The Executive Board
Mahija Ginjupalli
Editor in Chief
Major(s): Neuroscience
Hometown: Sugar Land, Texas
Classification: Junior
Years in URJ: Three
Highlights: Mahija is a third-year Neuroscience major and a member of the Harris Lab where she studies the ultrastructure of synaptic plasticity in learning and memory. In her free time, you can find her reading stories about dragons, watching Studio Ghibli, and eating pancakes at Kerbey Lane Cafe.
Sriranjani Darbha
Executive Director
Major(s): Chemistry
Classification: Junior
Years in URJ: Three
Highlights: Sri is a pre-med junior from College Station, TX. She is an undergraduate research assistant for the Kim Lab and a member of the Vertebrate Interactive Mapping stream in the Freshman Research Initiative. Apart from academics, Sri is an Indian classical vocalist who travels almost every month to perform around the US! Her other interests include the violin, tennis, and calligraphy.
Oishika Das
Executive Editor
Major(s): Biochemistry
Classification: Junior
Years in URJ: Three
Highlights: Oishika is a third-year biochemistry major in the Dean’s Scholars Program. She began her interest in research in high school with an oncology mentorship at UT Southwestern and hopes to attend medical school in the future. In her free time, she enjoys learning languages, impulsively buying stationary, and spending time with her friends.
Senior Directors
Temi Ajibola
Associate Director of Campaigns
Major(s): International Relations and Global Studies and Government
Classification: Junior
Years in URJ: Three
Highlights: Temi is a third year student majoring in both International Relations and Global Studies and Government. Temi is interested in legal research, critical development theories, and female/human security. She is currently writing and honors thesis on the effects of U.S. militarization in Northern Nigeria on women. She is associated with the Feminist Geography Collective and Brumley Next Generation Undergraduate Scholars. Outside of campus, Temi enjoys playing the piano, writing/blogging, and baking.
Aishwarya Kotha 
Associate Director of Communications
Major(s): Neuroscience
Classification: Junior
Years in URJ: Three
Highlights: Aishwarya is a Neuroscience major pursuing a certificate in Applied Statistical Modelling from Houston, Texas. This is her third year working for URJ. In her spare time, Aishwarya likes traveling, hand lettering, and graphic design. She is also a foodie that enjoys exploring Austin’s food scene.
Meghana Potturu
Associate Director of Communications
Major(s): Public Health
Classification: Junior
Years in URJ: Two
Highlights: Meghana is a third year Public Health major and Business minor. She is an undergraduate research assistant at the Preston Lab and is a co-founder of the UT Austin chapter of Peers Against Tobacco. In her free time, she enjoys running long distance, reading mystery novels, and exploring Austin’s food scene.
Kavyaa Choudhary
Assistant Editor
Major(s): Plan II and Microbiology
Hometown: Monterrey, Mexico
Classification: Junior
Highlights: Kavyaa is a third year Plan II and Microbiology major. She works at the Lambowitz Lab as an undergraduate researcher. In her free time, you can find her reading articles from 10 years ago on New Yorker Site (usually when she’s supposed to be studying), or taking Buzzfeed personality quizzes. She also loves running, cheesy Netflix rom-coms, and cute coffee shops.
Nathalie Petit
Associate Editor
Major(s): Chemical Engineering
Classification: Senior
Years in URJ: Three
Highlights: Currently doing research with the Computational Materials Lab, part of SEEK (do weekly engineering projects at elementary schools), likes to read classics books and try new restaurants in Austin during free time.
Ashley Hoffman
Associate Editor
Major(s): Biochemistry
Classification: Sophomore
Highlights: Ashley is a sophomore biochemistry major with the Dean’s Scholars program. She’s very passionate about biomedical science and hopes to learn much more about research through her time with the URJ and at UT! Specifically, she is interested in learning more about the variety of natural sciences research at UT. In her free time, Ashley loves to draw, bake macarons, and try new coffee places.
