Leadership Team, Alumni and Founders
UT Southwestern Biotechnology Club
Current Leadership
Ana.AyalaPazzi@UTSouthwestern.edu
Gaby's LinkedIn
Interested in Biotechnology?
Considering careers outside of academia?
Apply to join the Biotech Club Executive Team!
To apply, please email us at Biotech.Club@UTSouthwestern.edu with a completed application form as a PDF document. Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions about the team or application process!
Founding Members and Alumni
Jackson Gartman
Co-Founder, Alumni
Jackson.Gartman@gmail.com
Jackson Gartman is currently a medicinal chemist at AbbVie. Jackson was a co-founder of the Biotech Club and joined UTSW in 2016 as a graduate student in Uttam Tambar's lab in the Biochemistry department, where he focused on the total synthesis of natural products, chemical methodology, and medicinal chemistry collaborations. In 2020 he joined AbbVie in Lake County, IL in their Protein Degradation Platform Team as a Senior Scientist.
John "Tyler" Piazza
Founder, Alumni
Tyler founded the Biotechnology Club in the summer of 2018 to provide an industry-focused campus organization to the UT Southwestern student body. Tyler graduated with his M.S. in Genetics, Development, and Disease and now lives in Boston where he works in the life sciences and healthcare data industry. Following graduation, he gained experience working as a strategy consultant, including a role at Trinity Life Sciences where he developed a passion for using real-world healthcare data to improve the development, launch, and commercialization of new therapies. Tyler now works at a genomic data company called Helix where he helps develop new product offerings and supports business development efforts by negotiating partnerships with bio-pharma companies
Jordan Baumhardt
Alumni
Jordan.Baumhardt@utsouthwestern.edu
Jordan completed his Ph.D. at UT Southwestern Medical Center focused on Biophysics in early 2020. He studied how a prominent mutation in the major nuclear export machinery contributes to cancer pathogenesis in Yuh Min Chook's lab. During his time at UT Southwestern, Jordan led market analysis projects for promising early-stage technologies at the UTSW Office of Technology Development. He then stepped away from his Ph.D. studies for a summer to join the Flagship Pioneering Venture Fellowship in Boston. Soon after the Flagship fellowship, he spent six months interning with the Strategy Department at Reata Pharmaceuticals. Outside of biotech, Jordan is a coffee enthusiast and is developing manufacturing methods to substantially improve the quality of coffee. Jordan joined LifeSci Capital as a Biotech Equity Research Associate mid-2020.
Aman Kumar
Alumni
Aman completed his Ph.D. in molecular microbiology from the laboratory of Prof. Vanessa Sperandio at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in 2020. Aman studied how tryptophan metabolites affect the human microbiome and host-pathogen interactions. Currently, Aman is a postdoctoral associate at the Yale School of Medicine, where he is exploring the interactions between xenobiotics and the gut microbiome. Aman is interested in devising strategies for precision medicine. Beyond the lab, Aman is actively involved with the Yale Postdoctoral Association heading the mentorship committee currently at Yale.
Madeline Milligan
Previous Exec Member
Madeline.Milligan@utsouthwestern.edu
Madeline is a Ph.D. candidate in the Biological Chemistry program at UT Southwestern. Her research in Ben Tu's lab focuses on investigating the effects of nutrient availability and metabolic state on gene expression and epigenetics. Madeline is interested in the pharmaceutical industry.
Minghao Li
Alumni
Minghao is a Ph.D. candidate in the Immunology Program at UT Southwestern. His work in the Chen lab focuses on understanding how innate immune signaling pathways can be modulated to adapt to different diseases. Minghao is interested in understanding how scientific discoveries can be developed into profitable drugs and devices.
Yongbin Choi
Alumni
Yongbin.Choi@UTSouthwestern.edu
Yongbin is a Ph.D. candidate in the Immunology Program at UT Southwestern Medical Center. His research in Dr. Andrew Koh's lab focuses on understanding the effects of resident bacteria (microbiota) in the gastrointestinal tract on cancer immunotherapy. Outside of research, Yongbin is interested in how the current macroeconomic situation can influence the biopharmaceutical industry and individual companies.
Colton Davis
Previous president, Alumni
Currently a Scientist in the Process Chemistry Team at Sanofi
Colton completed his Ph.D. in the Organic Chemistry Program at UT Southwestern Medical Center with Professor Joseph M. Ready in June of 2022. His research in the Ready lab focused on iridium-catalyzed enantioselective allylation of highly functionalizable boronic esters, including a detailed-mechanistic investigation of the transformation. Colton currently works at Sanofi in Boston, Massachusetts as a Scientist in the US Process Chemistry team. He is responsible for the design and preliminary process development of NDA routes for commercial manufacturing of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients.
Lindsay Johnson
Graduate Advisor
Lindsay.Johnson@UTSouthwestern.edu
Lindsay is a Ph.D. candidate in the Biomedical Engineering Program at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Her research in Dr. Daniel Siegwart's lab focuses on investigating the interactions of RNA-loaded dendrimer lipid nanoparticles with specific cell populations of the liver. Outside of research, Lindsay is passionate about fitness and nutrition. She enjoys long-distance running and is currently training for her third marathon. Lindsay is excited to be involved in the Biotech Club leadership this year and is interested in the pharmaceutical industry and cell-specific nanomedicine.
James Raynard Dizon
Previous executive
JamesRaynard.Dizon@UTSouthwestern.edu
James is a third-year Ph.D. candidate in Dr. Ian Corbin lab in the Advanced Imaging Research Center department at UT Southwestern. He is studying macrophage polarization using a lipoprotein-docosahexaenoic acid-based nanoparticle platform in clear cell renal cell carcinoma. Using this platform, he also wants to understand the underlying role of cholesterol in cancer development and treatment. Beyond the lab, James enjoys hiking/camping and making coffee in the woods. In the future, James wants to work at the intersection of science and the clinic as a medical science liaison.
