Lab Members & Alumni
Get to know our team and alumni
Maria Currie, MD, PhD
Dr. Currie is a cardiac surgeon who specializes in the surgical treatment of all heart diseases, including ischemic heart disease, structural heart disease, aortic disease, and arrhythmias. She has a special interest in cardiothoracic transplantation, mechanical circulatory support, and biomedical engineering.
Katy Pines, MPH
Katy is a research analyst with the Currie Lab. Her background is in social sciences and public health and her research interests include health literacy, access and barriers to care, and decision-making processes.
Matthew Leipzig
Matt is a Research Data Analyst in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery with interests in using methods from causal inference and machine learning to design models that shape policy and clinical guidelines.
Reid Dale, PhD
Reid Dale is a Postdoctoral Scholar in Cardiothoracic Surgery. His research interests include causal inference, the efficacy of surgical interventions, social choice theory and the allocation of scarce medical resources, and medical ethics.
Nataliya Bahatyrevich, MD
Nataliya is an Integrated Cardiothoracic Surgery resident at UC Davis with an interest in heart failure, mechanical circulatory support, transplantation, and biomedical devices. She hopes to use large database and clinical research to increase utilization of organ donations and improve outcomes of heart and lung transplantations.
Chad Harper
Chad Harper is a Ph.D. student in the physics department at UC Berkeley.
His research interest includes stochastic systems, complexity, neuromorphic computing, causal inference, and scarce resource allocation.
Grace Patrice
Grace Patrice is a second-year medical student at the Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine. She completed her Bachelor of Arts in Studio Arts at the University of Virginia and a Master of Science in Medical Sciences at Brown University before starting medical school. Grace Patrice's current research interests include heart failure, heart transplantation, LVAD as bridge to heart transplants, global cardiac surgery and biomedical innovation in surgery.
Layan Elfaki
Layan Elfaki is a second-year medical student at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto. Prior to medical school, she completed her Master of Science at UofT in neuropsych. Layan's current research interests include cardiothoracic transplantation, patient outcomes and health equity.
Abigail Greek
Abigail Greek is a second-year medical student attending Dalhousie University School of Medicine. Prior to medical school, she obtained a Bachelor of Science in Nursing at St. Francis Xavier University, and worked as a cardiac registered nurse in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Abigail’s research interests include cardiothoracic transplantation, mechanical circulatory support, critical care, and equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives with a focus on mentorship in education.
Maggie Cheng
Maggie is a rising senior at UC Berkeley studying Nutritional Sciences and Molecular and Cell Biology with a minor in Disability Studies. She has an interest in medical anthropology, especially the intersection of culture, education, and health.
Zachary Zane
Zachary is a senior at Aragon High School. His interests include biotechnology, cardiothoracic surgery, and medical technology. Outside of the lab, he loves playing jazz piano and running.
Emily Chu
Emily is a senior at Interlake High School interested in biology and cardiovascular disease. She also finds global health fascinating and currently helps analyze determinants of Rheumatic Heart Disease in Uganda. In her free time, she enjoys birding and playing volleyball!
Nathan Choi
Nathan is a third-year computer science major at UC Irvine. He seeks opportunities to develop impactful software and hone his skills on emerging technologies. In his free time, Nathan plays the guitar and tinkers with tiny computers.
Lab Alumni
Elizabeth Crowder, PA-C
Elizabeth Elin Crowder is an advanced practice provider at Stanford Healthcare Valleycare who specializes in cardiac surgery and critical care. Elizabeth has more than 12 years of experience specializing in the cardiovascular health field within the Bay Area.
Shane Morong, PA-C
Shane Morong, PA-C is an advanced practice provider at Stanford Healthcare Valleycare who specializes in cardiac surgery and critical care. He specializes as a cardiac surgical first assist along with endoscopic bypass conduit harvesting and working as a critical care provider with a special interest in bedside procedures.
Kelly Hyles
Kelly is a second-year medical student at Stanford interested in examining access and barrier to care, especially for cardiothoracic transplantation. Outside of lab, she loves to dance and travel.
Olivia Okoli
I am from London, England and Lagos, Nigeria. I did my undergrad at Harvard, and I am currently a medical student here at Stanford. My research interests are in socioeconomic and cultural determinants of health, access to healthcare both here in the US and abroad, and in the development of surgical capacity in African countries.
Chinasa Anokwuru
Chinasa is Igbo and a rising second-year medical student at The University of Houston. She is curious about surgery and interested in exploring ways to improve cardiac disease outcomes in women. Chinasa recently served at a rural clinic in Honduras and hopes to work internationally in Africa. She enjoys art and literature outside of school.
Joseph Cho
Joseph is a rising senior at UC Davis majoring in computer science. Outside of the lab, he enjoys playing basketball and listening to music.