2022-2023 Staff Directory

editor-in-chief

Biona Hui

Biona Hui (she/her) is a 3rd-year undergraduate History major minoring in French at UCLA. She joined Aleph winter of 2021 during her freshman year and has been involved in developmental, copy, and layout editing projects. Through the next year, she hopes to continue working with Aleph to promote undergraduate research in the humanities and social sciences. Outside of Aleph, she is currently involved in a honors thesis research project studying the intersections in the evolution healthcare and public policy in 20th-century China. After graduation, she hopes to attend medical school and pursue a career in medicine.

Co-Chief Developmental & Co-Chief Copy Editor

Susannah Lahiri

Susannah Lahiri (she/her) is a recent graduate and majored in History and Russian Studies. She joined Aleph during her freshman year because she wanted to learn more about research and publishing. She has found that the skills she developed while on Aleph’s staff have been quite useful across a broad range of her academic and professional experiences.

Co-Chief Developmental & Co-Chief Copy Editor

Kaylee Messick

I am a third year majoring in political science and minoring in global studies. I was previously an editor for Aleph before joining as the Co-Chief Developmental Editor. I intend to attend law school and work in the field of education! Aleph has been a wonderful opportunity to see other students’ research and improve my own writing skills.

Chief Blog Editor

Selena Perez

Selena is an English and Psychology double-major, with a concentration in Creative Writing and a minor in Food Studies. She is an aspiring novelist and poet, interested in bringing worlds of the unknown to the forefront. As a creative and lover of the arts, her mission for Aleph this year was to introduce an initiative centered around recognizing artistic works as legitimate works of research. Visit Imaginative Inquiries to read more on this philosophy and explore what students are creating on campus!

Co-Chief Layout Editor

Justin C.M. Brown

Justin C.M. Brown (he/him) is a junior majoring in Sociology and minoring in Digital Humanities. He is an artist, musician, and writer, and his research focuses on the psycho-social benefits of creative expression and artistic identity. Justin was recently awarded the UCLA Undergraduate Research Art Project Prize for his augmented photography series “Signs of Spring”, which celebrates the gorgeous flowers on UCLA’s campus. You can reach Justin on Instagram @JCMBmade or at his website JCMBmade.com. Justin would like to thank the authors in this volume for their excellent contributions, and the Aleph staff for their collaborative teamwork and diligent effort during the creation of this year’s journal.

Co-Chief Layout Editor

Harleen Kaur

Harleen Kaur (she/her) is a fourth year Philosophy major on a pre-law track. In winter 2023, she joined Aleph as a way to get involved with the research being done at UCLA. She is an experienced copy-editor and InDesign user who works on books and online publications. She is grateful she can use her professional skills to help highlight her fellow undergraduate community’s research.

Outreach Coordinator

Elizabeth Wong

Faculty Advisor

Kelly Kistner

Kelly Kistner (she/her) is the Assistant Director of the Undergraduate Research Center for the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences at UCLA and the faculty advisor of Aleph. She holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of Washington.

Graduate Advisor

Jason Araújo

General staff

Winter 2023

Lead Developmental Editors

Ava Cross
Beverly Abellanosa
Chloe Pearson
Conner Lee
Jordan Lombardi
Justine Sargent

Developmental Editors

Amy Rivas
Avanthika Panchapakesan
Bita Behpoor
Brigitta Rahme 
Chutian Shi
Harleen Kaur
Joleen Chiu
Katherine Asaryan 
Kayla Rangel
Kelsie Fisher
Kiana Karimi
Mandy Tang
Melissa Morales 
Mugita Kurosaki
Ryo Sato
Samuel Mindel
Sean Hong
Sophia Merish-Rose
Summer Chiang
Tian Liu
Wendy Dimas
Xin Yi Yang

Spring 2023

Lead Copy Editors

Beverly Abellanosa
Connor Lee
Jordan Lombardi
Katherine Asaryan
Sean Hong
Sophia Merish-Rose

Copy Editors

Ava Cross
Christopher Lee
Erin Kwak
Harleen Kaur
Joann Won
Julia Torres
Justin C.M. Brown
Katherine King
Kelsie Fisher
Kiana Karimi
Mandy Tang
Mugita Kurosaki
Samvit Garg
Shreyasi chaudhary
Wendy Dimas