Meet the Writers

Thomas Romanchek
Writer
Thomas is a junior dou-
ble majoring in Bioengi-
neering and Psychology 
and does research with 
the Cellular Neuroscience 
Imaging Lab on campus. 
He is an editor for IJOIS 
and an active member 
of the Beckman Journal 

Club, two experiences which inspired him to start this 
journal. He is very excited to introduce “Brain Mat-
ters” to the UIUC community and hopes to broaden 
undergraduate interest in neuroscience and other brain 
topics.

Julia Gainski
writer
Julia Gainski is a 
sophomore majoring 
in Integrative Biology 
with a minor in Ger-
man. During the
school year, she 
works as a personal 
assistant for students 
with physical disabil-
ities. She is a part 

of the Illini Club Tennis team and the secretary and a 
mentor of the Pre-Physician Assistant Club. She also 
works as a research assistant in the Carla Cáceres Lab 
on campus. She is very excited to have her first article 
published in Brain Matters!

Chloe Kim
Writer
Chloe (Chaeyeon) Kim graduated U of I in 2019 with 
B.S. in chemical engineering and minor in psychology. 
She worked as an undergraduate researcher in Kong 
Lab from 2016 to 2018 to develop her interest in clini-
cal neuroscience research. She looks forward to sharing 
interesting topics in the field of neuroscience through 
Brain Matters.

Briana Sobecks
Writer
Major: Chemical Engineering
Activities: American Chemical 
Society, Newman Center Choir, 
Campus Honors Student 
Council

13 Brain Matters Volume 2