2017-2018 – Biomedical Engineering Society

	Sandra Pelka President sp1322@scarletmail.rutgers.edu Hello, my name is Sandra Pelka and I am a senior in biomedical engineering with a minor in Spanish. My goal as the President of BMES is to serve the BME community to the best of my ability. I want to help organize new events and ways for BME students to become more involved in their major department, both academically and socially. I am also a member of the Rutgers Performing Dance Company and enjoy dancing and listening to music in my free time.
	Keana Mirmajlesi Internal Vice President keana.mirmajlesi@rutgers.edu My name is Keana Mirmajlesi and I am the Internal Vice President of BMES. I am a senior studying biomedical engineering with a minor in psychology. In addition to my work with BMES, am also a member of the Institute for Domestic and International Affairs, the Rutgers Engineering Honors Council, and Tau Beta Pi. I am actively involved in research on campus with the Shreiber Lab. In my free time I enjoy reading, watching TV, and going to art museums.
	Charles Rabolli External Vice President cpr71@scarletmail.rutgers.edu Hi! My name is Charles Rabolli and I am a senior in BME with a minor in chemistry. I joined BMES as the class of 2018 representative two years ago and am currently serving as the Treasurer for the club. In BME, I have been a student in Dr. Francois Berthiaume’s lab since freshman year. Outside of BME, I have conducted research in the Materials Science Engineering department and was President of Busch Suites RHA two years ago. My goal as External Vice President is to bring in all the knowledge that I have from different experiences to better BMES and to act as a liaison to students of all years in BME. Feel free to contact me with any questions about anything!
	Josh Posen Treasurer jp1410@scarletmail.rutgers.edu Hi! My name is Josh Posen and I am a junior in BME with a second major in Computer Science. I began in BMES as the EGC representative during my sophomore year and now serve as the treasurer. I also serve as the class of 2019 representative on EGC. During the summer of 2017, I participated in an REU at the University of Southern California, conducting research in sickle cell disease. During the spring 2018 semester I will be completing a co-op at the Johnson Space Center. As the treasurer of BMES, I plan to better BMES by gathering opinions from students from all years and including them in out agenda. If you have any questions feel free to contact me!
	Dharti Shah Secretary dks98@scarletmail.rutgers.edu Hi! My name is Dharti Shah and I am a senior studying Biomedical Engineering, and I am serving as secretary this year. I am a huge advocate in promoting STEM to young girls and in the past couple of years I have worked for The Academy at Rutgers for Girls in Engineering and Technology (TARGET). I have also been to Honduras for a Medical/Dental/Public Health Brigade through the non-profit organization Global Brigades here at Rutgers. Outside of school I am a professional Indian Classical Dancer.
	Farida Shawkat Fundraising Chair fs367@scarletmail.rutgers.edu Hi! My name is Farida Shawkat and I am a sophomore Biomedical Engineering student. This is my first year getting involved with BMES and I’d really like to make an impact from the get go. I hope that I can help organize events and raise enough money to consistently fund even bigger events throughout the year. I love the outdoors and I enjoy finding new places to take hikes and go on runs. If you have any ideas for events you think would appeal to yourself or other BMES, feel free to contact me!
	Yash Dave Public Relations yashdave1996@gmail.com Hi, my name’s Yash Dave, I am pursuing a degree in Biomedical Engineering with a minor in Health Administration. As the public relations representative for BMES it is my job to connect you with the department and all of us. If you have any questions of concerns , feel free to contact me and I will do my best to help you. Outside of BMES I am also part of the Association of Indians at Rutgers and North American Disease Intervention. When I’m not busy studying I love playing basketball and volleyball and I’m an avid sports fan.
	Nicholas Osowski Webmaster nmo30@scarletmail.rutgers.edu
	Rana Srouji Engineering Governing Council Representative Hi everyone! My name is Rana Srouji and I am a sophomore majoring in Biomedical Engineering. I am the EGC (engineering governing council) Representative for the BMES. With this title came the responsibility of becoming the medium of informational exchange between the society and EGC. I acquire funds and debate for my organization to reach an agreement that accurately represents the opinions of the Biomedical Engineering society within Rutgers.
	N/A Historian N/A N/A
	Jeremy Stein Class of 2018 Representative js1713@scarletmail.rutgers.edu Hello! My name is Jeremy Stein and I am senior/1st-year graduate student in Biomedical Engineering as a part of the 5- year BS/MS program. I am also pursuing a Certification in Packaging Engineering. In addition to BMES, I am a part of IDIA, a group that organizes Model UN conferences for high school students. I have worked with the Dr. Deanna Gray-Miceli of the Rutgers School of Nursing, to study balance among the elderly and its relationship with blood pressure drops. I currently working in the lab of Dr. Troy Shinbrot investigating biofilm development and modeling in the human body.
	Adam Knowles Class of 2019 Representative adamknowles3@gmail.com My name is Adam Knowles, a Junior studying Biomedical Engineering. As the class of 2019 Representative, it is my job to be the liaison between you and the BME department. Feel free to email me with any questions, comments or concerns about your Rutgers BME experience. Apart from BMES, I am a brother of Theta Tau, the professional co-ed engineering fraternity here at Rutgers. When I’m not studying I am either playing basketball or watching movies. I listen to music every chance I get and I love to hangout with friends.
	Brenda Okereke Class of 2020 Representative buo1@scarletmail.rutgers.edu Brenda Okereke is a sophomore at Rutgers School of Engineering majoring in Biomedical Engineering on the Tissue, Engineering and Molecular Biology Track, also pursuing a minor in Computer Science (concentration on bioinformatics). Brenda holds the Research Chair position for the Minority Engineering Educational Task and also served as Freshman Representative for the Society of Women Engineers, working with both the Internal/External Vice President Committees. She worked as an undergraduate research assistant at Rutgers Stem Cell Research Center on dopaminergic neurons differentiated from induced pluripotent stem cells and human embryonic stem cells and has an extensive background in research.