Graduate Affiliates 2023-2024

Yasmee Asali

Yasmeen Asali is a fourth year PhD student in the Astronomy department. She was raised in NYC and graduated from Columbia University in 2020 with a B.A. in astrophysics. She is interested in the intersection of data science and galaxy evolution, and she works with the SAGA survey to study star formation in low mass galaxies. Yasmeen is a McDougal Graduate Teaching Fellow at the Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning, and she is interested in practicing engaged pedagogy and building equitable STEM classrooms. In her free time, she loves caring for her plant collection, solving sudoku puzzles, and trying out new restaurants! Feel free to reach out to chat about anything!
 

Hi! I am a 5th Year History PhD Candidate studying militia in the British and American Empires in the 19th and 20th centuries. My BA is from University College London with a year abroad at UC Berkeley and I have an MPhil from the University of Cambridge - I would be happy to talk to you about living far away from home, applying to British universities, or humanities research. I am also chronically ill and would love to talk to you about disability justice and accessibility at Yale. Outside of this, I love getting outside as much as possible, live music of all varieties, and my family’s dog Penfold. Feel free to get in touch about any of these above topics or about anything else at kate.birkbeck@yale.edu.

Eren Caglar

Eren Caglar is a second-year March II (post-professional program) candidate at the Yale School of Architecture. Eren hails from Istanbul, Turkey, and graduated from Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University in 2020 with a Bachelor of Science in Architecture. He also completed a year of his undergraduate studies at Hannover Leibniz University in Germany, further enhancing his global education. Eren was an active participant in several exchange programs during his undergraduate studies, affording him opportunities to study in the United States and Europe.

Aside from his academic pursuits, Eren is a street photographer with a passion for capturing the essence of life through his lens. He also excelled in both professional soccer and table tennis before dedicating himself to his studies. As a typical architecture student, Eren is known for his dedication and spends the majority of his time in the studio perfecting his craft.

In his free time, Eren enjoys spending time with friends, exploring new areas, and engaging in team sports. Eren is excited to begin his second year as a Stiles graduate affiliate and looks forward to getting to know his fellow students.

Patrick Demkowicz

Patrick is from Farmington, CT. He was a Stiles first year counselor and graduated from Yale College in 2018 with a degree in biomedical engineering. After working at a biotech startup, he returned to Yale to study medicine (Class of 2025). In his free time, Patrick enjoys exploring the outdoors, SCUBA diving, and learning new crafts like pottery.

Pranam Dey

Pranam Dey is a 5th year student in the Yale joint MD-MBA program. He graduated from Yale College in 2018, where he was a proud member of Ezra Stiles and majored in Econ and MCDB. Between college and medical school, he worked in health policy at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in NYC. He is involved in surgical oncology research, volunteers as a Senior Clinical Team Member at HAVEN Free Clinic, and serves on Yale Health’s Student Consultative Council.

Outside of school, you’ll find him leading the SOM Squash Club, exploring New Haven’s incredible food and theater scenes, and trying new dessert recipes. He’s happy to talk to anyone interested in applying to medical or business school, working in health policy, or anything else!

Soraya Fereydooni

Soraya Fereydooni is a 5th-year student in the Yale MD program. She was born and raised in Iran and moved to the US when she was 18 where she attended Stanford. She graduated in 2020 with a bachelor’s in Biology and a minor in science communication. Her research interests include big database analysis and informatics research in the field of palliative care and otolaryngology. Outside of school, you’ll find her dancing with the Yale tango club and camping. Feel free to come to her with any questions about medicine, data science, and any other fun topics.

Mauricio Gonzalez Sanchez 

Mauricio is a first-year Yale Law student. Originally from Torreón, Mexico, and now also from El Paso, Texas, he studied English in the Yale College (and Stiles!) class of 2022. He was most recently a Light Fellow studying Mandarin Chinese in Taipei for a year post-grad. At the law school, Mauricio is involved in the Yale Law & Policy Review, the Yale Civil Rights Project, and is generally interested in international law, human rights, and immigration law and policy. Please talk to him about your plants, pets, best coffee-making methods, creative writing, and favorite video and/or board games.

 
Nicole Hobbs Morrison is a first year MBA candidate at the Yale School of Management. She is originally from Branford, CT and graduated from Yale College in 2014 with a B.A. in History. She was a proud member of Ezra Stiles College, where she served as a Stiles Aide and First-Year Counselor. She also served as the President of the Yale College Democrats and the College Democrats of Connecticut. 
 
Nicole has over ten years of experience working on political campaigns and in the nonprofit sector. Most recently, she served as Co-Founder and Executive Director of EveryDistrict, a political organization fundraising for legislative candidates. 
 
Nicole is thrilled to be rejoining the Stiles community, and she is happy to talk about New Haven pizza, business school, working in the public/nonprofit sector, or anything else!

