Celebrating Columbia BME Graduate Award Winners

Andre Villarente Perez CC’26 is a Biomedical Engineering student from the Philippines whose commitment to advancing equitable healthcare is rooted in firsthand experience with health-technology disparities in his home country. He founded LionHealth, Columbia’s first biomedical device engineering club, where he led students in developing free medical and assistive technologies for patients in hospitals across NYC. He deepened this passion through research, developing a low-cost HIV diagnostic device for underserved communities in sub-Saharan Africa at the Sia Lab and innovating a non-invasive focused-ultrasound platform for breast cancer treatment in the Konofagou Lab. On-campus, Perez was a patient advocate at Columbia Health’s Gay Health Advocacy Project, providing access to sexual and reproductive healthcare for students, and helped lead JADE, a Columbia winter program to help underrepresented students gain access to tech and startups. He’s also a volunteer simulation technician at Cornell Medicine, and spearheads CAUSE-Philippines, a nonprofit that has helped 100-plus low-income Filipino high-schoolers secure full-ride scholarships to universities abroad.
 

Cheng “Gavin” Gong earned his PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Columbia University, where his research focused on translating engineering innovations into practical healthcare applications. His work spans biomedical imaging, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, and drug development, with a focus on developing scalable technologies to accelerate biomedical discovery. His research has been published in multiple leading scientific journals, including a recent first-author publication in Nature Biotechnology.

Beyond research, Gavin is passionate about education, innovation, and entrepreneurship. As a Teaching Fellow for Columbia’s Biomedical Innovation program, he helped students transform early-stage scientific ideas into potential startups and healthcare solutions. He was recognized as a finalist for Columbia’s Presidential Teaching Award for his contributions to mentorship and student learning. He has also gained experience in venture capital focused on healthcare and AI, and believes engineering education should empower students to translate discoveries into societal impact.

Gavin has been deeply engaged in the Columbia community through numerous leadership roles. In the University Senate, he chaired multiple committees and worked with students, faculty, university leadership, alumni, and trustees on issues related to research policy, student affairs, awards and honors, and university governance. His contributions were recognized with the Campbell Award, one of Columbia’s highest honors for graduating students. He also served on the Columbia Alumni Association Board. As Chair of the PhD Council, he collaborated with deans across Columbia’s graduate and professional schools to strengthen the graduate student experience and promote cross-school engagement.

Beyond his professional pursuits, Gavin is a foodie and certified wine taster who enjoys Brazilian jiu-jitsu, boxing, modern art, and exploring diverse cultures and perspectives.
 

Xiaoxiao Sun is a neuroengineer whose work sits at the intersection of neuroscience, engineering, and artificial intelligence. She develops technologies that combine brain imaging, computational modeling, and neurostimulation to better understand how the brain supports cognition, emotion, and mental health. Driven by a passion for translating scientific discoveries into real-world impact, her research aims to create personalized approaches for improving brain health and quality of life.

She earned her Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Columbia University, where she was selected as Columbia Engineering’s Class Day Student Marshal, was a Hughes Holden Fellow, and received the Young Scientist Award at the 49th Northeastern Biomedical Engineering Conference. She is currently an Assistant Research Professor in Biomedical Engineering at Penn State, where she leads the Laboratory for Synchronized Neuroengineering, Neurostimulation, and Computation (SNNC Lab) and develops precision neurotechnologies for mental health, neurological disorders, and healthy aging. Beginning in Fall 2026, she will serve as the Korb Early Career Professor of Biomedical Engineering.
 

Juan Bautista Rodriguez III

Xiaoxiao Sun is a neuroengineer whose work sits at the intersection of neuroscience, engineering, and artificial intelligence. She develops technologies that combine brain imaging, computational modeling, and neurostimulation to better understand how the brain supports cognition, emotion, and mental health. Driven by a passion for translating scientific discoveries into real-world impact, her research aims to create personalized approaches for improving brain health and quality of life.

She earned her Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Columbia University, where she was selected as Columbia Engineering’s Class Day Student Marshal, was a Hughes Holden Fellow, and received the Young Scientist Award at the 49th Northeastern Biomedical Engineering Conference. She is currently an Assistant Research Professor in Biomedical Engineering at Penn State, where she leads the Laboratory for Synchronized Neuroengineering, Neurostimulation, and Computation (SNNC Lab) and develops precision neurotechnologies for mental health, neurological disorders, and healthy aging. Beginning in Fall 2026, she will serve as the Korb Early Career Professor of Biomedical Engineering.
 

