Melissa-Maria Kulaprathazhe (Melissa) graduated from Macaulay Honors College at Hunter College, CUNY in 2021 as a Human Biology (Body, Mind, and Health) Major and English (Creative Writing) Major. She previously served as a volunteer at New York Medical College where she assisted with studying the role of 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (20-HETE) and its receptor, GPR75 in activating a signaling cascade that culminates in obesity, hypertension, and a wide range of other metabolic disorders. Melissa joined the Reilly Lab in the spring of 2023.