Charlotte Lawrence

Charlotte Lawrence is a Stiles grad (’18) and current Yale Law student (‘24). In college, she was involved with the Yale Debate Association, Broad Recognition, and the Yale Globalist. She also taught high school debate through the New Haven Urban Debate League. A global affairs and history double major, she completed an accelerated Master of International Affairs at the Geneva Graduate Institute in 2019. After that, she worked as the special assistant for digital, tech, and analytics (and later as a data analyst) at the American Civil Liberties Union. At YLS, she is involved with the American Constitution Society, Yale Law Women, and the Clinical Student Board. She is interested in both public interest litigation and clinical teaching and pursues both interests through the law school’s Worker and Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic. She lives in Wooster Square with her husband and sweet dog, a Cavapoo named Remy. She’s always available to talk about dogs, law school, human and civil rights careers, or anything else.

Madeline Marconi

Madeline is a Masters’ of Architecture candidate at the School of Architecture. Originally from Long Island, New York, she is a proud Stilesian and completed her undergraduate education in 2022. Before returning to Yale for her Masters, she spent a year working at an architectural firm in New York City. In addition to serving as a graduate affiliate, Madeline is also a Writing Partner at the Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning, as well as a member of the social committee at the School of Architecture. Academically, Madeline is interested in the intersections between marginalized communities and architecture, possessing a passion for designing Latinx spaces. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, baking, and trying new restaurants. Madeline is ecstatic to return to Stiles and is happy to talk to anyone interested in applying to grad school, working in industry, life at Yale, or anything else!

Daniel McQuaid

Dan is a fourth year MD/PhD student originally from Ossining, NY. He graduated from Yale in 2018 as an MCDB major and was a proud member of Ezra Stiles. Dan is broadly interested in developing novel ways to prevent and treat cancer, and aspires to be a medical oncologist in the future. Outside of the lab/hospital, Dan enjoys visiting local breweries and supporting Arsenal FC in the English Premier League. He is super excited to be rejoining the Stiles community and is happy to answer questions about medical school, living in New Haven for a very, very long time, or anything else of interest. GFM! 

Lorena Miranda Guevara

Lorena is a second-year student of the Master of Environmental Management at the School of the Environment. She is an industrial engineer from Lima, Peru, and before coming to Yale, she worked for almost nine years in project management. Lorena worked in international organizations such as the Inter-American Development Bank and the Japan International Cooperation Agency, where she worked closely with government agencies in public investment projects for the development of Latin America. She is passionate about the just and clean energy transition and providing clean energy access for vulnerable communities. Lorena also loves dogs, swimming, riding her bike and drawing.

Giramnah Peña-Alcántara

Giramnah Peña-Alcántara is Dominican-American and grew up in Massachusetts, Illinois and New York City. She is a Ph.D. student in the Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program. She holds a bachelor of Science in Biological Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and master’s degree in Global Affairs from Tsinghua University in Beijing, China as a Schwarzman Scholars. She is also a NSF Graduate Student Fellow and a Gruber Fellow. Giramnah has conducted research with the Ting Laboratory at Tsinghua University researching mirror-image gene transcription and reverse transcription. More recently, she worked with the Horvitz Laboratory at MIT where she explored how C. elegans can be used to elucidate the connection between neurodegeneration and the lipid metabolism. While at Yale, Giramnah looks forward to further elucidating the gut-brain axis. Outside of research, Giramnah is a passionate advocate for her community and for increasing diversity in STEM. She volunteered with U.S. Congressman Espaillat, New York City Council Member Rodrigues, BoSTEM, the Leadership Training Institute, and MISTI Teaching Labs. She also loves embroidery, baking, and skydiving!

Hector Peralta

Originally from southern California, Hector is a 7th-year PhD candidate in the American Studies program. Hector researches, writes, and teaches about U.S. formations of race and ethnicity, the history and culture of the U.S.-Mexico border region, and Latinx migrant geographies. As he is committed to balancing academic professional activities with fun, joy, exercise, and relaxation, you can catch Hector dancing at concerts, in studios, and at the bar; playing volleyball at PWG & hiking in East Rock; or watching sitcoms and reality tv within the comfort of his home. 

Leland Stange

Leland is a PhD student in political theory from Tulsa, Oklahoma. He works on ancient and modern thought, with a particular emphasis on the relationship between beauty and democracy. A proud Stilesian, he graduated from Yale College in 2019, majoring in Humanities and Philosophy. Between then and now, he studied Classics (Greek and Chinese) at Clare College, Cambridge and supervised undergraduates in the history of political thought. He loves radio, newspapers, talking to strangers, and paper-folding.

Deborah Streahle

Deborah Streahle is a social and cultural historian of medicine and a museum curator. She studies the relationships among medicine, technology, and care in the 20th-century United States. In the past, she has also worked as a career counselor, labor and postpartum doula, copyeditor, hospice volunteer, and bicycle mechanic.

Bilige “Billy” Yang (杨毕力格)

Billy is a fifth year PhD student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science. His research is on soft robotics— compliant material innovations which can revolutionize how we interact with machines. Billy grew up in Inner Mongolia, China and studied at Swarthmore College for a B.S. in Engineering. In his free time, he loves rock climbing, cycling, and skiing. Feel free to reach out to him if you have any questions about graduate school, engineering, China, or anything else! He is excited to meet you all!