COVID Corps Biomedical Research Internship Program: 2021 Cohort
2021 Cohort Summary
We are pleased to announce our 2021 cohort of the MGH COVID Corps Biomedical Research Internship Program. We have selected 17 exceptional interns from a pool of 138 applications. 100% of our cohort are from groups historically underrepresented in biomedical science, with an average graduate and undergraduate GPA of 3.68.
-
8 are cisgender women, and 2 are genderqueer, non-binary, questioning or unsure.
-
4 are Black or African American, 2 are Hispanic or Latinx, and 10 are Asian or Asian American.
Meet Our 2021 Cohort
Elizabeth Abe
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
DO Candidate
Class of 2024
Mentors: Jehan Alladina, MD, and Benjamin Medoff, MD

Sebastian Cota
Boston College
Applied Psychology and Human Development
Class of 2024
Mentor: Altaf Saadi, MD, MSc

Kenechukwu "Kenny" Egbuonu
MIT
Biology
Class of 2021
Mentors: Caitlin Dugdale, MD, and Emily Hyle, MD, MSc

Ramla Hagi
UMass Boston
Biology and Political Science
Class of 2022
Mentor: Zachary Wallace, MD, MSc

Meghna Iyer
Northeastern University
Health Science
Class of 2022
Mentor: Stephen Bartels, MD, MS

Shilei "Lisa" Li
Smith College
Biochemistry
Class of 2024
Mentors: Lauren Breithaupt, PhD, and Randy Gollub, PhD, MD

Leonardo Nguyen
Boston College
Neuroscience
Class of 2024
Mentor: Aswita Tan-McGrory, MBA, MSPH

Shwetabh "Tabo" Tarun
The Ohio State University
Political Science
Class of 2021
Mentors: Kimberly Blumenthal, MD, MSc, and Upeka Samarakoon, PhD, MPH, MS

Nina Zhang
Brandeis University
Health Science, Society, and Policy
Class of 2024
Mentor: Jagpreet Chhatwal, PhD

Taylor Chiang
Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
MD Candidate
Class of 2024
Mentors: Karen Sepucha, PhD, Lauren Leavitt, MA

Vicki Do
Tufts University
Biology and Philosophy
Class of 2023
Mentors: Kenneth Shelton, MD, and Jonathan Ludmir, MD

Christina Exilhomme
Northeastern University
American Sign Language
Class of 2024
Mentor: John Hsu, MD, MBA, MSCE

Buuthien Hang
UMass Amherst
Computer Engineering
Class of 2024
Mentors: Zachary Wallace, MD, MSc

Jian Li
Columbia University Mailman Public Health
Public Health
Class of 2022
Mentor: Alice Ho, MD, MBA

Adna Mohamed
Williams College
Political Economy
Class of 2022
Mentor: Peggy Lai, MD, MPH

Won Shin
Pacific Lutheran University
Biology
Class of 2021
Mentor: Matthew Tobey, MD, MPH

Jingwen "Mordred" Yuan
Smith College
Chemistry
Class of 2021
Mentor: Amit Joshi, MBBS, PhD

Meet Our 2021 Mentors
Upeka Samarakoon, PhD, MPH, MS
Senior Program/Project Manager, Clinical Epidemiology Program, Division of Rheumatology, Allergy, and Immunology, MGH

Program Leadership
Nicole Taikeff Gabela
Project Coordinator, Disparities Solutions Center, MGH
