Larry Au
PhD Student, Sociology, Columbia University
Larry Au is a Ph.D. candidate in sociology at Columbia University. He is broadly interested in science and technology studies, economic sociology, and political sociology. His dissertation examines the rise of precision medicine in China and the United States, focusing on the diffusion of the concept and its associated technologies, as well as the ways in which debates around ethical, legal, and social issues are constructed locally and globally. He is also interested in the recent controversies over human gene editing and the modernization of traditional medicines.
Larry Au
PhD Student, Sociology, Columbia University
Larry Au is a Ph.D. candidate in sociology at Columbia University. He is broadly interested in science and technology studies, economic sociology, and political sociology. His dissertation examines the rise of precision medicine in China and the United States, focusing on the diffusion of the concept and its associated technologies, as well as the ways in which debates around ethical, legal, and social issues are constructed locally and globally. He is also interested in the recent controversies over human gene editing and the modernization of traditional medicines.
Working Group Affiliation
Diana Garofalo
PhD Student, Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University
Diana Garofalo is a doctoral student in Epidemiology, in the school of public health. Her background in biochemistry and genetics led her to be interested in using epidemiologic methods to understand underlying biological mechanisms in human disease, especially in rare diseases. She also briefly worked at a clinical genetic testing company that screened potential parents for recessive mutations linked to severe diseases. This experience deepened her interest in exploring the technical, ethical, and scientific challenges of using genomics in medicine, with specific concern about the potential worsening of disparities in health care.
Diana Garofalo
PhD Student, Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University
Diana Garofalo is a doctoral student in Epidemiology, in the school of public health. Her background in biochemistry and genetics led her to be interested in using epidemiologic methods to understand underlying biological mechanisms in human disease, especially in rare diseases. She also briefly worked at a clinical genetic testing company that screened potential parents for recessive mutations linked to severe diseases. This experience deepened her interest in exploring the technical, ethical, and scientific challenges of using genomics in medicine, with specific concern about the potential worsening of disparities in health care.
Working Group Affiliation
Sunny Jones
Graduate Student, Systems Biology, Columbia University
Sunny Jones is a graduate student in the Systems Biology department working with Dr. Andrea Califano. Her research involves developing algorithms for analyzing cancer genomics data with the goal of better understanding their biology as well matching patients to highly specific treatments as based on their genetics. She has previous research experience in nutrient metabolism and is currently working in conjunction with a startup to build a platform for providing optimal meals and dietary suggestions to cancer patients and survivors. In her free time she enjoys rock climbing, biking and exploring New York City.
Sunny Jones
Graduate Student, Systems Biology, Columbia University
Sunny Jones is a graduate student in the Systems Biology department working with Dr. Andrea Califano. Her research involves developing algorithms for analyzing cancer genomics data with the goal of better understanding their biology as well matching patients to highly specific treatments as based on their genetics. She has previous research experience in nutrient metabolism and is currently working in conjunction with a startup to build a platform for providing optimal meals and dietary suggestions to cancer patients and survivors. In her free time she enjoys rock climbing, biking and exploring New York City.
Working Group Affiliation
Irina Kulichenkova
Doctoral Student, Narrative Medicine, Columbia University
Hippocrates said, “Wherever the art of medicine is loved – there is also a love of humanity.” This quote explains her own reflections and values in life. She loves humanity, and she chose to devote her life to science and medicine because she wants to make a difference in patients’ lives, alleviate patients’ suffering, and positively influence the healthcare system of the United States and worldwide. Presently, she is a graduate student in the Program of Narrative Medicine at Columbia University.
Irina Kulichenkova
Graduate Student, Narrative Medicine, Columbia University
Hippocrates said, “Wherever the art of medicine is loved – there is also a love of humanity.” This quote explains her own reflections and values in life. She loves humanity, and she chose to devote her life to science and medicine because she wants to make a difference in patients’ lives, alleviate patients’ suffering, and positively influence the healthcare system of the United States and worldwide. Her academic career equipped her with a variety of valuable skills that she will crossover and use while being a part of the Precision Medicine: Ethics, Politics, and Culture 2019-2020 project. She believes in the value of precision medicine and how ethics, politics, and culture play pivotal roles. Presently, she is a graduate student in the Program of Narrative Medicine at Columbia University. She curates and organizes the annual fine art exhibition at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. In May of 2018, she graduated with a Master of Arts in Biotechnology from GSAS, Columbia University. And she holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Long Island University. As a scientist, curiosity is part of her nature. Her art skills and interest in the humanities always help her reveal new horizons and expand her creative ideas. The masterpieces by great artists, such as Leonardo da Vinci, Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet, Cezanne and the philosophical literature by Plato, Descartes, Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Søren Kierkegaard, to name a few, are her inspiration to create new concepts that she blends with science and medicine. She is enamored with the way Leonardo da Vinci and the Nobel Prize winner Eric Kandel interweave art with diverse disciplines. Their use of form, style, method of writing and painting, color, placement, process, beauty, and imagination are pure genius.
Working Group Affiliation
Sonia Mendoza-Grey
PhD Student, Sociomedical Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University
Sonia Mendoza-Grey is a PhD student in the Department of Sociomedical Sciences at Mailman School of Public Health. Mendoza-Grey employs her human biology, sociology, and qualitative research training to her dissertation research that examines precision medicine implications for the Latinx population. Specifically, her work investigates how recruitment and analysis of the Latinx population shapes and informs understandings of Latinidad, and how researchers’ work with Latinx populations illuminates the assembled connections among genetics, ethnicity, and race through contemporary bioscience.
Sonia Mendoza-Grey
PhD Student, Sociomedical Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University
Sonia Mendoza-Grey is a PhD student in the Department of Sociomedical Sciences at Mailman School of Public Health. Mendoza-Grey employs her human biology, sociology, and qualitative research training to her dissertation research that examines precision medicine implications for the Latinx population. Specifically, her work investigates how recruitment and analysis of the Latinx population shapes and informs understandings of Latinidad, and how researchers’ work with Latinx populations illuminates the assembled connections among genetics, ethnicity, and race through contemporary bioscience. This project engages science and technology literature, critical ethnic and race theory, as well as with health disparities research among minorities.
Working Group Affiliation
Amy Weissenbach
PhD Student, Sociology, Columbia University
Amy Weissenbach is a first-year PhD student in sociology at Columbia University. She is interested in the sociology of knowledge and expertise, cultural sociology, and law and society. She aims to understand dynamics among individuals and institutions shaping notions of social responsibility in tech, and in biotech in particular. She holds an MPhil in History and Philosophy of Science, Technology and Medicine from Cambridge University and a B.A. from Stanford University.
Amy Weissenbach
PhD Student, Sociology, Columbia University
Amy Weissenbach is a first-year PhD student in sociology at Columbia University. She is interested in the sociology of knowledge and expertise, cultural sociology, and law and society. She aims to understand dynamics among individuals and institutions shaping notions of social responsibility in tech, and in biotech in particular. She holds an MPhil in History and Philosophy of Science, Technology and Medicine from Cambridge University and a B.A. from Stanford University.
Working Group Affiliation