Courtney Fu, President

I’m a fourth year from Phoenix, Arizona studying Pharmacy with minors in Entrepreneurship and Economics. When I was a senior in high school, I attended a presentation about NTDs by Dr. Pollastri. Since then, I’ve been interested in learning more about NTDs from a public health and chemistry perspective. During my first week in college, I learned about the END Initiative and their mission and have been a member since then. I’ve worked in Dr. Pollastri’s lab since Spring 2019 and researched possible NTD drug candidates. Spring 2020, I was a Clinical Pharmacology co-op at Acceleron Pharma. I’m so excited to use my position to learn more about NTDs and what END can do to finally eliminate NTDs!

Andre Armero, Vice President

I’m a fourth year student from St. Petersburg, Florida studying Cell and Molecular Biology with a minor in Spanish. I completed my first co op working at Oncorus in their immunology department, furthering our understanding of cell responses to cancer therapies. Initially, I was unaware of what NTDs even were, it wasn’t until I spoke with my advisor that I learned about the END Initiative and I soon discovered my interest in global health and the fight to end neglected tropical diseases. After joining the club, I’ve found myself invested in doing what I can to help END through fundraising efforts, awareness events, and advocacy campaigns! I have high hopes for the END Initiative and I want to contribute what I can to help put an end to NTDs!

Raiyaan Hosain, Treasurer

I am a fourth year pharmacy student from Hopewell Junction, New York. Last summer, I completed a co-op at White Plains Hospital in Westchester, NY and I hope to do my next co-op here in Boston. I was first introduced to The END Initiative by a friend while I was in my freshman year. I learned a lot about NTD’s and the different ways that END is helping to eliminate them. I was motivated to stay active in this group because of the connections and experiences I had as a general body member my first two years of college. Becoming an E-board member my junior year allowed me to further help and participate in club activities and events. This year, I hope to strive for more awareness and fundraising within the Boston area to help eliminate NTD’s across the entire world.

Vasvi Bhutani, Secretary

I’m a fourth year premed student from Poughkeepsie, New York, majoring in biology with a minor in business administration. This year, I’m working in my second co-op at Acceleron Pharma and finishing my last semester of undergrad in the spring. I joined END Initiative last year when a friend introduced me to the organization’s speaker series. I met so many great people and learned so much over the course of a few weeks about NTDs and the amazing work that is done to treat them around the globe. I’m excited to continue learning, spreading knowledge, and holding events to help stop the spread of NTDs through END Initiative as Secretary this year!

Crystal Le, Public Relations Chair

I am a fourth year from Kennewick, WA majoring in Biochemistry with a minor in Global Health. I did my first co-op at Morphic Therapeutics on the medicinal chemistry team and my second as a PCT at Beth Israel. I learned about the END Initiative through fall fest my freshman year and have learned a lot about neglected tropical diseases and global health since then. END was a great way for me to learn about health from both a science and a global health perspective. I’ve really enjoyed getting to hear from professionals in this field as well as learning about all of the different ways that we can get involved and fight NTDs. I am really excited to see where this year will lead us and see what we can do as a club to stop NTDs!

Lauryn Tsai, External Affairs Chair

I’m a fourth year student from Las Vegas, NV studying biology and minoring in history. I will be graduating in the spring and I plan on going to medical school after I graduate. I will be on co-op in the fall working at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center doing research with The Center for Anesthesia Research Excellence. I was introduced to the END initiative through a friend and since then I have learned so much about NTDs. I loved hearing from all the speakers and learning about how I can do my part to fight NTDs. I’m looking forward to inviting speakers to teach us more about NTDs.