Mia Mao is a Columbia biomedical engineer and the recipient of the Columbia University BME Outstanding Achievement Award, one of the department’s most competitive academic recognitions. Being part of the Cheng Lab, Mia’s research focuses on innovative extracellular vesicle therapy for multiple disease—specifically treatment for cardiovascular diseases and brain disease. Driven by a passion for interdisciplinary problem-solving, Mia has emerged as a rising young scholar exploring cell therapy and biomedical device development. With two years of study and working in CU, she has earned widespread recognition for rigorous academic performance, innovative research exploration, and outstanding comprehensive academic contributions. Graduating with a Master of Science, Mia thrived in Columbia’s collaborative ecosystem, masterfully translating complex technical concepts across fields while maintaining a reputation in the lab. Following graduation, Mia will be taking the next step in their engineering journey by pursuing a Ph.D. at CU BME, where they look forward to developing the next generation of life-changing technologies.

Helen Liang
 

Gitika Gorthi is a senior majoring in biomedical engineering with a minor in economics on the pre-medical track. Originally from Centreville, Virginia, Gitika is an active student leader on campus as President of Columbia’s Society of Women Engineers, Founder/President of Columbia’s Kidney Disease and Screening Awareness Program, Co-Editor-in-Chief of Columbia Undergraduate Medical Review, Medical Safety Officer and Player of Columbia’s Women’s Club Basketball team, and a Peer Consultant at Columbia’s Center for Student Advising. Furthermore, throughout her time at Columbia, Gitika has done intestinal organoid research at the Timothy C. Wang Laboratory in Columbia University Irving Medical Center, even receiving a grant from the American Gastroenterological Association to perform an independent research project. Gitika was also an intern at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai, and 34 Lives during her collegiate summers.
 

Mia Raneri is a Biomedical Engineering student at Columbia University, graduating summa cum laude in 2026 as part of the integrated BS/MS program, and a member of Tau Beta Pi. She spent two years in the Danino Lab, a synthetic biological systems lab focused on the development of living therapeutics. Her research explored engineering bacteria to deliver therapeutic payloads for diseases such as glioblastoma and tuberculosis.

In addition to her research, Mia has been actively involved in the Columbia BME community, serving on the BMES board for three years and as Co-President during her senior year. For her senior design project, she worked on a low-cost, automated respiratory ventilation system intended for emergency settings, aiming to expand access to life-saving care where traditional ventilators are unavailable. Although she’s completed the undergraduate program, she will continue at Columbia to complete her master’s degree, and is interested in pursuing work at the intersection of biomedical innovation and real-world clinical impact.
 

Originally from the California Bay Area, Kavita is a senior majoring in Biomedical Engineering with a minor in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Her research work focuses on immunotherapies for infectious diseases, and she aims to continue in this direction throughout her career to reduce the gap in global health equity. The fellowship will assist Kavita in pursuing a PhD at the University of Cambridge, developing a multi-stage, multi-species vaccine for malaria.
 

Kaylie K. Musard is a Biomedical Engineering student at Columbia University and an aspiring physician. As a first-generation college student, Kaylie has balanced research, clinical work, teaching, Greek life, leadership, and athletics throughout her time at Columbia. She is a co-author on a published paper in ACS Macro Letters, serves as an EMT, works as a teaching assistant for General Chemistry Lab, and has held leadership roles across campus, including as captain of Columbia Women’s Wrestling and in various positions within Greek life.
 

Kailyn Grant (SEAS ‘26) majored in biomedical engineering with a concentration and cell and tissue engineering. Throughout her time at Columbia, she has been dedicated to promoting student well-being through innovation and community engagement. As a peer advocate with Columbia's Gay Health Advocacy Project, she provided reproductive health education to the Columbia community, helping expand access to inclusive, peer-based care. In the Synthetic Biological Systems (Danino) Lab, she contributed to research that leverages engineered microbes to advance cancer therapeutics, which led to a 2025 publication in Nature BME. She also served as VP of external affairs for the Biomedical Engineering Society, building partnerships that expand student access to opportunities in healthcare and industry, and raised student awareness surrounding key public health issues during her time in the Columbia Journal of Global Health. For her work across these roles, Grant was a recipient of Columbia’s Emerging Leader award in 2025, and the Columbia Health and Wellness award in 2026. After graduation, she plans to begin work at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center as a scholar in their Surgical Scholars Program.