A general internist, Doriane Miller, MD, has been providing care to under-served minority populations for more than 30 years. In addition to her role as a primary care physician, she has a special interest in behavioral health.

Under her leadership, physicians, educators and community members work to improve population health outcomes for residents on the South Side of Chicago through community-engaged research, demonstration and service models.

Dr. Miller’s research focuses on the intersection of health disparities and race. She has served as the project director for several studies designed to augment care by promoting collaboration among physicians, patients and families. Dr. Miller’s work in the area of improving asthma outcomes through school and community interventions was noted by the American Academy of Asthma, Allergy and Immunology with a 2006 Special Recognition Award.

Prior to joining the University of Chicago in January 2009, Dr. Miller served as national program director of New Health Partnerships, a demonstration project funded by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the California Health Care Foundation on collaborative self-management support.

Robert, an Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology and Member of the Neuroscience Institute, hails from Stockton, CA. He earned his undergraduate degree in Cybernetics at UCLA and completed his Ph.D. at Yale University as a Ford Fellow. Following this, Robert finished his postdoctoral program at Caltech in 2016 and subsequently joined the UChicago faculty in 2017. He leads a diverse lab focusing on understanding nervous system development, specifically examining neural circuit assembly and plasticity during neuron degeneration. His NIH- and NSF-funded research, along with his colleagues’, has identified molecules guiding neuron recognition and mechanisms enabling neuronal adaptation to neighboring neuron death. Throughout his career, Robert has championed inclusivity and access to STEM. He initiated mentorship programs during his graduate studies at Yale and participated in outreach efforts at Caltech. At UChicago, he expanded outreach efforts, co-developing NEETO and DARN in 2020 to engage Chicago high school students and Puerto Rican undergraduates in STEM. Collaborating with colleagues like Drs. Nancy Schwartz, Peggy Mason, Victoria Flores, Ellie Heckscher, Vicky Prince, Paschalis Kratsios, and others, Robert enhances research opportunities for UChicago undergraduates through programs like NESSTP and DNUFO. He contributes to various committees focusing on graduate student and faculty recruitment, undergraduate curriculum, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives within the BSD. Robert with work the team to develop and implement strategies to broaden DEI infrastructure and cultivate an inclusive, welcoming community.

Tobias is a senior staff leader in the Biological Sciences Division (BSD). He is a thought leader who designs interventions that enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion within the division. Tobias’s portfolio includes creating and facilitating “thinkshops,” which are hour-long programs that use social science research to combat implicit bias, promote LGBTQ inclusive spaces, and build skills to confront microaggressions. Tobias works with faculty and resident/trainee recruitment, resource groups, the division’s pipeline programs, and with the office’s outreach and marketing. He most recently deployed the Inclusion Menu, which features a series of “conversation starters” that bring diversity & inclusion related dialogues directly to academic departments and lab groups. Since beginning his tenure in the Biological Sciences Division, Tobias founded the University Resource Group Black Men Engaged, which brings together Black men from across campus for the purpose of mentoring, professional development, and service in and with the South Side community. He is also a consultant for the University of Chicago Center for HIV Elimination and recently served as chair for Howard Brown Health’s South Side Community Advisory Board. Tobias holds a bachelor’s degree in history from the State University of New York at Binghamton, a master’s degree in women’s, gender, and sexuality studies from Georgia State University, and PhD from the School of Cultural and Critical Studies at Bowling Green State University. Prior to his work in the Biological Sciences, Tobias was director of the LGBTQ Student Life Office at University of Chicago’s Center for Identity + Inclusion.

Hailing from Brooklyn, NY, Tobias grew up on the East Coast. He loves shoes and considers himself an avid sneaker collector. He also enjoys staying fit and riding his bike along Chicago’s beautiful lakefront.

Contact Tobias Spears at: tspears1@bsd.uchicago.edu

Christina comes to the Office of Diversity and Inclusion by way of the Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics PhD program here at the University of Chicago. Before coming to Chicago for graduate school, she studied biochemistry at Stony Brook University in her home state of New York. During her time as a graduate student Christina led numerous diversity and inclusion organizations such as GRIT, SACNAS and the BSD Diversity Committee. Now as an administrator working along side students, staff, and faculty, Christina seeks to bridge the gaps in understanding and bring the community together using our shared goals and values. Her primary responsibilities include: supporting the development of a new faculty hiring approach to help diversify the biological sciences departments as well as working closely with the office of graduate and postdoctoral affairs to support student recruitment and engagement.

Contact Christina Roman at: chroman@bsd.uchicago.edu

Yvette recently joined the DEI Team and currently serves as the Executive Assistant to the Vice Dean, Associate Dean, and Assistant Dean of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Office and also supports the other DEI team members. In her role, she assists the DEI office in advancing the university’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. She manages office operations, helps plan and organize projects and events, and provides advanced, diversified, and confidential administrative support. Yvette is an integral part of the team and supports DEI’s initiatives that promote and foster a welcoming, diverse, and inclusive environment for all members of the university community.

Originally from Chicago, Yvette has a deep understanding of the importance of diversity and inclusion and brings a wealth of experience, knowledge, and passion to her role. Outside of UOC, she devotes her time ministering in song and serving at her church, demonstrating her lifelong commitment to music and community involvement. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree, from Northwestern University and hopes to enroll in the Master of Liberal Arts program with a concentration in Ethics and Leadership at UOC in the Fall of 2024.

Raina is a third year undergraduate student at The College studying public policy with a double minor in data science and quantitative social analysis on the pre-law track. As of February 2024, she is the Biological Science divisions Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion student intern. She assists the DEI office in project management, event organization, and numerous other tasks. She aspires to attend UChicago or Harvard Law and become a medical malpractice attorney; she is excited to work at the intersection of DEI and biological sciences, in hopes of acquiring the foundational tools to thrive in medical malpractice law. In her recent career experience, she has supported paralegals within different firms, interned for the Rhode Island State House, and performed data analytics for nonprofit organizations in the South Side.

Iris is a Professor in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology and the Dean for Diversity and Inclusion for the Biological Sciences Division.  Dr. Romero came to the University of Chicago as a Family Planning Fellow in 2005 and joined the faculty in 2007. She is an active clinician and translational researcher, specializing in the prevention of ovarian cancer.  Iris’s NIH funded research focuses on exploiting anti-tumor and cancer preventative effects of drugs that are FDA-approved for other indications. To approach this, her research group integrates in vitro analysis of the tumor microenvironment, mouse models of ovarian cancer and prospective clinical trials. In her role as Dean for Diversity and Inclusion, Iris and her team support the institution’s commitment to creating an inclusive environment that enables students, faculty and staff from all backgrounds to thrive. Dr. Romero brings to the role of Dean for Diversity and Inclusion a clear understanding of the challenges and rewards of academic medicine informed by her experiences as a first generation college student, a Chicana and a Lesbian. She lives with her wife and her two daughters in Woodlawn where they have found a strong “family of choice.”

Contact Dr. Romero at: iromero@bsd.uchicago.edu

Camilla served as the Program Manager for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and the Cancer Center. She has now moved fully into the Cancer Center to lead the execution of their five year DEI plan. We wish Camilla the best in her new role and hope that our office collaborations will continute well into the future.