Our Team

Galen Wong grew up in Chesterton, Indiana, where he fostered a love for biology in his work with the Indiana Dunes State Park as well as the Lake Michigan Ecological Research Station. He graduated in 2019 from Indiana University-Bloomington with a BS in Microbiology. After graduation, he worked in clinical microbiology at Munster Community Hospital, until the COVID-19 pandemic led him to continue his education with the post-baccalaureate premedical program at Washington University in St. Louis. He joined the Schwartz Lab in April 2021. When he is not in the lab, he likes to spend his time taking photos, trying new recipes, and playing board games.

Connie Yang is a 2nd year MSTP student from Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. She completed her BSc in Biochemistry at McGill University in Montreal in 2021 where she conducted research in cancer biology. Outside of lab and medical school Connie enjoys rock climbing, running, and reading.

Lingxia Zhao grew up in Heibei, China and earned her BA while working in an analytical chemistry lab in Beijing. She has extensive work experience in analytical chemistry and molecular biology research at both Washington University and NewLeaf Symbiotics. With her time outside of the lab, she enjoys gardening, fishing, and going on walks with her family.

Jessica Tung is a 2nd-year MSTP student from Bloomington-Normal, Illinois. She completed her BSc in Biology at the University of Texas at Arlington in 2019, where she conducted research in protein evolution and biochemistry. She later developed a love for microbiology while studying host-pathogen dynamics as an NIH post-bacc research fellow. Outside of lab and medical school, Jessica enjoys working on graphic design projects, cooking and baking, and playing with her two cats.

Isabel Erickson is a first year MMMP student from Bar Harbor, Maine. She completed her BA in Biology at Swarthmore College in 2018, where she conducted research on the hummingbird gut microbiome. Since then, she has conducted research on the skin microbiome and on the role of glucocorticoid signaling in the immune pathogenesis of obesity. In her spare time outside the lab, she enjoys cooking, reading and spending time outdoors.

Silverstein is a first-year MSTP student from Lenexa, Kansas. She completed her BA in Biology with a concentration in microbiology from Washington University in St. Louis in 2022, where she did research on host-microbe interactions in the placenta. Outside of lab, she enjoys running, playing piano and cuddling with her cat.

Anna Cernich is a senior undergraduate student at Truman State University where she studies biology (and music) and aids in research surrounding neurodegenerative diseases. Enjoyment of undergraduate research led her to participate in the Pediatric Student Research Program in the Schwartz lab this summer. A Kansas City native, Anna is excited to explore the many opportunities that WashU and St. Louis have to offer.

Ryan Hagenson is a CSB rotation student from Bellevue, Nebraska. He completed his BS in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in 2015 from Nebraska Wesleyan University, followed by a MS in Biomedical Informatics in 2017 from University of Nebraska at Omaha. After that he worked in lemur genomics for three years including fieldwork in Madagascar and building/admining a cluster computer. This work was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic, to which Ryan responded by stepping into a role analyzing epidemiological data for his local health department where his skills particularly helped manage the massive influx of testing. Following his work in public health, he accepted a Biostatistician position at Yale School of Medicine investigating the effects of aneuploidy in cancer. Now all of Ryan’s background and skills come together for his research at WUSM! Outside of lab, Ryan enjoys brewing kombucha, hamburger tourism (shout-out to the Burger Scholar!) and listening to a new music album every day.