Chair of the Board

Dr. Tesar is a Cleveland native and is deeply committed to the education of Cleveland youth. Paul is The Dr. Donald and Ruth Weber Goodman Professor of Innovative Therapeutics at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

Vice Chair of the Board

Ms. Perhay previously worked as a science teacher at Lincoln-West School of Science and Health and is passionate about the public school system. She worked to launch Rise Up’s immersive ‘life as a scientist’ program within CMSD.

Member of the Board

Ms. Hughes is a dedicated educator with nearly two decades of experience. She has served as both a teacher and a school leader, pioneering innovative school design and implementing long-term strategies to enhance outcomes for students. Currently, she serves Cleveland Clinic Children’s as a Program Manager, where she designs and implements an educational advocacy program for the Neurodevelopmental Support Program. 

Board Treasurer

Ms. McFadden brings a wealth of financial expertise and passion for making a difference to our board. Mary has a strong foundation in financial management and a proven track record at both large and small businesses in diverse industries. She is committed to lifelong learning and will ensure that our nonprofit remains at the forefront of financial best practices. She is currently the Controller for Hickory Harvest Foods in Akron, OH.

Member of the Board

Ms. Jones-Thomas is an Assistant Vice President of Accounting for PK Management in Richmond Heights, Ohio. Teresita has over 20 years of accounting experience, specifically in multi-family real estate, HUD reporting, non-profit financials and compliance. She has a passion for using financial literacy and resources to bridge the gap for minority and disabled communities.

Scientific Director

Dr. Scavuzzo is a co-founder of Rise Up and fills the role of Director of Science. Marissa is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Hanna H. Gray Fellow at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

Board Secretary

Mr. Burger is an English educator at Akron Public Schools where he was a graduate of North High School. He was a former Upward Bound student and has since served as a mentor in the Upward Bound program.

Executive Director

Mr. Scavuzzo is a co-founder of Rise Up: Northeast Ohio and an advocate for the public school system. He leads all operations at Rise Up, working with the Board to further its mission of bringing equity to science education and executing its strategic plan.

Rowan is a postdoc at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute who studies cancer from an evolutionary and data-driven perspective. This involves creating models and simulations of cancer to see how cells interact with each other in ways that might make them more resistant to treatments.

Juan is a masters in science student at CWRU and Clinical Lab Assist. in the Radiology Core of the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. He works with cancer cell lines and mouse models to find drugs that make solid tumors more sensitive to radiation therapy.

Dr. Severson is an Associate Professor of Biology and an Associate Chair at Cleveland State University. Aaron is a first generation college student majoring in Zoology and Molecular Biology at UW Madison, supported in part by Pell Grants. He earned a PhD in Biology from the University of Oregon and conducted postdoctoral research as a Helen Hay Whitney Foundation fellow at UC Berkeley/HHMI. His research focuses on reproductive health, using the microscopic roundworm C. elegans as a model system.

Jesse is a student in the MD-PhD program at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. He uses stem cell technology to study aging and is currently developing strategies to rejuvenate cellular functions in the brain.

Maxi is a postdoctoral researcher at the Cleveland Clinic. His research integrates mathematical modeling and laboratory experiments to understand how the ecosystem in and around a tumor changes during treatment, and how we can change drug scheduling to make therapy more effective.

Farrah is a PhD candidate at CWRU studying how small molecule inhibitors of an enzyme called 15-PGDH function to promote tissue repair in an inflammatory bowel disease called ulcerative colitis. In her free time she enjoys figure skating, collecting plants, and playing with her dog.

Tae Hun Kim is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry at Case Western Reserve University. His research is centered on biochemistry and structural biology, with a particular emphasis on epigenetics and the mechanisms of DNA damage repair.

Kate is an MD-PhD student at CWRU studying how cells in the “second brain,” the nervous system in your gut, influence cancer growth.

Laolu is a PhD student at Case Western Reserve University studying the modulation of the immune system via nanotechnology for cancer therapies. In his free time, he enjoys collecting vinyl records and experimenting with new recipes.

