Executive Leadership Team

Melanie is an undergraduate student at Arizona State University, due to graduate with a B.S. of Biochemistry in Spring 2023. Upon graduation from ASU, she plans to attend graduate school in pursuit of clinical research and development. The main motivation that fuels her passion for the ACE Scholars program is her inherent desire to make this world a better place. “I desire to be a part of something larger than myself. Cancer research has profound results on living creatures; the more we study it, the more we learn ways to prevent it. Where we cannot prevent it, we learn to intercept it, and research like this makes that possible."

My name is Nilo Kolbehdari, and I recently graduated from ASU with my Bachelor's in Science in Medical Studies. I plan on applying to medical school in the spring of 2023, fulfilling my lifelong dream of becoming a doctor. Until I go to medical school, I am working full-time as a clinic medical assistant at a Dermatology clinic here in the valley. Although I plan on pursuing a career in the field of dermatology, I have both a personal connection and long standing interest in cancer research. Because of this, I have greatly enjoyed the opportunity to be part of the ACE Scholars Lab for the last two years.

A Sophomore Student diligently studying BioMedical Sciences and Psychology to better understand the Human condition. Using novel research in the field of comparative oncology, I hope to better understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms of animals and human beings, as well as the development, proliferation, and phylogenetic history of cancer in order to apply the findings to improve translational medicine and evolutionary medicine.

Hello, I am an undergraduate student majoring in Biomedical engineering. I am very passionate about oncology and cancer research. Currently, my peers and I are focusing on reproductive cancers with respect to life-history traits. In my free time, I enjoy playing with my dog and exploring new restaurants.

I was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. Currently, I am a freshman undergraduate student at Arizona State University seeking a Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering; in addition, I am currently interested in applying to medical school later on. This will be my first semester in the ACE Scholars Program working with the Palliative Care Team. I've also been interested in doing biomedical research so I am very excited for this opportunity. In my free time, I enjoy playing table tennis and chess, as well as relaxing with my family.

Kristen is an undergraduate student majoring in biochemistry and completing her final year at Arizona State University. She recently completed a 10-week summer internship studying multiple myeloma at MaineHealth Institute for Research. She is excited to be working in the Marquez Alvarez lab, combining her passion for the microbiome with her background in cancer research. Following graduation, she plans to pursue a doctoral program studying the effects of the human gut microbiome on health and disease.

From Queens, New York, I am a sophomore studying Biomedical Sciences at ASU. This fall, I'll be starting my work as an ACE scholar, studying the progression of Barrett's Esophagus to esophageal adenocarcinoma. In the future, I hope to explore how music therapy affects both the psychological and physiological development of cancer and dementia patients.

I am a senior at ASU studying Biological Sciences (Conservation Biology & Ecology). I also have a previous bachelor's degree in Statistics. In the future, I plan to continue doing research work and possibly pursue graduate school. Currently, I am a member of the phylogenetics team.

Nick is a junior studying Biological Sciences (Cell, Genetics, and Developmental Biology) and Computational Mathematics in his first semester as an ACE Scholar.

My name is Haarika Atluri, and I am currently an Undergraduate student studying Biological Sciences at Arizona State University with an interest in becoming a Pediatrician. I joined the ACE Scholars Outreach team in the Fall of 2022. Along with being part of the ACE Scholars program, I am also an ER Medical Scribe, a UGTA for Digital Design, and I am interested in learning about various fields and how they may relate to medicine. I have also always loved observing how much information can be obtained from a small sample and am equally interested in wet lab research as I am in clinical research. Outside of my academic life, I have always had a passion for music and love reading books and watching movies!

My name is Alexandra Perazzo and I'm a senior living in New York City, attending Staten Island Technical High School. I've had the privilege of being a part of the ACE scholars team since June of 2021. As part of the patient guidance team, I hope to directly impact the lives of cancer patients for the better. In previous semesters, I did work on the cancer by type and sex bias team, so this year I switched to an outreach focused project. Currently, I'm interested in evolutionary biology and oncology. In the long term, I want to go to medical school and pursue research as well.

Eden is a Barrett honors sophomore studying Biomedical Sciences with a Psychology minor at Arizona State University in Tempe. She is on the Palliative Care team, excited to be starting her first semester in the ACE Scholars Program and studying oncology and its different intersections. Eden is also passionate about women's health and hopes to bridge health inequities in gender in medicine and medical practices through different organizations.

I’m Giavonna Sabatini, a junior studying Medical Microbiology with a minor in Military Sciences and a certificate in Evolutionary Medicine. I aspire to serve the United States Air Force as a Flight Surgeon or Medic of a specified field. I am looking forward to working with the coding program R and become more efficient working with my team!