President
​Christopher Rico
crico006@ucr.edu

Hello, I'm Chris, a fourth year Bioengineering major and the President for BMES. I currently conduct research in Dr. Grover's lab working on Microfluidic devices such as measuring the buoyant mass of Daphnia using a resonating mass sensor to determine dry mass and density. In my free time, I enjoy exercising, hiking, reading and watching lots of YouTube.

Vice President
​Allexa Oritz
aorti046@ucr.edu

Hi, I'm Allexa! I'm a 4th year bioengineer and your BMES Vice President for the 2020-2021 school year. I serve to offer support and advice to all club members- from helping officers set up events to finding resources for general members. Outside of school, I like listening to music, doing demos, and dancing. I also really love bees, so if that happens to be your jam, we can vibe together. Anyway, I hope to see you at our events this year, take care! 

P.S. If you have any questions (even absurd, simple, or random ones), feel free to shoot me an email or direct message me on Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn. You can also reach out to other officers.

Treasurer
​Brandon To
bto013@ucr.edu

What's goodie, I'm Brandon! I'm a second year Bioengineering major and I'll be the Treasurer for BMES. Additionally, I'm the Treasurer for ACM (CS org), the Sponsorship Co-Lead alongside Cammy for BioHack 2021, and a research assistant in Dr. Kokkoni's Pediatric Rehabilitation Technology Lab. When I'm not doing work (which I often save for the last minute), I'm on Netflix or Youtube, working out, hanging with friends, or bathing in memes. Slide in the DMs on IG or Linkedin to talk :)

Secretary
​Queenie Xu
qxu047@ucr.edu

Hi I’m Queenie, and I am a second year Bioengineering major. I am this year’s BMES Secretary, which means I am in charge of meeting minutes, communications, and the End of the Year Report. This really means that you’ll see (and probably hear) me typing during meetings and if you ever send us an email, the response will likely be from me. I also do research in Neuroengineering and I am a Marketing co-lead for BioHack 2021. Outside of school, I love to sleep and watch or play sports. Feel free to contact me! I am always here to contribute a funny joke or sarcastic comment into conversations :)

Professional Development
​Cammy Ngo
cngo022@ucr.edu

Project Lead
​David Villafuerte
dvill031@ucr.edu

I am David Villafuerte, a fourth-year undergraduate student pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Bioengineering. I am one of the current Project Leads of BMES. As the Project Lead, I am mainly responsible for hosting BMES academic workshops and organizing yearly projects. I am also one of the Directors of BioHack. I am mainly interested in rehabilitation engineering and developing prostheses. In the future, I am planning to pursue a medical degree in Family Medicine and Surgery. Outside of academics, I like to drink a lot of boba milk tea and eat tons of ice cream. I also listen to Korean pop groups such as EXO and BTS and watch anime such as Naruto and One Piece during my free time.

Project Lead
​Himani Thakker
hthak003@ucr.edu

Hi! My name is Himani and I am a fourth year undergraduate bioengineering student and currently one of the project leads for BMES. I’m currently also working at Education Abroad as a UCEAP Ambassador, I'm a professional development chair for SWE, and I'm doing research for Dr. Morgan's Lab. I am also a Cardiac Rhythm and Heart Failure Clinical Specialist intern for Medtronic, where I get to shadow device follow ups and observe implant procedures. During my free time, I like hanging out with my friends, playing with my pet parakeet and watching Netflix

External Outreach
​Kylie Alcantar
kalca010@ucr.edu

Hi everyone I am Kylie Alcantar a second-year Bioengineering major. I just joined Dr. Liu's lab and am excited to start my second year of college. I am willing to talk and answer any questions via email (since you can't really talk around campus anymore) about college or anything really. I love boba and coffee and will talk for hours about coffee, boba, note-taking/bullet journaling, and anything aesthetic.

Internal Outreach
​Omar O'Mari
omar.omari@email.ucr.edu

Fundraising and Social Chair
​Brittany Gilbert
bgilb001@ucr.edu

Hi everyone! My name is Brittany Gilbert and I’m a 4th year undergraduate student in bioengineering and BMES’s 2020-2021 Fundraising and Social Chair. I currently conduct research virtually in Dr. Morgan’s Lab by primarily focusing on computationally modeling the circadian rhythm in humans and how it interacts with the cell cycle. Outside of academia, I’m pretty much a homebody for the most part and love to read and draw in my free time.

Webmaster
​Rachel Itow
ritow001@ucr.edu

Hi everyone! My name is Rachel Itow and I am a second-year undergraduate in bioengineering. As this year's Webmaster, I make most of the flyers that you see posted and manage the social media accounts you see BMES on, as well as the club's website. I enjoy reading and listening to a variety of music. Feel free to message me on Messenger or Instagram (whether that be my personal or through BMES's). I can't wait to see y'all at our events!

Recruitment Chair and Historian
​Julya Mestas
jmest001@ucr.edu

Hi! I am a third year bioengineering student. I am a part of Dr. Elena Kokkoni's research team and am involved in other organizations at UCR. If you would like to hear more about BMES, Queens of STEAM, and Refugee Advocacy Club feel free to reach out to me. Take care!