The Forum Team

Haely Jardas is the Executive Assistant to the Director for UC Berkeley's Forum for Collaborative Research, where she assists with logistics, operations, and project management. Haely brings over 10 years of executive support and project management experience across higher education, tech, government, and nonprofit sectors. Her expertise includes confidential stakeholder management, complex calendar coordination, cross-departmental system implementations, and event management. She most recently served as Special Assistant to the Dean at American University's College of Arts and Sciences, where she managed logistics, scheduling, and operations for the last three deans. Previously, Haely has worked at Microsoft's Public Sector Services, the D.C. Office for Statehood, the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation, The Capital Center for Psychotherapy and Wellness, and she served as Miss District of Columbia 2015, where she raised over $6,000 for Children's National Hospital and delivered a TEDx talk on misconceptions of mental health. She holds a Master's degree in Strategic Communication from American University and dual Bachelor's degrees in Theatre and Broadcast Journalism, also from American University. 

Jordan Cathey is the Director of Business Operations & Development at UC Berkeley’s Forum for Collaborative Research. In this capacity, he leads a diverse portfolio of strategic initiatives, including membership development, industry partner engagement, fundraising, budget modeling, and human resources. Jordan brings to UC Berkeley over 15 years of experience spanning healthcare operations, higher education, and both public and private financial partnerships. His expertise includes external partnership management, global corporate financial recovery, and business process optimization. He has served the University of California for more than a decade in key operational leadership roles at UCSF Health and UC Health within the Office of the President. There, he directly supported the systemwide Executive Vice President and Chief Transformation Officer through the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Jordan is a University of California LEAN Champion and a graduate of UC’s CORO Leadership Program (Northern California 2022 cohort). He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from San Diego State University.

Margot Yann, Ph.D. is Director of the Data & Analysis Center and Principal Data Scientist at UC Berkeley's Forum for Collaborative Research, where she leads cross-functional initiatives that apply artificial intelligence, machine learning, and advanced analytics to accelerate drug development and improve healthcare research, policy, and outcomes.

A computer scientist by training, Margot holds a Ph.D. in Machine Learning with a specialization in multi-agent learning. She brings over 15 years of experience across academia, government, and industry in the UK, Canada, and the United States. Throughout her career, she has led multidisciplinary teams in Fortune 500 companies and startups, served as Principal Investigator and Co-Principal Investigator on healthcare research initiatives, and developed expertise in artificial intelligence, big data analytics, natural language processing, computer vision, and electronic health record (EHR) systems

Margot has taught at the University of Toronto, served on scientific program committees for IJCAI and AAAI, and was a Steering Committee member of the Clinical Research Data Sharing Alliance (CRDSA). She is also a member of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) and has completed executive training in regulatory science and drug development at Stanford University, UCSF, and UC Berkeley.

As a leader in AI and healthcare, Margot is committed to advancing innovation through data-driven solutions that harness artificial intelligence, machine learning, and biomedical analytics to accelerate scientific discovery, improve healthcare delivery, and shape the future of medicine.

Alice Kang is the Senior Project Manager with the Data and Analysis Center (DAC). She provides project management to the DAC by liaising with the Industry Alliances Office and Forum’s industry partners, supporting the Steering Committee, and providing other research activities and business operations for the DAC and Forum. She is also the Assistant Director/Chief of Staff for the Integrative Cancer Research (ICARE) Group at the School of Public Health. She has more than 15 years of experience in many aspects of epidemiologic research and administration working with domestic and international collaborators. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Public Health, and a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from the University of California, Berkeley. 

Gitanjali Madan is a Senior Clinical SAS Programmer with experience supporting clinical research and healthcare initiatives across a range of therapeutic areas, including oncology, central nervous system disorders, and infectious diseases. She has collaborated with multidisciplinary teams on clinical research projects, contributing to data analysis, study support, and efforts to advance medical knowledge and improve patient outcomes.

Prior to joining the Forum for Collaborative Research, Gitanjali worked in the clinical research industry, supporting studies throughout various stages of development and helping ensure the quality and integrity of clinical data. She enjoys working in collaborative environments that bring together researchers, clinicians, industry, and regulatory stakeholders to address important challenges in healthcare.

Gitanjali holds a Master’s degree in Process Chemistry and is passionate about applying data-driven approaches to support innovative research and evidence-based decision-making.

Alicia Jellinek is the Program Financial Analyst at the Forum for Collaborative Research. Alicia served as purchasing coordinator for six yearsfor the ERSO Department, a central administrative hub for the College of Engineering, College of Environmental Design, Computing, Data Science and Society, and various other large research Institutes and Centers at UC Berkeley. She also worked at UC Berkeley Student Affairs as a Buyer 2 for three years. In this role, Alicia provided full scope of procurement. Alicia has also worked for Chevron as an Administrative Assistant working in ITC procurement, ITNW, procurement operations and as part of the contracting team. Alicia has extensive experience in training, instructing and advising clients on University, Federal and State policies and procedures.

Christopher Berry is the Senior Events and Operations Manager at the Forum for Collaborative Research. Christopher has worked in the events industry for almost 11 years and specifically in the public health arena for the last three years, working for the National Institutes of Health, Center for Scientific Review, and the National Alliance of State and Territorial Aids Directors he has found his niche in the events world. Christopher studied Business Administration at Capella University and is now looking to complete his Certified Meeting Professional Program while diversifying his event knowledge to a global view. Christopher brings a wide array of expertise to this position, from working in the social market to corporate and working in some of the most notable venues in the DC market he is known to streamline the meeting planning process to make it more palatable for colleagues, vendors, and attendees; all while wearing a smile. He looks forward to the future of the Forum for Collaborative Research events program and his future with the University of Berkeley School of Public Health.

