External Relations and Research Policy Committee

Will Vanti is the Science and Engineering Librarian of Columbia University Libraries.  He is responsible for library collections in the areas of engineering, chemistry, mathematics, and statistics, and provides academic support to students, faculty, and staff researching these subjects as well as more general science support to Columbia's undergraduate and graduate students.  Will joined Columbia in January 2005 as a research assistant in the Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, and transitioned to the Libraries in December 2014.  On the University Senate, Will is a member of the External Relations and Research Policy committee.

Sen. Tiffany Bryant has held a number of roles in government, including working for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and the State of New York.  She currently works as a political consultant. She is the Chair of Columbia College Women and on the board of the Columbia Alumni Association. Previously Sen. Bryant served as the Vice President of Columbia's Black Alumni Council. She received her Bachelor's degree in Political Science from Columbia College in 2008.

Sen. Simon Ogundare is an MD-PhD student at Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and a graduate of Columbia College (’24), where he studied neuroscience while participating in the John Jay and Laidlaw Scholars’ Programs. Born in New York and raised between Nigeria and the United Kingdom, he brings a transnational perspective to questions of health, identity, and structural inequality. 

Simon's research background explores the neuroscience of comorbidity, examining how chronic pain and depression co-occur, and how their neural representations become entangled in the brain. Elected to the University Senate in 2025, Simon is committed to transparency, structural accountability, and expanding student participation in university governance. His platform emphasizes cross-campus coalition-building and ensuring that the University Senate reflects the needs of students across CUIMC, especially during a time of active review of the University Senate’s structure and scope. 

Simon’s approach to advocacy is shaped by his international background, his work as a science communicator, and his commitment to building a community that welcomes and celebrates – rather than dilutes – diverse voices. He believes healing, education, and institutional change are fundamentally communal processes: each requiring trust, shared power, and sustained dialogue. On the University Senate, Simon aims to strengthen avenues of communication through existing and novel channels, strengthen the links between Morningside and CUIMC, and push Columbia toward a more inclusive, responsive, and transparent future. He sees the University Senate not just as a governance body, but as a platform for collective action: a space to organize across schools, challenge institutional inertia, and push for a Columbia that truly reflects the values, needs, and voices of its community.

Sen. Rohan Munoth is a computational biologist working at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center (HICCC). He develops and optimizes data pipelines to analyze large biological datasets like whole-genome and single-cell sequencing. Much of his work involves using cloud computing and high-performance computing (HPC) to process data efficiently and at the scale researchers require.
He earned his Master’s in Quantitative Biology and Bioinformatics from Carnegie Mellon University, where he focused on creating scalable workflows and studying molecular processes such as ribosome pausing during protein synthesis. Combining biology and programming, Rohan enjoys solving research problems by writing clean, reproducible code and improving data analysis workflows.
He’s passionate about making complex biological data easier to work with and believes that good computational solutions can help speed up scientific discovery. Whether it’s setting up cloud infrastructure or optimizing pipelines, Rohan focuses on practical approaches that help researchers get meaningful results faster.

Sen. Rebecca Schnall is a highly regarded scholar, interdisciplinary team scientist and a demonstrated mentor. She is a nurse scientist and behavioral interventionist who has committed to mentoring the next generation of nurse scientists and clinician scholars. As a member of the CUIMC community for over 20 years, she brings a unique and broad perspective shaped by her experience as an alumnus, former research coordinator, Associate research scientist and as a tenured faculty member since 2016. She serves as an educator mentor and researcher with continuous federal support totaling over 40 million dollars. Nationally, she serves on pivotal scientific leadership roles at NIH, CDC and AHRQ. At Columbia, she has served on multiple key committees including the CUIMC faculty affairs and the Institutional Review Board. Across all these roles, she has remained grounded in Columbia's mission: to generate and disseminate knowledge, and to foster an inclusive and dynamic learning environment.

Naomi Schrag is the Vice President for Research Compliance, Training, and Policy in the Office of the Executive Vice President for Research, and the University's Research Integrity Officer (RIO). She oversees work on issues such as research misconduct, conflict-of-interest and international research compliance, and collaborates closely with other offices across the University to develop integrated approaches to compliance and training.

