Who we are

The BE REFS are graduate students trained in conflict management. You can directly contact an individual Ref, contact us all at berefs@mit.edu, or make an appointment using our online scheduling system. Note that REFS Trainees have not completed the conflict management training yet, and are thus not available for confidential conflict coaching.

If you’re interested in joining the team, check out the application.

Kylie Akiyama

kylieaki at mit dot edu
BE PhD student | 3rd year | Belcher and Furst Labs
location Building 56

Kylie studies how microbes can be engineered as tools for bioremediation and sustainable applications. She is from California and completed her undergrad in bioengineering at UC Berkeley before joining MIT BE in 2024. She is happy to talk about anything at all, either to just listen, to help create a plan, or to provide an outside perspective on things!

Andrew Ding

azding at mit dot edu
BE PhD student | 4th year | Sun Lab
location Building 16

Andrew combines computational and experimental approaches to study aging across biological scales, from single cells to whole organisms. Originally from the Chicago suburbs, Andrew joined MIT BE in 2023 after graduating from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with degrees in Bioengineering and Chemistry. As a former student-athlete, Andrew is currently both a squash instructor for MIT DAPER and assistant coach for the varsity squash program. Feel free to meet with Andrew about sources of stress or anything else that may be on your mind!

Anna Lapteva

alapteva at mit dot edu
BE PhD student | 4th year | Anderson and Langer Labs
location Koch Institute

Anna works on strategies to improve nucleic acid delivery for therapeutic and vaccine applications. Originally from Southern California, she joined MIT BE in 2023 after graduating with a bioengineering degree from Caltech. Anna is happy to chat about anything on your mind, from rotation stress to interpersonal conflicts!

Natalie Lee

nklee at mit dot edu
BE PhD student | 2nd year | Lauffenburger Labs
location Building 56

Natalie studies the impact of hormones on the immune system. Originally from New Jersey, she ventured to the west coast to study bioengineering at Caltech before returning to the east to join MIT BE in 2025. Outside the lab, she enjoys trying new restaurants and playing games with friends. She’s happy to listen and chat about anything at all, from navigating rotations to handling difficult decisions!

Simone Wall

swall22 at mit dot edu
BE PhD student | 5th year | Idris Lab and Niles Lab
location Ragon Institute and Building 56

Simone studies how humoral immunity and antibodies interact with the malaria parasite. She is originally from Chicago and studied biomedical engineering at Duke University. In 2022, she joined MIT BE and has enjoyed being part of such a welcoming community. She is happy to talk about anything on your mind, from rotations stress to navigating professional relationships.

Julia Zhong

jjzhong at mit dot edu
BE PhD student | 3rd year | Lauffenburger Lab
location Building 56

Julia studies B cell signaling surrounding antibody-mediated immune protection. She grew up in southern California and received her degree in Bioengineering from UCLA. She is open to talk about anything and everything your heart desires!

Faculty mentor & partners

The BE REFS team has a faculty mentor who advises the Refs and serves as a liaison with departmental faculty and staff.

Forest White

fwhite at mit dot edu
Professor | BE
location 76-353/Koch Institute

Note: our faculty mentor is not specifically trained in conflict management and is not necessarily a confidential resource. If you are a BE student and would like to talk to a faculty member about your issue, we recommend reaching out to the Graduate Program Chair (Forest White), Department Head (Chris Voigt), or Associate Department Head (Scott Manalis).

BE REFS is partnered with the BE Communication Lab and the BE Graduate Board. We are part of the larger REFS program at MIT.

Former BE Refs

  • Scott Olesen (2014-2016)
  • Souparno Ghosh (2015-2016)
  • Deena Rennerfeldt (2016-2017)
  • Georgia Lagoudas (2014-2018)
  • Tu Nguyen (2014-2018)
  • Claire Duvallet (2016-2019)
  • Becca Black (2017-2019)
  • Molly Bird (2017-2019)
  • Lauren Milling (2016-2021)
  • Caroline Werlang (2017-2021)
  • Jacqueline Gerritsen (2017-2021)
  • Ian Andrews (2017-2022)
  • Bianca Lepe (2019-2023)
  • Pablo Cárdenas Ramirez (2019-2023)
  • Krista Pullen (2019-2024)
  • Jeff Hsiao (2022-2024)
  • Anisha Datta (2022-2024)
  • Ellen Kan (2020-2025)
  • Christine Wiggins (2021-2025)
  • Elise Gubbins (2020-2026)
  • Sarah Duquette (2021-2026)
  • Tyler Dao (2022-2026)
  • Jacob Hochfelder (2023-2026)
  • Christine Zheng (2023-2026)