Claire Auslander (She/Her)

Student, Georgetown University
  • People
  • United States of America
Petrina van Nieuwstadt

Laidlaw Scholar , University of Toronto

Hello! I'm Petrina and I'm currently studying philosophy at the University of Toronto. As a member of the 2024 Laidlaw Scholars cohort, I am interested in philosophy, specifically philosophy of religion and phenomenology. I'm originally from Calgary, but studied at United World College Red Cross Nordic in high school. 
Skylar Bush

Research Assistant , Cornell University

Neha Gupta

Student Researcher, University of Toronto

Hi there 👋 I'm Neha Gupta, a third year student at the University of Toronto.  I'm interested in the law and human health, along with it's intersections. Believing strongly in health as a human right, I am particularly interested in preventing gender-based violence and preserving reproductive health services.  My Summer I project looked at how paediatric oncology patients in nations with universal healthcare plans access psychosocial support. In Summer II, I hope to work with an organization to give marginalized communities (particularly women) the institutional support they need to stand up to injustices they face. 
Christina Mai

Scholar, University of Toronto

Hi Laidlaw community :) I'm Christina, a third-year Vietnamese-Canadian Public Policy & Political Science student at UofT. My work at Laidlaw involves using mixed methodologies to reveal service gaps in Canada's universal healthcare system. My current project combines policy analysis & quantitative methods to advocate for the expansion of abortion rights in Canada's healthcare system and beyond. I argue that provincial jurisdictional authority can restrict access for politically contentious medical services, and that the solution requires intergovernmental cooperation across all levels of government. In addition to my work with Laidlaw scholars, this year I worked with the United Nation's Space Generation Advisory Council and Luxembourg Space Agency to provide a prescriptive review of life on the moon 30 years from now. I also work on the FINCH satellite design team at the University of Toronto Aerospace Team, working to clear licenses to ensure launch as Regulatory Lead and now, Director of Space Systems. Outside of work, you'll see me spending time with loved ones, playing piano, and listening to music. Some of my dreams are to achieve full free-diving certification, and to attend an Apex Legends/CS2 competition in-person. If you share any of these interests or if you're curious about my research, feel free to drop me a message right here on the network or email. I'd be thrilled to connect with you!
Fathia A Fasasi

Student, Georgetown University

My name is Fathia Fasasi, and I am a rising sophomore at Georgetown University with hopes of majoring in Global Health and minoring in sociology. A fun fact about me is that I was hit by a motorcycle at five years old (I'm fine now, lol!). I am involved in a faculty project called The Black Central Americas (BCA) this summer. I am primarily engaged in the first phase, "Constellating Black Central America," where we focus on researching cities and documenting their histories, cultures, and migration patterns. Our primary aim with this project is to fill in the historical gaps of these cities and create a valuable resource for future researchers interested in this history.
Amy Lum

Student, Georgetown University

I am an incoming Junior double-majoring in Biology and Chinese. My research project for this summer focuses on the galectin-3 binding protein (G3BP). According to the Center for Disease Control, in 2020, over 1.6 million new cancer cases were reported and 600 thousand people died of cancer. While cancer cases are decreasing, for every 100,000 people, there are still 403 new cancer cases. My research this summer focuses on G3BP, a protein that was identified as an interacting partner for extracellular 6-O-endosulfatase Sulf2. Interaction with G3BP inhibits Sulf2 activity leading to changes of heparan sulfation that is involved in numerous biological processes including cancer cell proliferation, migration and/or invasion. Generation of Gal3BP F357W mutant is recommended by C. Barinka for interaction analyses; we will generate the F357W mutant and test the impact of the mutation on Sulf2-G3BP interactions and the effects on Sulf2 activity. This research entails the generation of F357W G3BP mutant by site-directed mutagenesis, subcloning wild-type and mutant sequence into lentiviral transfer vector, generation of lentiviral particles in HEK293T cells, transduction of target production cell line, purification by His/Twin-Strep affinity, impact on interaction, impact on enzymatic activity by HPLC-UV-based assay using heparan sulfate mimetic. Through this research, I hope to characterize the interaction between G3BP and Sulf-2 and generate resources (recombinant proteins) for further studies including migration/invasion assays, and utilize the above resources and data. I am also interested in researching health disparities concerning cancer treatment; unlike other racial groups, cancer is the leading cause of death for Asian Americans. Due to language and cultural barriers, Asian Americans often have lower rates of cancer screening and a lack of proper treatment. Beyond my research in the lab, I am also interested in healthcare access regarding cancer diagnosis and treatment.
Delaney Sebora

