CO-PRESIDENT

Amanda Titus is a PhD candidate in Biochemistry at Saint Louis University School of Medicine. She joined BALSA in December 2023 and has worked on seven projects. She has served as an advisor on three projects and has experience in primary research, market and competitor analysis, business development strategy, and demographic analysis.

CO-PRESIDENT

Rachel Baits is a PhD candidate in the Molecular Genetics and Genomics program at Washington University in St. Louis. She joined BALSA in 2024, and has completed two projects as a consultant and one as a project manager. Rachel has experience in primary research, market landscape assessment, competitive set analysis, and developing early commercialization strategies for novel technologies.

VICE PRESIDENT OF INTERNAL OPERATIONS

Yongjoon Shin is a PhD candidate at Washington University in St. Louis. Since joining BALSA in May 2024, he has worked on four projects as a consultant and one project as a project manager. His experience includes primary research (e.g., KOL interviews), market assessment, competitor analysis, and go-to-market strategy development. 

VICE PRESIDENT OF EXTERNAL OPERATIONS

Huanzhu (Harper) Jiang is a PhD candidate in Biomedical Engineering at WashU. Since joining BALSA in December 2024, she has contributed to eight projects and served twice as an advisor. Her experience includes market and competitor analysis, go-to-market strategy,  regulatory landscape assessment, and technology evaluation.

DIRECTOR OF FINANCE

Gloria Zhou is a PhD candidate studying synthetic biology in the Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering Department at Washington University in St. Louis. She has worked on three projects since joining BALSA in February 2025. She has experience with primary research and business development strategy, including competitor analysis, market sizing, and KOL interviews.

DIRECTOR OF MARKETING

Nicole Rivera is a PhD candidate in Molecular Microbiology & Microbial Pathogenesis Program at Washington University in St. Louis. Since joining the BALSA Group in August 2024, she has contributed to six consulting and technology scouting projects, including collaborations with the Office of Technology Management. She has taken on project management roles and has experience in primary research, competitive and market analysis, business (B2B strategy), and evaluating technologies for commercial potential.

DIRECTOR OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Atika Malique is a PhD candidate in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Saint Louis University School of Medicine. She joined BALSA in October 2023 and has worked on five projects. She has served as a project manager twice and has experience in primary research, market and competitor analysis, KOL outreach, and BALSA foundation grant reviews. 

DIRECTOR OF DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION

Vincent Vanyo is a PhD candidate in Plant and Microbial Biology at Washington University in St. Louis. Since joining BALSA in October 2023, Vincent has worked on five projects, serving on two as project manager. Vincent has experience in primary research, survey design and analysis, due diligence, market sizing, market segmentation, and competitive analysis.

DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES

Murphy (Xiaoxuan) Liu is a PhD candidate in Biomedical Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. She joined BALSA in May 2025 and has worked on two projects as the consultant. She has experience with market research, competitor landscape analysis, commercialization strategies development and financial modeling. 

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS

Zefan Li (Vivien) is a PhD candidate in Division of Biology & Biomedical Sciences at Washington University School of Medicine. She joined BALSA in May 2025 and has worked on two projects as a consultant. She has experience in secondary research, market and competitor analysis, and technology evaluation.

DIRECTOR OF TECHNOLOGY

Yuma Kanazawa is a PhD candidate in Neuroscience at Washington University in St. Louis. He joined BALSA in March 2025 and has worked on two projects. He has experience with primary research, including KOL interviews and market landscape analysis. As a new director of Technology, he will build and maintain the technical infrastructure that supports BALSA's consulting operations, from workflow automation to secure AI tool development.