Kayla is an MD-PhD student at Case Western Reserve University studying the effects of CAR-T therapy in models of autoimmune disease and cancer.

Jeyashri is an undergraduate student at Case Western Reserve University studying neuroscience and working as a research assistant in a research lab.

Robert is a postdoctoral scholar at CWRU in infectious diseases studying the immune response to tuberculosis. Specifically, he looks at immune cells responding to tuberculosis using computational approaches to discover how tuberculosis evades the immune system.

Dr. Scavuzzo is a co-founder of Rise Up and fills the role of Director of Science. Marissa is an Assistant Professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

David is a MD/PhD student at Case Western Reserve University. David graduated from CWRU in 2020 with a bachelors degree in chemistry.

Mangesh is a researcher at Cleveland Clinic specializing in microbiome science and its implications on metabolic diseases. His studies seek to understand the connections between the gut-kidney axis, cardiovascular events, and the urinary microbiome.

Stephen is a student in the MD-PhD program at CWRU. He’s interested in the intersection of cancer, immunology, and genetics. He believes in the power of scientific research to improve health, devoted mentorship, and the inspiration that comes from seeing real science at a young age.

Eric is a postdoctoral fellow in the Pharmacology Department at Case Western Reserve University. He studies how human papillomavirus causes cancer.

Kevin is an MD student at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine. He is currently studying the mechanisms behind why certain mouse strains have protection against oxygen-induced retinopathy, with the hope of identifying novel therapeutic targets that can help treat infants suffering from retinopathy of prematurity (ROP).

A dedicated educator with a master's degree in Mechanical Design Engineering, Pooja has spent nearly five years as an Assistant Professor. Her deep expertise is matched by a fervent passion for teaching in the Mechanical Engineering field.

Hallie is a licensed clinical psychologist and faculty researcher at the Cleveland Clinic. Her research focuses on intervention development, adaptation, and testing for individuals with co-occurring chronic pain and psychiatric illness.

Aniruddha is a PhD Candidate in the department of Biomedical Engineering at Case Western Reserve University.

Zaida moved to Cleveland from Haiti in 2021 to start a PhD in molecular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute.

Meera is an integrated graduate student at Case Western Reserve University concurrently pursuing her bachelor's degree in biology along with her MPH, while on the pre-dental track.

Eshan King is an MD-PhD student at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. He uses computational and experimental techniques to understand the evolution of drug resistance in cancer and infectious disease.

Lenka is a postdoctoral fellow in the Pathology department at CWRU. She studies neuronal cell systems to investigate molecular mechanisms of tau protein pathology in Alzheimer’s disease. She enjoys working in a lab, applying new methods to better understand cellular processes, and working together with students.

Sreetama is a post-doctoral scholar at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute. She is a neuroscientist, with a passion for behavioral neuroscience focusing on anxiety, depression and autism. Sreetama enjoys dancing and spending her spare time reading fantasy novels.

Akash is a PhD student at Case Western Reserve University focusing on herpesvirus research in the Molecular Virology department. Akash enjoys long bike rides, exploring new hiking trails, and kayaking on scenic excursions. Also, he loves to play new Mario and Pokemon video games!

Lane is a PhD student at Case Western Reserve University focusing on STING and coronavirus research in bats in the Molecular Virology department. Lane enjoys hiking, kayaking, and playing video games.

Claire is an MD-PhD student at Case Western Reserve University. Her research interests are focused on the development of novel small-molecule and immunotherapeutic approaches to treat blood cancers.

Drew is the Thomas F. Peterson, Jr. Professor of Novel Therapeutics at CWRU. His lab works at the interface of chemistry and biology to kickstart new drug discovery efforts, and work from his lab led him to co-found Convelo Therapeutics, a Cleveland-based biotech startup focused on regenerative medicine approaches for multiple sclerosis patients.

Dr. Clayton is a postdoctoral fellow at Case Western Reserve University. His work identifies and develops new therapeutics that aim to fix broken glial cells in the brain.

