In Training Membership

Chair
Michael Strug, DO, PhD
Stanford University

My clinical and research interests lie in understanding endometrial receptivity and uterine repair mechanisms. Particularly, I am interested in studying diseases associated with altered endometrial function, including endometriosis and recurrent pregnancy loss. In conjunction with the goals of the SRI, I aspire to further bridge interactions between the scientific and clinical communities. As a member of the SRI ITMC, I hope to guide in-training members during their pursuit of establishing themselves as investigators in the field of Reproductive Science.

Co-Chair
Jessica Garcia de Paredes, MD
Rutgers New Jersey Medical School

Serena Gumusoglu, PhD
University of Iowa

I am currently a Postdoctoral Fellow in Obstetrics and Gynecology, mentored by Dr. Mark Santillan at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in beautiful Iowa City, Iowa. I also completed my PhD training at U Iowa, in neuroscience and embryonic neurodevelopment, in 2020. My current research explores how adverse maternal health in pregnancy, as in preeclampsia or gestational anxiety/depression, alters offspring brain development and increases risk for neurodevelopmental disorders in children. I am thrilled to join the SRI In-Training Committee, and am committed to promoting DEIB, trainee programming and support, and scientific collaboration in this role.

Begum Aydogan Mathyk, MD
University of South Florida

I am currently completing my ObGyn residency training at USF Morsani College of Medicine GME, Brandon Regional Hospital, FL. I have been actively involved in a multitude of projects, including endometrial receptivity, ovarian reserve, PCOS, metabolism, and aerospace medicine, while working with mentors at the University of North Carolina and Tufts Medical Center. As a member of GeneLab’s Multi-Omics Analysis Working Group, my current research focus is on insulin and estrogen signaling during spaceflight in females. I am also an active member of SRI, ASRM, and Women in Aerospace Medicine. I am excited to be a part of ITMC and am looking forward to both national and international collaborations while sharing my passion for interdisciplinary research and innovations.

Brenda F. Narice, MSc, PhD
Sheffield NHS Teaching Hospitals, United Kingdom

I am a National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Academic Clinical Lecturer and registrar in Obstetrics and Gynaecology currently working at the University of Sheffield, UK. After completing a MSc in Clinical Research in 2017, I was awarded a PhD in Obstetrics in 2020 for exploring non-invasive spectroscopic techniques for prediction of preterm birth. My research interests lie on the elucidation of cost-effective cervical remodelling and chorioamnionitis biomarkers which can be used in low-resource settings. I am very excited to join the SRI In Training Member Committee to support fellow members all around the world in pushing the boundaries of our current scientific understanding and improving the care we provide to our communities well in alignment with the SRI mission. In my spare time, I am an active medical translator at the Chartered Institute of Linguists researching language barriers to healthcare and science in diverse and less favoured communities.

Virginia Chu Cheung, PhD
University of California, San Diego

I am currently a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Pathology at the University of California, San Diego. I received my PhD from Northwestern University with Dr. John A. Kessler as my thesis advisor. For my thesis, I used pluripotent stem cells and 3-dimensional organoid models to student stromal-epithelial signaling in the human endometrium. Currently, I am working with Dr. Mana M. Parast to understand the role of decidual natural killer (dNK) cells in pregnancy complications such as preterm birth using induced pluripotent stem cells. As an in-training member, I really value the opportunities for basic and clinical science to interface and career development provided by SRI so I am delighted to be able to support these programs as a part of the SRI In-Training Committee.

Andrea Joseph
University of Pennsylvania

Dr. Andrea Joseph, PhD is a postdoctoral researcher at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in the Women's Biomedical Research Institute. She received her Bachelor of Science in chemical and biomolecular engineering from Johns Hopkins University in 2016, and a doctoral degree in chemical engineering from the University of Washington in 2021. Under the mentorship of Michal Elovitz, M.D., she studies the etiology of preterm birth, and as a preterm survivor herself, Joseph's long-term career goal is to establish an academic lab to investigate nanotechnology for the prevention of preterm birth and treatment of its downstream effects. She is committed to advocacy for women and early career scientists and currently serves as the Chair of the Postdoctoral Council of the National Postdoc Association and Secretary/ Treasurer for the Controlled Release Society's Women in Science group, in addition to her work with the Society for Reproductive Investigation.

Germán Alberto Arenas Menéndez
Universidad de O'Higgins, Chile

Germán earned his bachelor's degree in Biology from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, and then continued his PhD in Biological Sciences, with a focus on Physiology. His interests are concentrated in cardiovascular physiology, specifically mechanical interaction blood-artery flow. Germán was also a recipient of the 2023-2024 SRI International Training Grant, which led him to the University of Colorado to train in Dr. Ramón A. Lorca's lab. Here, Germán was trained in electrophysiology techniques, recorded potassium currents in vascular smooth muscle cells from human and mouse blood vessels, and helped build an electrophysiology rig.