Before joining Columbia in January 2006, Ms. Schrag practiced law for nine years, focusing on regulatory compliance and litigation involving biomedical research, with clients including pharmaceutical companies and not-for-profit organizations. Ms. Schrag also clerked in the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Ms. Schrag graduated from New York University School of Law in 1995. Before entering law school, she worked on an oral history of the Holocaust for the Museum of Jewish Heritage. 

Sen. Marco Tedesco is a Lamont Research Professor at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University and Adjunct Scientist at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS). He is also affiliated with the Data Science Institute and is Affiliated professor at Sant’Anna School of Economics in Pisa, Italy. Dr. Tedesco has been the Resident Scientist at the Columbia Business School, since 2021. On the University Senate, He is a fellow of the Explorers Club and a member of the New York City Panel on Climate Change, Equity Working Group. Dr. Tedesco serves on the Research Officers Committee and on the External Relations and Research Policy Committee. 

Dr. Tedesco received his Laurea degree and Ph.D. from the University of Naples and the Italian National Research Council. He then spent five years as a postdoctoral and research scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. He moved to CCNY in 2008 as an Assistant Professor, where he was promoted to Associate Professor in 2012. During his time at CCNY, he founded and directed the Cryosphere Processes Laboratory and was a rotating program manager at the National Science Foundation from 2013 to 2015. In 2016, he joined Columbia University. 

Dr. Tedesco’s research focuses on the dynamics of seasonal snowpack, ice sheet surface properties, high latitude fieldwork, dendrochronology, global climate change, its implications on the economy and real estate and climate justice. Dr. Tedesco led more than ten expeditions to Greenland and to Antarctica, beside fieldwork in  many other places, including Iceland, the United States, Canada, the Italian Alps. He is the editor of “Remote Sensing of the Cryosphere,” published by Wiley in 2015, and “The Hidden Lid of Ice.,” First published in 2018, it has been translated into seven languages and was selected by The Washington Post and by National Geographic Traveler as one of the best 10 books of the year. 

Sen. Maeghan Sill (she/her/hers) is a Ph.D. student in the Education Leadership program at Teachers College, Columbia University. Driven by a deep commitment to educational equity, her passion for using data to drive meaningful change was forged by a teaching career spanning more than a decade in diverse school settings in the U.S. and overseas. While completing her M.S. in Learning Analytics, also from Teachers College, she served their Student Senate as a departmental senator and an active student advocate. She co-authored a bill that led to the rollout of free menstrual products in campus bathrooms and served on the Campus Safety Advisory Committee. She also represented student interests at the Student Library Advisory Council and worked to initiate a smaller meal plan option. Her research now lies at the intersection of education leadership and data science, where she explores how factors like school climate impact teacher retention and workforce diversity. As a University Senator, she is committed to serving as a bridge between students and university leadership, fostering greater equity, transparency, and community.

Loftin Flowers is the vice president for government relations and leads the University’s engagement and advocacy efforts with federal, state, and city government. Loftin holds a BA in History from Haverford College and an MPA from Columbia University. Prior to his role at Columbia, Loftin worked in Washington, DC at the national offices of the Children's Defense Fund, the Democratic National Committee, and John Kerry’s 2004 campaign for president.

Sen. John Santelli, MD, MPH is a Professor of Population and Family Health and Pediatrics at Columbia. He joined Columbia University in 2004 after 18 years in public health research in Baltimore and at the U.S. CDC. Santelli trained in Adolescent Medicine and Public Health in Baltimore. He has conducted policy-related research on adolescent health including HIV/STD risk behaviors, teen fertility, socioeconomic determinants, prevention programs, and research ethics. He has been a national leader in ensuring that adolescents have access to medically accurate, comprehensive sexuality education, and are appropriately and ethically included in health research. Since 2009, Santelli has been the principal investigator on five NIH-funded projects at the Rakai Health Sciences Program on HIV risk among youth including empirical research bioethics and social determinants of health. He is a past President of the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine and was a member of the planning committee for the 2016 Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing.