Will is an MD-PhD student that works on organ-on-a-chip engineering, decentralized science, and blockchain technology. He was born in Reno, NV and has worked in labs in Germany, Washington DC, and now Cleveland.

Maia is a PhD student in Biomedical Engineering at CWRU in a lab that studies adaptive neurobiology by looking at the nervous systems of sea slugs. During her undergrad, her research involved studying how the cells lining the insides of blood vessels respond to the mechanical force of blood flow. She loves animals, rock climbing, and exploring the outdoors.

Dr. Youjoung Kim is an engineer at Case Western Reserve University working on human vagus nerve mapping and characterization. She received her PhD from CWRU, focusing on microfabrication of neural devices in her thesis.

Lucie is currently a clinical research coordinator at Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute. Having received her PhD in 2023 from Institut Gustave Roussy - Paris, Lucie’s research resulted in the discovery of a new subtype of incurable paediatric glioma. Her other passions include education, public service, and gastronomy. Originally from Paris, France, she’s thrilled to call Cleveland her new home.

Vipin is a postdoctoral fellow at the Cleveland Clinic studying cancer biology.

Hieu, a postdoctoral researcher at the Lerner Research Institute, is dedicated to advancing cancer treatment by exploring innovative approaches to reinvigorate T cell function. His research focuses on uncovering novel immune checkpoints that dampen T cell responses within tumors. In addition to his research, he finds fulfillment in mentoring junior researchers and studying classical music.

Harshita Kumar is a postback researcher at Learner Research Institute. She studies microRNA interactions in Glioblastoma by integrating computational and wet lab techniques.

Lauren has a master's in chemistry and is now working on a PhD at Case Western in biomedical engineering. The goal of her PhD project is to enable cardiac gene therapy by improving the delivery of gene therapies to the heart.

Zhi is a postdoctoral researcher at the Cleveland Clinic. Zhi did his PhD in Dublin, Ireland and focused on melanoma study. Except neuroscience and cancer, Zhi also has experience in biomedical instrument, POCT products, and CAR-T therapy related industries.

Erin is an MD-PhD student at CWRU studying how chemical and mechanical stressors like household products and traumatic brain injuries can alter how cells in the brain called oligodendrocytes develop and function.

Isabella Torrez is a current Masters of Medical Physiology student at Case Western Reserve University. Isabella is originally from Arizona where she attended the University of Arizona and got a Bachelors Degree in Global Health.

Beth is a postbaccalaureate student at Case Western Reserve University and a research technician at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute. She works in a musculoskeletal oncology laboratory conducting translational sarcoma research. In her free time, Beth can be found listening to music or attending a comedy show.

Popular is a Postdoctoral Researcher at CWRU, studying the mechanisms of membrane proteins that regulate the movement of water, ions, and gases across cell membranes, essential for maintaining cellular balance and offering insights into acid-base homeostasis, kidney diseases, and therapies.

Leen is an international medical Graduate from Syria, currently doing a postdoctoral fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic where we study the genetic mechanisms that place patients at high risk for melanoma development.

Ying is a student in the MD-PhD program at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. He's studying the fascinating intersection of glia and immunology to ultimately find new ways to treat neuroinflammatory diseases in the central nervous system. 

Andy is an MD-PhD student at Case Western Reserve University using genetic and molecular techniques to investigate rare genetic disorders and potential therapeutics. 

Iris Peng is an MD-PhD student at Case Western Reserve University studying the role of glia in protein aggregation in Alzheimer's Disease and other neurodegenerative disorders.

Marnie Williams is a PhD student in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at Case Western Reserve University. Her work involves studying disease-causing mutations of the GABAA receptor.

Kayleigh is an undergraduate student at Case Western Reserve University studying biomedical engineering. As a research assistant, she investigates rare, genetically-inherited neurodegenerative disorders.

Braison moved from Zambia to the US to explore educational opportunities. He has spent the last few years investigating molecular mechanisms and exploring novel therapies for neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders. He has worked extensively in both industry and academia.