Hitesh Arora, President
PresidentHitesh is a Scientist at STEMCELL Technologies, Vancouver, Canada. He completed his Ph.D. from The University of British Columbia and his masters from Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA. Prior to joining STEMCELL Technologies, Hitesh has held various Research and Development roles in the pharmaceutical industry. Hitesh has actively engaged with TEDx Vancouver, UNESCO, Help Age India, and other Vancouver, Boston, and New Delhi-based organizations in promoting education, student engagement, and professional development. In the capacity of the current President of The SBN, Hitesh now leads the executive team, by combining his industrial and mentorship experience in achieving SBN outreach to academic and industry partners.
Colton Strong, Corporate Liaison
Corporate LiaisonColton is a PhD candidate in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of British Columbia. His research interests include biomedical engineering, hemostasis, and nanomedicines. During his degree, he has started pre-clinical development of next-generation LNP technologies to treat bleeding which he wants to commercialize with his team. As Corporate Liaison, Colton hopes to build new connections with potential sponsors, especially nanomedicine start-ups, to help support the initiatives of the SBN. His major goal is to bring SBN members together with industry representatives to foster meaningful connections that support professional development.
Sofia Pineda, Corporate Liaison
Corporate LiaisonSofia is a trained Chemist from Simon Fraser University (SFU) and a multidisciplinary researcher with experience in the fields of Neurophilosophy, Materials Science & Engineering, Health Science and Biotechnology. As Corporate Liaison, she is excited to contribute to SBN’s efforts in supporting students through Community and Industry Outreach programs and activities.
Yihang Chen, Corporate Liaison
Corporate LiaisonHi! My name is Yihang Chen and I am a graduate student at Jan Lab at the University of British Columbia. I am passionate about research and enjoy brainstorming therapeutic potentials for basic molecular mechanisms in the virology aspect. I am based in Vancouver since 2016 and I graduated from UBC with a Bachelor’s degree major in Food Science and minor in Biochemstry in 2020. Besides study and work, I am obsessed with exercises such as Iaido, yoga, and working out in the gym. Delicious food is always on the top of my list too.
I like working in SBN because it brings so many opportunities, which are hard to be learned at school, for science students like us. I hope with our work at SBN, more students can have the chance to explore their careers in Biotechnology companies and eventually find their dream jobs!
Moyan Jia, Events Liaison
Events LiaisonMoyan has recently received her M.Sc. in the field of plant genetics from the University of British Columbia, Canada and is currently a research assistant in the Department of Botany at the University of British Columbia. Moyan found her passion for studying molecular mechanisms of nutrient sensing in photosynthetic eukaryotes. She spent 3 years working as a teaching assistant for biology courses and built good relationships with teaching faculties and students. Prior to pursuing graduate studies, Moyan was a vice president in a student-driven, non-profitable organization and had solid knowledge and skills in advertising and holding events. As a member of the SBN’s Events Team, she looks forward to working on the perfection of SBN’s communication platform and helping colleagues and students connect with members of the Biotechnology community.
Taranjot Kaur, Events & Communication Liaison
Events & Communication LiaisonTaranjot has recently completed her Honours in Molecular Biology & Biochemistry (MBB) from Simon Fraser University. She holds extensive experience in event planning and management through her leadership positions in student governance and campus fraternities. Through these roles and many others that she has served in the past, Taranjot endeavors to develop equity of opportunity in learning and service communities. She joined Student Biotechnology Network’s Events team to connect with the life sciences community at-large and work towards bringing more diversity into the sector and increase the accessibility of professional opportunities for recent graduates.
Avneet Kaur Co-director of Events
Co-director of EventsAvneet completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from Simon Fraser University and is currently working as Research Technician making C.elegans knockouts. Avneet founded her passion for student engagement and professional development after working in different labs at SFU and realizing the need for mentorship among graduate students to become innovators. As the Co-director of Events at SBN, Avneet aspires to organize events for early career seekers and support them in building meaningful connections and learning the ins and outs of the industry. When she’s not at her desk or in the lab, Avneet spends her time exploring different restaurants, bars and cafes.
Sree Gayathri, Talluri Director of Mentorship
Talluri Director of MentorshipDr. Sree Gayathri Talluri (she/her) is a drug delivery expert by training with extensive experience in small molecules and nucleic acids. Sree is passionate about science communication and outreach. She served as the national and regional organizer of ComSciCon CAN, a workshop designed to provide science communication training to graduate students across Canada. In her previous role as the interview coordinator for UVic Women in Science, Sree worked towards amplifying the voices and highlighting the experiences of women in the scientific community across Vancouver Island. She is currently a STEM specialist at BC girl guides, where she actively works on designing and developing STEM experiments for girls.
In her role at SBN, Sree hopes to establish the SBN mentorship program as a bridge to inspire students to be the next innovative leaders in biotech through connection with today’s industry leaders.
Janella Schwab Director of Communications
Director of CommunicationsJanella is a fourth year undergraduate student pursuing an Honours B.Sc in Applied Animal Biology student at the University of British Columbia. She recently completed a co-op work placement at the School of Biomedical Engineering at UBC focusing on constructing synthetic biology tools for gene regulatory and developmental applications, and is currently on another co-op placement at Zymeworks Inc.
In her Communication Liaison role, she promotes SBN events to increase engagement between students and industry. In her free time, she is an avid hiker which has taken her places like Everest Base Camp and the Inca Trail.
Fatima Hasan Director Corporate Affairs
Director Corporate AffairsHi! I’m Fatima Hasan – M.Sc, from McGill University’s School of Medicine, Department of Experimental Surgery. I’m also a consultant for the Canadian Advanced Therapies Training Institute for cell and gene therapies and a Mitacs Accelerate Fellowship Award recipient. My interest in biotechnology is driven by a strong passion to address challenges of healthcare that traditional and allopathic medicine has been unable to resolve. My focus and expertise is in regenerative medicine and gene therapies for personalized treatments for patients. I believe the biotechnology realm is foundationed upon international collaborations and talents – connecting the international studentforce in Canada to industry leaders is the obvious right step forward which I hope to further in my role as Director of Corporate Affairs.
