Dr. Ken Anderson (CAS`73)

Dr. Ken Anderson is the Kraft Family Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, as well as Director of the Jerome Lipper Multiple Myeloma Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He earned his BA in Biology and Psychology Summa Cum Laude at Boston University in 1973, and his MD at Johns Hopkins Medical School in 1977. He completed Internal Medicine Residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and then completed Hematology, Medical Oncology, and Tumor Immunology training at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He is a Doris Duke Distinguished Clinical Research Scientist and American Cancer Society Clinical Research Professor.

Making Science Count for Patients

Mary Beth Leonard (CAS`84)

Mary Beth Leonard spend nearly 35 years in the U.S. Foreign Service, including as an ambassador to Mali, the African Union, and Nigeria. As ambassador to Mali (2011-2014), she guided U.S. policy through turbulent times marked by a coup, encroaching terrorist incursion, and international military intervention to a return to a democratically elected government. As a permanent representative to the African Union (2016-2019), she reassured African partners uncertain about a new administration’s commitment to Africa and unnerved by the specter of unflattering comments attributed to the U.S. president of the constancy of our shared commitment to the continent’s peace and prosperity.

A Diplomatic Journey Rooted in Curiosity and Language

Karen Seto (GRS’95, ’00)

Karen Seto is the Frederick C. Hixon Professor of Geography and Urbanization Science at Yale University. A geographer and urban scientist, she is one of the world’s leading experts on the effects of contemporary urbanization on the planet. She developed the first global forecast of urban expansion, and using a combination of satellite remote sensing, modeling methods, and fieldwork, her research has advanced understanding of urbanization’s effects on climate change, biodiversity, and food systems. She has extensive fieldwork experience in Asia, especially China and India, where she has conducted research for over 20 and 10 years, respectively.

Seeing the World from Space

Brandon Zang (GRS`25)

Brandon Zang (GRS`25) is a science fiction and fantasy playwright based in Boston and New York City. Through worldbuilding, Brandon reimagines questions of diaspora and belonging, grounding immigrant narratives in genres ranging from time travel to solarpunk. His plays include Nüwa in Fairyland (CHUANG Stage, Lifeline Theatre), 🙈🙉🙊 / Three Wise Monkeys (East 15 Acting School, Boston Theater Company), and The Recursion of a Moth (Boston Playwrights’ Theatre). His play Ah Wing and Automaton Eagle was the 2023 winner of the Voaden Prize. Born in Tianjin, China, Brandon writes in both English and Chinese, and works as a translator between the two languages. He received an MFA in playwriting from Boston University in May 2025.

Isabella LeBlanc (CAS`26)

Isabella LeBlanc is a senior in the Kilachand Honors College at Boston University from Holden, Massachusetts. She is double majoring in International Relations (focusing on Foreign Policy and Security Studies and Africa and the Middle East) and Political Science with a minor in French Studies. Isabella has experience interning at the State Department, a Congressional Office, and the Massachusetts Executive Office of Economic Development. She hopes to work in public service after graduation at the intersection of policy, conflict resolution, and development.

Joshua Park (CAS’25)

Joshua Park is a senior from Saint Paul, Minnesota, majoring in Biology. He is interested in cellular biology and cancer research and aspires to become a doctor, specializing in oncology, while continuing to pursue his hobby of perfumery in his free time. He spent the summer of 2025 as a summer research assistant in the Venkatsh Lab at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Annabelle Gao (GRS`29)

Annabelle Gao, is a Ph.D Student in Earth & Environment. Her research interests include Earth system modeling, environmental health, and better understanding the current and future impacts of climate change. She hopes to apply remote sensing techniques and machine learning to better inform environmental and climate policy, urban development, and natural disaster relief. Before coming to BU, she earned a BS in Geology-Chemistry from Brown and an MS in Environmental Geoscience from Aix-Marseille University.