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

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

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.

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.