Assistant Directors
Aparna Kambhampati
Assistant Director of Campaigns
Major(s): Biochemistry
Hometown: Houston, Texas
Classification: Junior
Years in URJ: Three
Highlights: Aparna is a junior biochemistry major who is part of the Health Science Scholars program and plans to attend medical school. She loves research and is currently working with a lab at UT that deals with T-ALL growth. She is from Houston and spends most of her free time dancing, listening to music, or watching Netflix.
Keerthana Kamboji
Assistant Director of Campaigns
Major(s): Public Health
Hometown: Dallas, Texas
Classification: Junior
Years in URJ: Two
Highlights: Keerthana is a third-year Public Health Major from Dallas, Texas. This is her first year working for URJ. She has a passion for science and medicine and hope to attend medical school in the future. In her free time, she watches movies and hangs out friends.
Tanvi Ingle
Assistant Director of Campaigns
Major(s): Biochemistry
Classification: Junior
Years in URJ: Two
Highlights: Tanvi Ingle is a junior biochemistry major in the Dean’s Scholars Honors Program. As a member of the Bray lab, she is currently conducting research at the intersection of disrupted circadian rhythms and metagenomic microbiome analysis. In her free time, Tanvi loves trying crazy recipes, reading new plays, and collecting an ostentatious number of mugs.
Vivek Ramanathan
Assistant Director of Campaigns
Major(s): Computer Science and Mathematics
Classification: Junior
Years in URJ: One
Highlights: Vivek is a third-year Computer Science and Mathematics major. As a member of the Formal Methods Group, he is currently interested in automated theorem proving and Rapid Single Flux Quantum technology. In his free time, Vivek enjoys playing basketball at Greg, learning new tunes on his guitar, and photographing Austin’s wildlife and wildflowers.
Nithya Narayana
Assistant Director of Campaigns
Major(s): Public Health
Classification: Sophomore
Years in URJ: One
Highlights: Nithya is a second-year Public Health major in the Health Science Scholars program. This semester, she has begun working as a research assistant for Project SEED in the Kim Lab. In her free time, she loves swimming, hiking, and riding the electric scooters around Austin.
Katherine Faulkner
Assistant Director of Campaigns
Major(s): Environmental Science
Classification: Sophomore
Years in URJ: One
Highlights: Katherine is a sophomore environmental science major in the Dean’s Scholars program. She is currently researching evolutionary paleobiology in the Martindale lab and near-Earth orbit sustainability with Dr. Jah. In her free time, Katherine enjoys creating digital art, reading classics and horror novels, and exploring new places.
Philippe Papa
Assistant Director of Communications
Major(s): Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
Classification: Junior
Years in URJ: Two
Highlights: Philippe is a junior Dean’s Scholars Chemistry and Chemical Engineering major. He is also a member of the Mullins research group where he develops novel battery electrode materials and studies the mechanism of graphite-halide intercalation with Dr. Henkelman. Besides all things chemistry, he thoroughly enjoys Third Wave Coffee, and SimCity. Outside of lab, you can find him experimenting in the kitchen, biking downtown, or at some overpriced café.
Maha Ikram
Assistant Director of Communications
Major(s): Public Health
Classification: Sophomore
Years in URJ: Two
Highlights: Maha is a second-year biology major in the Dean’s Scholars Honors Program. Her current research interests lie in autoimmunity and dermatology. In her free time she enjoys doodling, playing horror video games, listening to music, reading Webtoons, and writing stories that she wishes could happen to her.
Mei Robson
Assistant Director of Communications
Major(s): Biology
Classification: Sophomore
Years in URJ: One
Highlights: Mei is a sophmore biology major in the Dean’s Scholars Program and is interested in going to medical school. She is also part of the Bug in Bugs FRI stream which studies the gut bacteria of insects. Some of her hobbies include drawing, listening to video essays on youtube, and playing tennis.
Nicholas Davila
Assistant Director of Communications
Major(s): Physics
Classification: Junior
Years in URJ: One
Highlights: Nick is a third-year Physics major from San Antonio, Texas. He is a recent transfer to UT Austin so his past research/work is not affiliated with UT, but he is excited to integrate himself to the Longhorn community! On his free time Nick enjoys pretty much anything, but his favorite activities are: going out with friends, exercising, traveling, making art, and playing video games.