Student, Georgetown University

Hello people!!! I'm Delaney. I am a rising Junior at Georgetown University studying International History in the School of Foreign Service- I am planning to minor in Spanish and Math. My major concentration is Colonial Legacies and Social Structures, intending to promote Decoloniality, the deconstruction of colonial logic and the perceived naturalness of racial capitalism.  I graduated from Waconia High School in Minnesota (about 30 minutes west of the Twin Cities).  My research project for this Summer (2024) focuses on Black Resiliency in the British Caribbean, plus how foodways contribute to cultural transmission. With a research team, I traveled to Cat Island in the Bahamas and interviewed local farmers, historians, herbologists, and artisans to collect their primary perspectives and oral histories. Moving forward, I want to synthesize the lingering effects of British occupation on Cat Island, as well as promote the sustainable lifestyle that many Bahamians have inherited through generations. 
Isha Bahadur

Research Assistant, Georgetown University

Hi! My name is Isha and I am a rising junior in the College of Arts & Sciences majoring in Biology of Global Health. While I grew up in the suburbs of NYC for most of my life, I lived in Singapore for 4 of those years. This summer, I will be researching failed single-stranded annealing events in drosophila under the guidance of Dr. Jan LaRocque. 
Fiona Naughton

Student, Georgetown University

Hi! My name is Fiona and I'm a member of the Class of 2026 at Georgetown University, where I am majoring in Culture and Politics with a concentration in International Labor Policy and minoring in English.  My research focuses on the intersection between artificial intelligence and new forms of labor exploitation. Although many AI softwares are thought to be objective, they have been and continue to be reliant on low-wage workers with normal human biases. I hope to chronicle the ways that the AI revolution has created more accepted yet equally pernicious ways of mistreating vulnerable workers, despite the reputation that these softwares are made independent of human influence. Beyond Laidlaw, I absolutely love to read, both fiction and non-fiction. I could talk about books for hours and am always needing new recommendations, so please let me know if you have any suggestions! 
Aliyah Schlicht

Student, Georgetown University

Hi! My name is Allie. I am currently a sophomore at Georgetown University majoring in International Politics and minoring in Education, Inquiry, and Justice. I love reading, playing tennis, and playing music (piano, violin, and oboe). In the future, I am interested in continuing to conduct research while also exploring additional possibilities of graduate school or law school programs. This past summer, I completed a faculty-proposed research project titled the Black Central Americas Project. I am researching the history and culture of several cities in Central America. The research will soon be released onto a website to become an educational resource highlighting Black Central America's dynamic diasporas.
Izzy Wagener

Student, Georgetown University

I am a rising junior at Georgetown University, studying International Politics in the School of Foreign Service. I am also a journalism minor.  Some of the organizations I am involved in are the the Free Speech Project, the rock climbing team, and the Georgetown Resident Assistant Coalition (GRAC). I am also the photo editor and a news & features writer for the Georgetown Voice.  In my free time, I can often be found working on my embroidery, seeing movies, writing letters to my sister, and reading.  This summer I am working with Georgetown faculty member Yuki Kato to research multigenerational urban farming. Historical local food provisioning practices among BIPOC communities in US cities have not been systematically documented, but there has been a significant increase in the quantity and prominence of younger generation growers in many American cities. This is an interdisciplinary research that aims to understand the aspirations and practices of contemporary urban growers in the context of the history of urban gardening and farming among BIPOC communities in the city. The contemporary inquiry component of the project examines the aspirations, practices, and challenges of the new generation of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) urban growers. More specifically, this component examines how the new generation of growers understand the historical precedent of urban folk cultivation and view their practices in connection with their ancestral land, identities, and knowledge.
John Henry Lotz-McMillen