Sen. Jeanine D’Armiento, M.D., Ph.D., is Professor of Medicine in Anesthesiology, Director of the Center for Molecular Pulmonary Disease in Anesthesiology and Physiology and Cellular Biophysics, and Director of the Center for Lymphangiomyomatosis (LAM) and Rare Lung Disease. On the University Senate, Dr. D’Armiento chairs the Executive Committee and serves on a number of other committees. In 2008, Dr. D’Armiento completed a two-year appointment as Associate Dean for Gender Equity and Faculty Development, where she concentrated on professional development programs for women faculty. Dr. D’Armiento served as Executive Director of the Summer Program for Under-Represented Students at CUIMC for close to two decades. She serves on the Executive Board of the Alpha-1 Foundation, which she has chaired. Dr. D’Armiento also serves as a consultant to the Director of the Office of Rare Disease at the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. 

Sen. Howard J. Worman, M.D., Professor of Medicine and Pathology and Cell Biology in the College of Physicians and Surgeons, has been at Columbia since 1994, researching cell biology and liver diseases, teaching medical and graduate students, and caring for patients at the medical center. On the University Senate, Dr. Worman co-chairs the Committee on External Relations and Research Policy and serves on the Budget Committee and the Faculty Affairs, Academic Freedom and Tenure Committee.

Sen. Henning Schulzrinne is the Julian Clarence Levi Professor of Mathematical Methods and Computer Science and Professor of Electrical Engineering. On the University Senate, he serves on the Executive Committee and on the External Relations and Research Policy and Structure and Operations committees.

Professor Schulzrinne received his Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, Massachusetts. He served as Chair of the Department of Computer Science from 2004 to 2009 and as Engineering Fellow, Technical Advisor, and Chief Technology Officer of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from 2010 until 2017.

Professor Schulzrinne has co-developed a number of protocol standards that are now used by almost all Internet telephony and multimedia applications, including RTP, RTSP and SIP. He is a Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and the Institution of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

Sen. Elizabeth Adeoye (she/her) is a Columbia College student majoring in political science, with a minor in sociology and a special concentration in business management. She previously served on the Columbia College Student Council as Pre-professional Representative and currently sits on the boards of several cultural and pre-professional organizations, including the African Students Association. She is also a Resident Adviser, supporting undergraduate students throughout their time in University housing. Coming from a Nigerian-American background, Elizabeth advocates for increased support and resources for FLI students, international students, and students of color. She also dances on two teams, Raw Elementz and the Columbia University Dance Team, remaining active in Columbia’s cultural life.
 

As a University Senator, Elizabeth plans to push for clearer communication between students and administration, more equitable resource distribution, and stronger representation for underrepresented communities in university policy. She brings to the role a strong track record of leadership, cross-campus collaboration, and a deep investment in equity and inclusion at Columbia.

Sen. Amir Ziv is James L. Dohr Professor of Professional Practice of Accounting in the Accounting Division of Columbia Business School. Amir Ziv first joined Columbia Business School in 1994. In 2006 he became Vice Dean of the Business School, where, among other responsibilities, he oversaw the MBA and Executive MBA programs (Admission, Students Affairs, Career Management and the Samberg Institute for Teaching Excellence). In 2013 he was appointed Professor of Professional Practice. His current responsibilities include serving as faculty director of the Mendelson Center for Undergraduate Business and of the Master of Science in Accounting and Fundamental Analysis (MSAFA) Program. 

Over the years, Amir has taught in degree and executive education programs and is a recipient of multiple (19 in total) teaching awards, including the Columbia Business School’s Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence. He has also developed and participated in management training and executive development programs at major corporations. Over his career he also served on the faculties of Yale School of Management, and Reichman University, where he founded and headed the executive education division.

Professor Ziv served for over 10 years on the editorial board of the Review of Accounting Studies. His research deals with the effects of accounting regimes and alternatives on economic environments. Specifically, he has studied the role of accounting information in organizational design, financial disclosure, performance evaluation, auditing, and information transmission among strategic players. Dr. Ziv received his Ph.D. from Stanford University, 1990; his M.Sc. from the University of Haifa and Technion, 1986; and his B.A. from the University of Haifa, 1984. He also passed the CPA Examinations, 1985.

