2025 CBI cohort: Meet the incoming students

Alicia Li

Undergraduate institution and degree: University of California – Berkeley, Molecular and Cell Biology

Research interests: At UC Berkeley, Alicia studied how proteins fold into their three-dimensional shapes using optical tweezers. Following graduation, she worked at a biotech startup where she worked on small molecule drug discovery for age-related diseases. It was here that she developed an interest in the intersection of chemistry and biology, leading her to the CBI program and Chemical and Systems Biology PhD program at Stanford where she hopes to work on innovative therapeutic strategies and molecular mechanisms for disease. 

Hobbies and fun facts: Alicia grew up in New Jersey before moving to California for college. Outside of the lab, she enjoys playing tennis and baking. 

Bailey Daymo

Undergraduate institution and degree: University of California – Berkeley, Chemical Engineering

Research interests: Bailey’s undergraduate research at UC Berkeley focused on characterizing the minimal biosynthetic pathway for an antibiotic natural product called salivabactin. She then continued her enzyme research as an intern at CinderBio where she worked on optimizing thermostable enzyme purification using surfactants, an experience that sparked her passion for translating academic discoveries into practical biotechnology. At Stanford, she is looking forward to finding new opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration, cutting-edge research, and mentoring through the CBI program. 

Hobbies and fun facts: Bailey is originally from the suburbs of Phoenix, Arizona. Outside of the lab, she enjoys baking and traveling.

Ebubechi Nwaubani

Undergraduate institution and degree: Harvard University, Chemistry

Research interests: During her time at Harvard, Ebubechi became interested in chemical biology and drug discovery and the ways that molecules can be harnessed to address complex biological problems. Her research spanned a variety of topics from designing enzyme inhibitors to combat antimicrobial resistance to designing molecular glues for targeted protein degradation. She is excited to join the CBI community to learn from peers with diverse research backgrounds and grow into a more innovative and well-rounded scientist. 

Hobbies and fun facts: Ebubechi grew up in a small town in central Florida. Outside of the lab, she enjoys visiting art museums, watching movies, and photography. She is also looking forward to trying some light hiking and other outdoor activities in the Bay Area.

Hannah Barsouk

Undergraduate institution and degree: Yale University, Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry

Research interests: Hannah’s research at Yale focused on the role of bacterial non-coding RNAs in stress response. They worked on creating RNA sensors to study the interplay of antimicrobial resistance, translation stress, and metal ion dysregulation in bacteria. At Stanford, they are eager to explore how molecular tools from microbes can be harnessed to push our understanding of fundamental biochemistry and human disease. They are also excited to broaden their training in chemical and computational biology and get involved in outreach opportunities through the CBI program and community.

Hobbies and fun facts: Hannah grew up in Pittsburgh, PA, though their family is originally from Ukraine. Their hobbies include biking or skateboarding around campus, watching scary movies with friends, and searching for the spiciest food in the Bay Area. 

Jonathan Perera

Undergraduate institution and degree: Duke University, Biomedical Engineering

Research interests: Jonathan is an MD/PhD student who studied biomedical engineering at Duke, where he worked on developing stem cell therapeutics for brain cancer and the role of calcium signaling in cancer immunotherapy resistance. He then spent two gap years at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard where he focused on building and analyzing functional genomic screens to uncover mechanisms of immunotherapy resistance. At Stanford, he is excited to explore the intersection of computational and experimental genomics technologies and synthetic biology within the CBI community. 

Hobbies and fun facts: Jonathan is originally from Sri Lanka and grew up in Jacksonville, Florida after moving to the U.S. at age 12. Outside the lab, he enjoys singing, photography, reading historical and science fiction, and exploring the Bay Area with friends. 

Preston Kellenberger

Undergraduate institution and degree: University of Missouri – Columbia, Biochemistry

Research interests: During his undergraduate research, Preston studied how mRNA is unwound by the ribosome to alter reading of the RNA transcript during translation into protein. At Stanford, he is looking forward to joining a collaborative community that spans scientific disciplines and is most excited about translational problems in human health that can be addressed by understanding and engineering biomolecules. 

Hobbies and fun facts: Preston was raised in Saint Louis County, Missouri. In his spare time, he is a snare drummer who played with the world-class Madison Scouts and Cavaliers Drum Corps. Outside of the lab, he enjoys learning to cook new dishes and finding new songs to play. 

Soyoon Park

Undergraduate institution and degree: University of California – Davis, Microbiology

Research interests: During her time at UC Davis, Soyoon studied how a specific family of viruses called flaviviruses interact with and manipulate host cells during a cellular recycling process called autophagy. This work strengthened her experience and interest in structure-guided protein engineering and computational modeling to better understand immune responses to invading pathogens. At Stanford, she is excited to work towards structure-based solutions for immune targeting and therapeutics and looks forward to developing interdisciplinary fluency through the CBI program.

Hobbies and fun facts: Soyoon is originally from Korea. Outside the lab, she enjoys skiing and ballet. A fun fact is that she has never been to a haunted house due to a fear of ghosts, despite her fascination with mummies.

Yunbeen Bae

Undergraduate institution and degree: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Chemical-Biological Engineering and Biology

Research interests: While at MIT, Yunbeen’s research focused on using synthetic biology to engineer and program cell fate. She is looking forward to meeting and learning from the diverse research scholars at Stanford and the CBI program. 

Hobbies and fun facts: Yunbeen is originally from Frisco, Texas. In her free time, she likes to bake and draw.