student, Georgetown University

Hi! I am a rising third-year in the College of Arts and Sciences majoring in neurobiology and minoring in science, technology, and international affairs. During my research summer, I will be using metagenomics to study the diversity and ecological role of viruses in Antarctic soil microbial communities with the Johnson Biosignatures Lab at Georgetown. To give some context, metagenomics is a powerful bioinformatics sub-discipline that leverages genetic sequencing and data processing technologies to study microbial communities in their natural environments. Not only does this research allow us to better understand the ecological structure of environmental microbial ecosystems and how they play critical roles in cycling nutrients at a planetary scale, but studying microbial life can help us understand how life evolved on Earth in the first place. As we continue to overshoot planetary boundaries on Earth while simultaneously exploring deeper into outer space, these questions of how does our planetary system really work and what could such a living system look like on other planets become more and more important.  If you're interested in reaching out to talk about biology, any of my "hobbies," your research, or anything else, feel free!!
Annabelle Kim

Student/Research Assistant, Georgetown University

Hi! My name is Annabelle Kim and I'm a rising second-year at Georgetown University. I am majoring in Public Policy, planning on minoring in Economics and Education, Inquiry, and Justice. I'm from the San Francisco Bay Area–Pleasanton, CA to be specific. Throughout my studies and my career, I hope to contribute to improving educational equity in the U.S. K-12 system, with a special focus on marginalized students within high-performing districts.  This summer, I am researching within-district disparities between continuation high schools and comprehensive high schools in California. Continuation schools (alternative high schools for students at risk of not graduating) have higher per-pupil funding than their traditional brick-and-mortar counterparts. Despite this, facilities and services provided to these students often fall far behind--I hope to clarify why that might be. My research builds on my experience researching school funding decisions nationwide with a faculty member of Georgetown's McCourt School of Public Policy.  A fun fact about me is that I've technically flown a plane before I got my driver's license...and that even now I'd far prefer flying a plane to driving on a California freeway. 
Talia Zamir

Student, Georgetown University

Hello! My name is Talia Zamir and I'm a rising third-year at Georgetown University. I am studying Biology of Global Health intending to pursue a master's in Genetic Counseling following graduation. I hope to help expecting parents or adults with familial histories of hereditary cancer syndromes understand their risk and make informed health decisions for themselves and their families! I aim to contribute to policy regarding genetic safety and laws protecting individuals from genetic discrimination in the US. This summer, I am researching community resources for mothers surviving breast cancer or ovarian cancer in the Ashkenazi Jewish community, intending to expand my research to how community-based organizations can help other high-risk minority groups. My research builds upon my experience as a research assistant at a health behavior and cancer prevention lab at the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center's Division of Population Science. A fun fact about me is that I'm from Salt Lake City, Utah which is the same place that all the high school musical movies were filmed!  Please don't hesitate to reach out, especially if it's to talk about policy/medical research or to connect over some of our shared interests :) !
Andrew Swank

Student, Georgetown University

Colleen Dougherty

Assistant Director, Center for Research & Fellowships, Georgetown University

Colleen manages the Laidlaw Scholars Leadership and Research Programme at Georgetown University. Through her work, Colleen aims to increase accessibility in fellowships advising for all Georgetown students with a special focus on reflective practices intended to help students identify and develop personal and career goals. Prior to joining Georgetown University, Colleen served as the Assistant Director for Early Career Initiatives with NASPA- Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, where she managed professional development programs for undergraduate student, graduate student, and new professional members. Colleen holds a master’s degree in Student Development in Higher Education from the University of Maine and bachelor’s degrees in Women and Gender Studies and Anthropology from the University of Delaware.