Editors
Roxanna Attar-Olyaee
Assistant Editor
Major(s): Biochemistry
Hometown: Houston, Texas
Classification: Junior
Highlights: Roxanna is a third-year biochemistry major from Houston, Texas. She wishes to pursue a career as a physician and is interested in reproductive endocrinology. She is currently doing research in a lab on campus regarding antibiotic resistance, colonization mechanisms of A. baumannii, and antibody selection using phage display and ELISA. In addition to research, Roxanna loves cooking (especially with friends) and watching documentaries. Hit her up for unique (not necessarily good) recipes!
Stephanie Guo
Assistant Editor
Major(s): Psychology
Hometown: Missouri City, Texas
Classification: Junior
Highlights: Stephanie is a third-year Psychology major from Missouri City, Texas. She hopes to attend graduate school and specialize in clinical psychology or school psychology in the future. Currently, she is an undergraduate research assistant for The Texas Twin Project where she is helping to investigate trait heritability through studying identical and fraternal twins. In her free time, she likes to watch psychological thrillers, play Dungeons and Dragons, read books about abnormal psychology, and make ridiculous art.
Taruni Tangirala
Assistant Editor
Major(s): Mathematics
Classification: Freshman
Years in URJ: One
Highlights: Taruni is a freshman Mathematics major from the greater Houston area. In her free time, she enjoys archery, math, and watching political commentaries.
John Teague
Assistant Director of Communications
Major(s):Computer Science and Mathematics
Classification: Freshmen
Years in URJ: One
Highlights: John is a first-year Computer Science and Mathematics major from Flower Mound, Texas. He hopes to pursue mathematical research and to attend graduate school after his time at UT. Last year, he participated in the MIT THINK Scholars Program, in which he studied the generalization of control for robotic mechanisms. In his free time, he loves to climb with the Texas Rock Climbing Club, go hiking in RMNP, listen to music, and watch 3Blue1Brown videos.
Sraavya Chintalapati
Assistant Editor
Major(s): Anthropology
Classification: Freshman
Years in URJ: One
Highlights: Sraavya is a first year Anthropology major from Plano, TX. She first learned about research by participating in her high school’s AP Capstone Program. Her academic interests include but are not limited to cultural studies and film studies. In her free time, she enjoys eating ice cream, traveling to new destinations, and binge-watching Netflix.
Audrey DeJong
Assistant Editor
Major(s): Chemistry
Classification: Freshman
Years in URJ: One
Highlights: Audrey is a first-year chemistry major in the Dean’s Honors program. She first got involved in research in a pancreatic cancer lab at UT Southwestern. Her current research interests focus on pharmacology, magnetic resonance imaging, and magnetic resonance spectroscopy; she will also be involved with FRI in the spring! Outside of class, you can catch Audrey re-reading her favorite memoirs, playing tennis, or trying to find the best pad thai in Austin.
Aliah Zewail
Assistant Editor
Major(s): Psychology and French
Classification: Sophomore
Years in URJ: One
Highlights: Aliah Zewail is a second-year double majoring in Psychology (BA) and French Language and Culture. She is currently involved in the LLAMA Lab and CLIMB R Group were she researches language acquisition and forensic linguistics, respectively. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, eating anything mango-flavored, and learning new languages.
Sreya Gandra
Assistant Editor
Major(s): Biochemistry and Plan II
Classification: Sophomore
Years in URJ: One
Highlights: Sreya is a first year Biochemistry and Plan II major in the Dean’s Scholars program. She first got involved in research working in a Biochemistry lab at UT Dallas and hopes to continue working on research here at UT Austin. Outside of URJ, she is also involved in Delta Gamma and AED. In her free time she loves to learn about and watch basketball, as well as trying new restaurants around Austin.
Sriya Gullapalli
Assistant Editor
Major(s): Neuroscience
Classification: Freshman
Years in URJ: One
Highlights: Sriya is a first-year Neuroscience major from Katy, Texas. She has a strong passion for research and medicine and plans to attend medical school in the future. In her free time, she enjoys playing piano covers, dancing, and creating vlogs. She also loves traveling all over the city to take pictures or trying new (aesthetic!) coffee and tea shops.