Dani Stephenson
Arts & Humanities
Dani Stephenson (she/her) is a third-year PhD student in Comparative Literature. Her research interests involve questions of abolition and solidarity, exploring works of surrealist literature and music throughout the Black diaspora. She obtained her B.A. in French and Italian with a concentration in Jazz Studies at Princeton University in 2020 and joined Berkeley’s Comparative Literature Department in the fall of 2021.
Alexandra Gessesse
Social Sciences
Alexandra Gessesse is a PhD candidate in the Department of African Diaspora Studies, where she thinks and writes about the global politics of Blackness, diasporic identity construction, community and neighborhood organizations, and transnationalism. Her research investigates the relationship between geography and the sense of belonging that Black migrants forge within U.S. Black communities — examining how they define their identity through the lenses of place, politics, and popular culture. Employing visual storytelling, Alexandra uses photos and videos as a medium to delve into the themes of nostalgia, timelessness, and belonging. These stories serve as a window into how perceptions of Blackness, Black culture, and Diasporic belonging are constructed, challenged, and experienced as racialized features of everyday life. Most recently, Alexandra researched the effects of a term she coined, “Digital Redlining,” which examines the effects of race, gender, and stereotypes on online algorithms and accessible internet data for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. When she’s not at her desk working or reading, you can find Alexandra trying food at local hole-in-the-wall restaurants or taking on new adventures.
Office Hours:
M 2-3 pm & W 4-6 pm
Virtual & 2422 Dwinelle
Yasemin’s Zoom Link
Yasemin Kiriscioglu
Math & Physical Sciences
Yasemin Kiriscioglu (she/her) is a 4th year PhD student in Physics. Her research is centered around the question of how life begins in living organisms, and how we can model this physically. To answer this question, she studies gene regulatory networks in developing organisms from a thermodynamic point of view, and uses both experimental and theoretical methods. She started research in soft condensed matter and biophysics as an undergraduate student, and pursued a degree in Physics and Mathematics from Harvard University. In her free time, she enjoys hiking in Pacifica and playing tennis with her cohort!
Office Hours:
M 3-5PM (Zoom)
W 4:30-6PM (2422 Dwinelle)
Virtual & 2422 Dwinelle
Juliana’s Zoom Link
Juliana Lee
Biological Sciences
Juliana J. Lee (she/her) is a first-year Ph.D. student in Molecular and Cell Biology. Her current research interests include (epi)genetics, immunology, and method development. During her undergraduate studies at the University of Toronto, she developed a keen interest in immunology, which later expanded to genetics while researching malaria using CRISPR-Cas9 screens at the University of Oxford, where she earned her Master’s by Research degree. Combining her interests in immunology and genetics, she worked at Harvard University for the Immunological Genome consortium (www.immgen.org). There, she produced and analyzed (epi)genetic data from various immune cells using CUT&RUN, ATACseq, and RNAseq. Simultaneously, she collaborated with EpiCypher to develop a specialized method of CUT&RUN. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, and photography.