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Kelsie Lopez
Kelsie Lopez is a Psychology PhD candidate working in the Plasticity in Neurodevelopment (PINE) Lab and the Music, Imaging, and Neural Dynamics (MIND) Lab at Northeastern University. She received her B.A. in Psychology from Brown University in 2020 where she studied language development in infancy and childhood. Now during her PhD, she studies the benefits of the early home musical environment and receptive music listening, with a specific focus on how music can be used as a tool for resiliency and stress regulation for those with experiences of early life adversity. She loves having the opportunity to work with both kids and adolescents in her research and hopes to find ways to improve their developmental outcomes through the use of music. As a first-generation college student from a working class background, she is also passionate about expanding access to research careers for those from underrepresented backgrounds.
Pilar Verhaak
Pilar is a Clinical Research Coordinator working in the Center for Quantitative Health at Massachusetts General Hospital. She received her B.S. in Neuroscience and Psychology from The Ohio State University in 2022, where she studied how different facets of cognitive ability such as attention and memory evolve during childhood. Now at MGH, she investigates sources of heterogeneity in clinical presentations of depression, variability in treatment outcomes, and their effects on cognitive functioning. She is interested in multidisciplinary research and works collaboratively with multiple departments at MGH, including the Department of Psychiatry and Department of Obstetrics. She is also passionate about promoting efforts to reduce the underrepresentation of gender and sexual minorities in clinical research as well as expanding access to careers in medicine and clinical research for these individuals.
Isabelle Lussier
Isabelle is a research assistant in the OB/GYN department at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She graduated with a B.S. in Biology from Bates College in 2024, where she was a pre-med student and a varsity athlete. Since this past summer, she has been working in the Anchan Laboratory, where she researches the potential applications of stem cells for treating gynecological diseases. Her work focuses on exploring the use of human stem cells to restore ovarian function and investigating the role of centrioles in the pathology of unexplained male infertility. Currently preparing for the MCAT, she is in the process of applying to medical school with the goal of becoming a physician specializing in Women’s Health.
Laura Brenneman
Dr. Laura Brenneman currently serves as the Chair of the High-Energy Astrophysics Division of the Center for Astrophysics (Cambridge, MA). She received her B.A. in Astrophysics from Williams College in 1999 and her Ph.D. in Astronomy from the University of Maryland in 2007. After two years as a NASA Postdoctoral Fellow at Goddard Space Flight Center, she came to the CfA in 2009. Her research focuses on understanding how galaxies and their supermassive black holes co-evolve through the processes of accretion and energetic outflows. She is a pioneer in measuring how fast black holes rotate using spectra from X-ray observatories, and she has leadership roles in several current, planned and proposed international X-ray telescope missions. In her free time Laura has always enjoyed playing and coaching multiple sports. In addition to being a three-sport varsity athlete at Williams, she played for USA Baseball’s Women’s National Team from 2002-2007, winning two World Cups, and her jersey currently hangs in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. She lives in Waltham with her wife, Victoria, and their son, Luke, is in ninth grade at CA this year.
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