Staff and Research Assistants

Staff

 

Kristi English, M.Ed.

Laboratory Manager; Executive Director, IHRI, Rice University
klp5@rice.edu

Kristi English graduated from the University of Tulsa with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with minors in Education and Exercise Sports Science.  She received her Master of Education in School Counseling with a PPS Credential from the University of Southern California. Immediately following her Master’s degree, she worked as a paralegal for over five years at a criminal defense law firm.  Wanting to shift back into the field of psychology, she joined the BMED lab in the summer of 2015 as a Project Coordinator on the Project Heart R01 grant. Her role has transitioned over the years primarily into lab management and administration. In addition, Kristi oversees the Rice University’s Institute of Health Resilience and Innovation (https://ihri.rice.edu/) daily operations, strategic planning, and resource management, ensuring its long-term sustainability and success.

 

Patricia (Patty) Morales, MBA

Research Program Manager – Project REACH

Patricia (Patty) Morales graduated from The University of Houston with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a minor in Human Development and Family Studies. Following her undergrad degree, she worked with Dr. Christopher Fugundes at MD Anderson Cancer Center as Behavioral Science Research Coordinator in 2013. When Dr. Fagundes moved to Rice University in 2015, Patty joined Dr. Fagundes and began her career as Research Project Coordinator for the BMED Lab. Spearheading his multiple R01 grants, she quickly realized project leadership was her true passion.  She received her Master of Business from Texas Woman’s University in 2021 to continue her education in organizational and business management.  As hard of a decision as it was to leave Rice University in 2021, she pursued her next career move at MD Anderson Cancer Center once again. After almost two years at MDACC, Patty happily rejoined Dr. Fagundes’ lab as Behavioral Medicine Research Program Manager. In her free time, she loves running and indoor cycling, trying new restaurants, cooking, traveling, spending time with friends/family, and enjoying her new role as a dog mom. 

 

Khadija Ziauddin, MBBS, MPH (she/her/hers)

Graduate Research Assistant

Khadija Ziauddin is currently working with the data team while starting the PhD program in Public Health at The University of Texas Health Science Center. Since joining the BMED lab, she has been involved with Project Heart, the Break Free Smoking Study, Project Voces, and Project ACT. Most recently, she worked with Project Care and the Physical Activity for Caregivers Intervention Study as Project Coordinator. Khadija is a foreign medical graduate, and received her Master of Public Health degree (Health Promotion & Health Education) from UTHealth in 2021. She is interested in the underlying mechanisms of chronic disease and the interface between physical health and mental well-being.

 

Ann Wang, B.S. (she/her)

Project Coordinator – Project ACT

Ann Wang is the Project Coordinator for the NIH R01-funded grant Project ACT. She graduated from the University of Houston with a Bachelor of Science in Health and a minor in Medicine and Society. Ann previously worked at UTHealth as a Research Assistant, where she worked closely with patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease and people living with HIV. Her research interests include health disparities, women’s health, and exploring the risks and benefits of medical cannabis, from biological impacts to societal implications on public policy. Ann enjoys traveling, singing karaoke with friends, frequenting her local natural wine bar, and spending time with her husband and their two cats during her free time.

 

 

Arya Tsay-Jones, B.A. (she/her)

Data Manager

Arya graduated from Rice University in 2021 with a B.A. in psychological sciences. She has been working with the BMED Lab since 2018 and has been part of the Project Heart, Expressive Writing During COVID19, and Project CARE teams. She is currently one of BMED lab’s data managers, in charge of tracking and consolidating study data. She is pursuing a master’s degree in counseling psychology and hopes to continue her studies to earn a Ph.D. In her free time, she loves reading, painting, and relaxing with her cat, Sesame!

 

 

 

Brenda Zarazua-Osorio, Ph.D.

Wet Lab Operations Manager

Brenda graduated from the University of Houston with a PhD in Biology, where she studied the mechanisms of cell differentiation and how cells survive under nutrient starvation. After graduating in 2023, she joined the BMED lab as the wet lab manager. In her free time, she enjoys going to the beach with her wife and playing Minecraft.

 

 

 

 

Julia Gorman

Wet Lab Technician

Julia Gorman graduated from the University of Houston with a Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology with a minor in Psychology. During her undergraduate studies, she worked as a genetics research assistant, where she studied transposable elements in Drosophila melanogaster. She joined the BMED Lab in 2025 and currently works as the wet lab technician, helping process participant blood samples for use in the lab’s inflammatory assays. Her research interests include chronic inflammatory bowel diseases and their relationship to neurological disorders like autism spectrum disorder. Outside of the lab, Julia enjoys reading, baking, painting, and hiking.

 

Research Assistants (RAs)

 

Ambereen Haq

Research Assistant – Project ACT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Former Staff Members

  • Andrea Lugo Morales, M.D. – OB/GYN Resident, Baylor College of Medicine
  • Daniela Giordano – M.S. student, University of Michigan
  • Temilade Dada – Medical Student, UT Southwestern
  • Shawn Varghese – Former staff
  • Larissa M. Gonzalez – Physician Assistant (University of Utah PA Program alum)
  • Allison Shields, Ph.D. – Postdoctoral Fellow, Pediatric Neuropsychology, Seattle Children’s Hospital
  • Itee Mahant, M.S. – Former Research Analyst II / Lab Manager
  • Levi Saucedo – Medical Student, UTMB John Sealy School of Medicine
  • Brianna Mikel, B.A. – M.A. Student, Industrial–Organizational Psychology, University of Houston–Clear Lake
  • Russell Ku – Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (Former Project CHROMA Coordinator)
  • Yoseph Lee – Masters in Clinical Psychology, Seoul National University (Former BMED Research Technician I)
  • Subash Jagadeesan – Former staff for Project REACH
  • Maliha Khan, M.A., LPC – Licensed Professional Counselor (Houston area)
  • Jeffrey Ramirez, M.Ed., LPC-Associate – Counselor, West Houston Counseling Center