylor College of Medicine. Before coming to Houston, she completed her B.S. at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, SC, and her M.S. at the University of Seville in Seville, Spain. Her current research in Dr. Mingshan Xue's lab focuses on gene therapy for a neurodevelopmental disorder. She is the co-VP of Finance and Communications at the Consulting Club at Texas Medical Center. 

Yingshan is a Ph.D. candidate in Biomedical Sciences at Texas A&M University, where her research focuses on LINE-1 mobile elements and their role in lung cancer genetics. She is also serving as the Senior VP at the Consulting Club at Texas Medical Center. 

Stacey is a Ph.D. candidate in Medical Sciences at Texas A&M University, where she investigates cell-free DNA methylation signatures from nipple aspirate fluid as a non-invasive breast cancer detection method.  She earned a B.S.A. in Biochemistry with a Business minor from the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin. She is serving as the President of the Consulting Club at Texas Medical Center. 

Migon is a Ph.D. candidate in Materials Science and Engineering at Duke University, specializing in perovskite solar cells with machine learning. As an NRT trainee in the AI for Machine Learning program, Migon integrate machine learning into materials discovery, enriching my interdisciplinary approach. Migon is Ph.D. Associate at Duke Capital Partners.

Hrshita is a Ph.D. candidate in Biomedical Engineering at Duke university, specializing in machine learning towards drug discovery and delivery. She also serves as the Chief Operating Officer for Duke Microbiome startup facilitating the logistics of organizing and conducting informational seminars for careers outside of academia. Prior to her PhD at Duke, she worked in the biopharmaceutical industry over a period of 4 years. She serves as the Case Competition Operations and Logistics Lead at DACC.

Yifei is a Ph.D. candidate in Biomedical Engineering at Duke University, where she investigates intracellular mechanisms to enhance non-viral gene delivery for DNA vaccine development. She is also a Senior OTC Fellow, assisting Duke inventors in evaluating the commercial potential of their innovations and navigating the technology transfer process.  She serves as the Co-president of the DACC.

Mihai is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Michigan performing research in structural dynamics using data-driven and physics-based techniques. Currently, he is working on methods to predict blade vibrations in gas turbine compressors using physics-informed neural networks. He received his undergraduate degree from Duke University in Mechanical Engineering with an Aerospace Engineering certificate. Mihai serves as co-president of the Mechanical Engineering Graduate Council at the University of Michigan and Director of Finance & Communications within CCTMC.

Chiagoziem is a Ph.D. graduate in Biochemistry and Cell Biology from Rice University, where he developed glucose-based biosensors for cancer biomarker detection through protein engineering modifications and novel biosensor integration. Prior to coming to Houston, he earned a B.S. in Biology and Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, conducting research on developing mouse models for MUC1-related cancer studies. He also serves as a Director of Finance and Communications at the CCTMC.

Quan is a PhD student within the Therapeutics and Pharmacology program at University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. He recently received his B.S in Chemical Engineering at UC Berkeley. He just joined Dr. Sunil Krishnan lab to develop novel radiation-induced drug delivery systems for targeted therapies against gastric and colorectal cancer. He is also the Director of Finance and Communication at CCTMC. 

Rachel is  a Ph.D. candidate in Materials Science and Engineering at Northwestern University. Her research is mainly focusing on investigating polymer single chain conformation and behavior using advanced microscopy techniques. Beyond science, she also holds a minor degree in Engineering Management and was selected for the management for PhD program from Kellogg school of Management. Rachel currently serves as the VP of Marketing of Advanced Degree Consulting Alliance at Northwestern University and Director of Finance and Communication at CCTMC. 

Kainat is a Masters in Quantitative Management candidate at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, specializing in the intersection of strategy, analytics and AI to drive data-driven decisions for businesses. beyond her education, Kainat is a passionate advocate for women’s empowerment and entrepreneurship. As a Co-Founder of the Women Business Network, she led multiple initiatives and spearheaded policy dialogues for implementation of laws that could assist women in climbing up the corporate ladder. Her dedication earned her the prestigious Rising Women of 2024 Award from the President of Pakistan, recognizing her remarkable contributions to financial inclusion and sustainable development. At DACC, she serves as the Judging and Mentorship Lead for the Southeast Case Competition.