Zach is an IT Systems Analyst at the Forum. He has a bachelor's degree in physiology from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a master's degree in computer science from Northeastern University. He has gained knowledge of several programming languages, computer systems, and computer networking, building a diverse portfolio with data structures, algorithms, and computer systems examples. He brings experience in Java, Python, C, Swift, and MIPS as well. Zach interned with Pancreum, a biomedical device start-up, where he developed a front-end app for iOS and Android in order to demonstrate how a new type of insulin pump would work. While at Northeastern, he was a lead TA creating lesson plans and overseeing both student and grade management. Zach enjoys helping people whether it is helping a coworker or working on global health issues that will improve the quality of life for someone.

Shilpa is a Senior Research Associate with the COVID-19 Project, TAVI Forum, and Ocular Diseases Forum. She has a Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology from Rutgers University—New Brunswick and a Master of Public Health degree from the George Washington University. During her graduate education, she interned at the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, where she developed an outreach plan to support the Myeloma Link program in providing financial assistance and healthcare information to the underserved, underinsured Black/African American population in DC with myeloma. She also provided recreational therapy assistance to children with special needs and long-term illnesses at the Children’s Specialized Hospital. Her graduate thesis detailed a health promotion program plan, aiming to increase vaccination rates to combat childhood pneumonia among the rural population of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Shilpa is interested in a career in infectious disease epidemiology, global health, and program development. 

Logan is a Research Associate with the HIV Forum. He completed his Master of Public Health in Epidemiology at Ohio State’s College of Public Health in 2022 and his B.S. in Public Health Sociology there in 2020. As an undergraduate Logan volunteered as an Ohio State wellness ambassador, working with students to find resources related to tobacco and other drug addiction/reliance. In graduate school, Logan interned for Jackson County Health Department in Jackson, Ohio, working on COVID-19 data visualization and mosquito surveillance. Logan is interested in a career in disease modeling and has previously studied PrEP related risk compensation among men who have sex with men.

Edyth is a Research Associate working to support the Liver Forum. She has experience with project management in chronic disease programs, health policy and research projects. Prior to the Forum, Edyth worked in Rhode Island with a nonprofit that supports primary care centers, and healthcare stakeholder engagement. Edyth completed her graduate education at Brown University, earning a master's degree in public health, and a master's degree in public affairs. Her studies focused on global health, disparities in access to care, and health infrastructure policies. Her research topics included infectious diseases, smoking cessation policies, and substance use disorder patient experiences. She completed a bachelor's degree in psychology from Framingham State University. Edyth is passionate about leveraging research and policies to increase access to healthcare, focusing on improving patient outcomes.

Kathy An is an Assistant Research Associate at the Forum for Collaborative Research, where she supports the Liver Forum, PSC Forum, and HBV Forum. She holds a B.A. in Integrative Biology with a minor in Data Science from the University of California, Berkeley. Kathy’s academic background bridges molecular biology and public health, with research spanning the identification of clinical diagnostic indicators for dengue and Zika virus infections and the cellular mechanisms underlying hepatic fibrosis. Both projects are currently being developed into manuscripts for publication. At the Forum, Kathy contributes to multi-stakeholder initiatives that integrate patient perspectives into clinical trial design, promote equitable access to care, and improve health outcomes. She is driven by a deep commitment to ensuring that patients are supported by—not burdened by—the healthcare systems designed to serve them.

Meghan is a Research Associate with the Liver Forum. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Public Health and International Studies from Elon University and a Master of Public Health in Health Policy and Management from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her graduate work focused on healthcare reform, value-based payment structures, and equitable care delivery. Prior to joining the Forum, Meghan worked with the UNC Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention and the Indiana University School of Public Health on multi-state early childhood nutrition research. She also supported projects on climate-related health risks and serious illness care policy in academic and nonprofit settings. Meghan is dedicated to improving healthcare delivery and outcomes through evidence-based policy and strategic innovation.

Deb is a Research Associate with the Data and Analysis Center at the Forum for Collaborative Research. He holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the National Institute of Technology Karnataka, India and an interdisciplinary Masters in chemical engineering and computational science from Purdue University. Deb specializes in machine learning, AI model deployment, and simulation, and his previous experiences include an internship at National Renewable Energy Laboratory and working on ML and simulation projects as a machine learning engineer at Siemens. While at Purdue, he served as a TA for the Data Mine Corporate Partners program, where he worked with students across diverse backgrounds on developing methods for analyzing robustness of a machine learning diagnostic classifier for Alzheimer's disease based on cell-free mRNA. With experience spanning academic, federal, and industry institutions, Deb combines applied ML and numerical simulation expertise with a commitment to leading cross-functional initiatives that translate research into meaningful, sustainable impact.

Seema Desai is a Research Associate at the Forum for Collaborative Research. She is an epidemiologist and biostatistician with expertise in longitudinal cohort methods, advanced statistical modeling, and multi-source data integration. She holds an MPH in Epidemiology and Biostatistics (GPA: 4.0) from the University of California, Berkeley, and an MD, with clinical experience in high-volume care settings in India.

Her research focuses on population-based studies of chronic diseases and clinical outcomes, including work on prenatal pesticide exposures and childhood leukemia survival — research that contributed to broader awareness of environmental risk factors in children — and longitudinal analyses of cardiometabolic risk during the menopausal transition using large multi-site cohorts. She led these research projects through to first-authored publications. Her medical thesis examined epidural steroid-based interventions for chronic low back pain, with findings that informed protocol adoption in the pain department. Her analytical and presentation toolkit includes R, SAS, ArcGIS, and data visualization dashboards, and she has teaching experience in graduate-level epidemiology and biostatistics.

She is particularly interested in translating population-based research into evidence-informed clinical and public health policy.