About the HOPES Team

Stephanie Liou

Stephanie is a sophomore with a penchant for pretty things, paddling dragonboats, pushing pixels, the printed word, procrastination, and photography. She joined HOPES because she loves science, loves websites, loves people, and loves writing. Relatedly, her main life goals are to become the next Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and to spread the gospel of bubble tea around the world. Stephanie also enjoys alliteration, collecting Stuff that Looks Like Other Stuff, snacking when she ought to be sleeping, making lists, tweeting excessively, watching unintellectual television, changing her mind about what to major in, and speaking in third person.

Pooja Bakhai

Pooja Bakhai is a senior majoring in human biology with a focus in global health and infectious disease, and minoring in music. She is the President of Global Health Volunteers at Stanford, plays clarinet with the Stanford Philharmonic Orchestra, and is looking forward to researching the viral etiology of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Huntington's disease is present in her father's side of the family, and this has inspired her to work for HOPES. As a future doctor, Pooja aims to eliminate health disparities and work with underserved populations in the United States and around the world.

Amy is a student researcher who is thrilled to be joining HOPES. A member of the Stanford class of 2013, she plans on majoring in Biology, with an emphasis on molecular and cellular biology. She joined HOPES because she is very interested in the biological workings of Huntington's Disease and its treatments. She also thinks that compiling all the research on the forefront of HD into one website written to be accessible to everyone is a brilliant idea. Her favorite part of HOPES is getting to meet so many remarkable people who share her goals. In her free time, Amy enjoys dancing, writing for the paper, reading, and watching bad British television.

Aimee is having the time of her life during her third year at Stanford. She is a proud member of the class of 2012 and majoring in Human Biology. Aimee is a student researcher for HOPES. She decided to join HOPES because she likes the way HOPES serves the HD community and the potential number of people it reaches around the world. In her spare time, Aimee likes to read, run, write, play video games, and watch the sunset. Her long-time wish is to fly.

Yi is a student researcher and a proud member of the Stanford Class of 2011. He joined HOPES because of his desire to combine his interests in scientific outreach and education with his skills as a writer. His favorite part about HOPES so far has been the opportunity to meet so many engaging and inspiring people from the HD community. At Stanford, Yi is majoring in Anthropology with a minor in Modern Languages, although he really wishes that he could just stay in school forever and get a Bachelor's degree in everything. In his free time, he enjoys reading The New York Times, eating plain yogurt and thinking about how great it would be to run a marathon. He also hates beets. Boy does he hate beets.

Tiffany is a student researcher with HOPES. She is a Biology major hoping to go to medical school and member of the Stanford Class of 2010. Tiffany became interested in HOPES after working at an Alzheimer's Research lab, which prompted her to learn more about other neurodegenerative diseases. Since becoming a member of HOPES in 2008, Tiffany has found inspiration in working with the HD community and treasures every opportunity she has had to hear the stories of people who are affected by HD. As a frequent participant in science outreach activities, she sees HOPES as a way to pursue her academic interests while serving the HD community. When she is not working on pre-medical classes or HOPES, Tiffany enjoys dancing with her school jazz group Urban Styles, eating cereal and watching David Attenborough's Planet Earth documentaries.

Faren graduated in June 2009 with a BA in Human Biology but couldn't bear to leave the HOPES team behind. She stepped down from the position of Project Leader and is enjoying getting back to researching and writing articles. Her favorite job within HOPES is answering e-mail, so please send feedback and questions! In her free time, which she finds quite abundant post-college, Faren likes to cook, eat, and teach dance. Oh and study for the MCAT…