Biography:

Professor Aliou Cissé Niang earned his B.A. in Religious Studies with a minor in history (Cum Laude) at Williams Baptist College in 1994 in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas.  He received a M.A. Th.  (Graduate Dean’s Award of Excellency) at Logsdon School of Theology (HSU) in 1997 in Abilene, TX, and  a Ph.D.  in Biblical Interpretation–New Testament (with Distinction) at Brite Divinity School (TCU) in Fort Worth, TX in  2007.  While at Brite Divinity School, he served as Graduate Assistant and Lecturer in New Testament Survey classes  and co-taught a course on Postcolonial Biblical Interpretation with Dr. Leo G. Perdue.  He was also instructor at the Department of Religion at TCU where he taught Understanding Religion: The Bible from 2002-2003 and was a guest lecturer on the “African and the African Diaspora: History, Religion, and Culture” (RELI – 20503) (Honors).  He was engaged in inter-religious dialogue on “Christian Perspectives on the Jesus of the Gospels” with Dr. Yushau Sodiq (Professor at the Department of Religion–TCU) at the Moslem academy in  Arlington, TX. Before joining Union in August 2011, he served as assistant and associate professor of New Testament at Memphis Theological Seminary in Memphis, TN, where he was named The Rev. Dr. James L. Netters Associate Professor of New Testament (2008) and received The Paul R. Brown Distinguished Teaching Award in 2010.  While in Memphis, he served as Biblical Theologian in Residence at the First Baptist Church of Memphis, TN, and spoke at many churches and the Church Health Center providing workshops on Understanding the Bible and seminars on various biblical topics.  He continues to speak in local churches and lectures in both academic and ecumenical settings.

He is a member of the Commission on Baptist-Muslim Relations of the Baptist World Alliance and a member of the Editorial Board of the International Voices in Biblical Studies (IVBS)–Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) Peer-reviewed series.

Professor Niang’s first book (Faith and Freedom in Galatia and Senegal: The Apostle Paul, Colonists and Sending Gods, Brill, 2009) compares the colonial objectification of his people by French colonists to the Graeco-Roman Colonial objectifications of the ancient Celts/Gauls/Galatians, and explores Paul’s role  in bringing about a different portrayal.  He is working on his third book on Illness and Health.  His teaching and research explore themes and issues in Biblical and Postcolonial Theologies.  Niang believes it takes a village to create a leader and turns his classroom into a micro-village–a learning community where brothers, sisters, and non-binary friends learn to appreciate their diverse and yet unified experiences of God.  His teaching pedagogy reflects his exercise of the wisdom of his West African Diola elders as he seeks to create and foster a learning environment where students would freely yet responsibly engage in the ongoing critical quest for healthy ways to shape the social and spiritual dimensions of their journeys of faith.  He is passionate about translating academic work to the Church.

Education

BA., Williams Baptist College, 1995
M.A., Hardin-Simmons University, 1997
Ph.D. Texas Christian University, 2003

Sen. Adana A. M. Llanos, PhD, MPH, is a geneticist, cancer and molecular epidemiologist, and health equity scholar whose research explores how social and contextual factors influence biology and contribute to disparities in cancer outcomes. She is a tenured Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health and Co-Leader of the Cancer Population Science Program at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Llanos’ work bridges molecular biology and public health to better understand the complex drivers of unequal distribution of cancer outcomes across populations, particularly in breast and cervical cancer. She has conducted pioneering research on the biological effects of obesity-related hormones (namely, the adipokines) in breast cancer, and her studies on chronic stress, neighborhood deprivation, and racial segregation have deepened understanding of the systemic roots of health disparities. Most recently, Dr. Llanos has expanded her research to include environmental exposures, such as the health impacts associated with chemical exposure from the use of personal care products. Beyond her scientific work, she is deeply committed to mentorship, teaching, and community engagement. She actively partners with non-profit organizations to promote health advocacy, education, and cancer survivorship. Through her research, leadership, and service, Dr. Llanos is devoted to creating a future where everyone thrives across the cancer care continuum.