Gold Graduate College Fellows

Erin Hurley

Biochemistry of Health and Disease
Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Professional Studies
College of Medicine

Erin Hurley is humbled to join the Drexel University's Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Professional Studies in the College of Medicine as a first-year doctoral student in the Biochemistry of Health and Disease program. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in both Biochemistry and Biology from St. Mary’s College of Maryland located in St. Mary’s City, Maryland. During her undergraduate senior thesis project, she explored materials science and chemistry with the goal of creating novel indium tin oxide anodes for solution-processed solar cells. Currently, Erin endeavors to translate her work with nanomaterials into the biochemistry world with an interest in the biochemical and cellular consequences occurring at the nanoscale level of endogenous and exogenous processes. When not in the lab, Erin enjoys perusing museums (particularly those centered around culture and science), playing video games, and taking care of her pet axolotl – known lovingly as Ito.

Branislav Jovanovic

Clinical Psychology
College of Arts and Sciences

Branislav Jovanovic is thrilled to join Drexel University and WELL Center as a first-year clinical psychology PhD student under the mentorship of Dr. Meghan Butryn. Before joining Drexel, Branislav received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Columbia University, had 5 years of working experience as a Sr. Hardware Engineer, and completed a Psychological Science post-bacc program at University of California, Irvine (UCI). At UCI, he researched mindfulness-based interventions, and has focused on longitudinal projects exploring mental and physical health outcomes from biopsychosocial framework. At Drexel, Branislav is interested in exploring novel treatments and maintaining factors for eating behaviors and psychopathology.

Abigail Klimas

Molecular and Cellular Biology and Genetics
Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Professional Studies

Catherine Scanlon

Applied Cognitive and Brain Sciences
College of Arts and Sciences

Catherine Scanlon will be joining Drexel University as a first-year ACBS doctoral student working under the mentorship of Dr. John Medaglia. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Neuroscience from the University of Delaware where her thesis focused on visual cognition, and later worked as a clinical research coordinator in the Harvard Aging Brain Study where she investigated healthy aging and age-related cognitive decline. At Drexel, Catherine is interested in the relationship between brain structure and cognition in clinical populations, and how this information could be utilized in treatment development. Aside from research, Catherine loves to read, hike, do yoga, and hang out with her two cats!

Anna Simpson

Epidemiology
Dornsife School of Public Health

Anna Simpson is excited to join the Dornsife School of Public Health as a doctoral student in epidemiology under the mentorship of Dr. Stephanie Hernandez. Before joining Drexel University, Anna received their Bachelor of Science in psychology and Master of Public Health with an emphasis in epidemiology from the University of Louisville (UofL) in Kentucky. Their work at UofL incorporated community-engaged research practices into projects concerning health-related decision-making, mental health, and environmental health. At Drexel, Anna plans to focus their research on understanding the social and structural factors that influence the burden of internalizing psychiatric disorders among LGBTQ+ people of color. In their free time, Anna enjoys reading anything except horror stories, exploring the arts and culture scene of wherever they find themselves, and discovering local coffee shops with good tea selections.