Our Team
Brandon is a fourth-year Neuroscience major. After being rather unproductive during quarantine, Brandon wanted to get more involved in the medical field and was immediately interested upon hearing about BSUS. Brandon’s goal is to learn the ropes of the medical field as well as supporting BSUS as an organization. He wants to bring his artistic and organizational skills to help BSUS grow and meet its goals. Outside of BSUS, Brandon is a member of ASME’s combat robotics and enjoys producing digital art, mixing and producing music, and solving the Rubik's cube.
Areti Tillou, MD
Faculty Advisor
Dr. Tillou is a full time academic surgeon, board certified in Surgery and Surgical Critical Care, specializing in Trauma and Acute Care Surgery in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. She serves as the Vice Chair for Education in the department of surgery and the founding Director of the UCLA Department of Surgery Accredited Education Institute (AEI), which is part of the Center for the Advanced Surgical and Interventional Technology (CASIT). She currently serves as the Southern California State Chair of the Committee on Trauma of the American College of Surgeons. Education: Medical School: University of Athens Medical School Residency: Baylor College of Medicine (MD Only) Fellowship: Trauma, LAC + USC Medical Center ; Surgical Critical Care, Tulane University School of Medicine
Sharon Hame, MD
Faculty Advisor
Dr. Hame is a board-certified orthopaedic surgeon with subspecialty certification in sports medicine. She has been practicing orthopaedic sports medicine for more than 23 years. She is currently a Professor of Clinical Orthopaedic Surgery and sees patients at the UCLA Medical Center and at the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center. Education: Undergraduate Education: UCLA Medical School: UHS/The Chicago Medical School Residency: New York University Medical Center Fellowship: UCLA Sports Medicine
Ani Eranki (he/him)
Founder
(2021 - present)
​Ani is a fourth year MCDB major. He founded the Bruin Surgical Undergraduate Society (BSUS) in order to create a community at UCLA for other pre-medical and pre-health students interested in a career in surgery. Ani hopes to build BSUS into an organization which provides members with pre-professional experience such as shadowing and research opportunities in the field of surgery, a community of like-minded individuals, and field-specific guidance and resources on their path to a career in medicine. Ani co-founded and leads the MIC Program with Lillian, and is a coordinator for the UCLA Pre-Med Summer Scholar Program. Outside of BSUS, Ani enjoys engaging in research in clinical neurogenomics, is a member of UCLA Tae Kwon Do, reads, plays League, and learns Spanish.
Brandon Carris (he/him)
President
(2021 - present)
Brandon is a fourth-year Neuroscience major. After being rather unproductive during quarantine, Brandon wanted to get more involved in the medical field and was immediately interested upon hearing about BSUS. Brandon’s goal is to learn the ropes of the medical field as well as supporting BSUS as an organization. He wants to bring his artistic and organizational skills to help BSUS grow and meet its goals. Outside of BSUS, Brandon is a member of ASME’s combat robotics and enjoys producing digital art, mixing and producing music, and solving the Rubik's cube.
Aasha Krishnan (she/her)
Co-Vice President
(2021 - present)
Aasha is a third-year Biochemistry major. As a part of BSUS, Aasha wants to help create more opportunities for the club and expand the organization so that more students can learn about the field of surgery. She is pursuing the field of surgery herself, interested in cardiothoracic surgery and neurosurgery. Outside of BSUS, Aasha is a member of the UCLA Mock Trial Team. She also enjoys singing and playing the piano, as well as watching or playing football and basketball.
Wilson Zheng (he/him)
Co-Vice President
(2021 - present)
Wilson is a third-year Biological Sciences major. Interested in the numerous areas of surgery and as the Director of Logistics under BSUS, he is motivated in propelling the long-term trajectory of the club by working alongside the tightly-knit BSUS community. As a Bruin, Wilson is interested in numerous activities scattered throughout campus. You can find Wilson wandering around admiring the flora and fauna in the botanical gardens, or studying in the Boelter Library with his peers. Outside of BSUS, Wilson enjoys conducting research on the neurobiology of social insects, playing basketball, working out, debating, and aimlessly laughing at the numerous chemistry questions that irked him during the last midterm!
Lillian Cho (she/her)
Director of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
(2022 - present)
Lillian is a fourth-year Psychobiology major. As a member of BSUS, she hopes to gain a better understanding of the medical field, not only from the perspective of surgeons and doctors, but also from the perspective of patients. As Director of EDI, Lillian seeks to aid in funding the unique and novel opportunities that BSUS provides to its members. Since joining the board, she has co-founded and spearheaded the MIC Program. Outside of BSUS, Lillian is a member of UCLA’s Red Cross Club and an NREMT. In her free time, Lillian has completed 60 of 63 Hollow Knight achievements (while waiting for Silksong), beat BOTW 4 separate times and achieved 100% completion 2 times on Master Mode (while waiting for TOTK), and is in the process of turning her room into a jungle through various adopted indoor plants (the monstera adansonii named Ada is her favorite).
Zoya Virani (she/her)
Treasurer
(2022 - present)
Zoya is a second-year Psychobiology major. As a member of the BSUS board, she hopes to gain a better understanding of the variety of surgical fields. She aims to increase member participation and expand the BSUS programs. She herself is interested in pursuing pediatric neurology. Outside of BSUS, Zoya works at the Semel Neuroscience Institute. She also enjoys working out, reading books, tanning by Sunset rec with her friends, and hiking.
Hiranya Sundar (she/her)
Director of Technology
(2022 - present)
Hira is a second-year Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Major. As part of BSUS, she hopes to merge her interest in technology with her passion for the biological sciences. She hopes to gain insight into a variety of surgical fields as part of BSUS, while updating the website and helping with different technological areas. ​ Outside of BSUS, Hira enjoys volunteering at different hospitals and conducting research in microbiology and genetics. In her free time, she enjoys, reading, painting, and hiking.
Amara Ajon (she/her)
Secretary
(2022 - present)
Amara is a third-year psychobiology major. As part of BSUS, she is interested in learning more about the various subspecialties within surgery and promoting diversity within medicine as a whole. She hopes that she can contribute to the club’s mission in providing opportunities for pre-med students to fall in love with surgery, and actively encourage general members’ engagement in club activities. Outside of BSUS, Amara is involved with the UCLA Stress Lab analyzing the effect of ACEs on resilience, and enjoys reading and hiking. You could also find her driving all around SoCal in search of her next food adventure!
Daniel Kozlov (he/him)
Director of Events
(2022 - present)
Daniel is a second year neuroscience major. As a member of BSUS, he hopes to expand his interest in surgery, becoming familiar with other surgical fields while learning more about the specialty he is most fascinated by: neurosurgery. Having enjoyed being present during events like surgical grand rounds and similar departmental conferences, Daniel hopes that he can provide other undergraduates with the chance to share these experiences as well, seeking to maintain and expand upon the current opportunities offered by BSUS. Outside of the club, Daniel is a member of a UCLA lab studying movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease, and is currently taking an EMT course. He also enjoys participating in martial arts, reading, spending time in the botanical garden, and hiking when back home in Santa Barbara county.
Chip Agarwal (they/them)
MIC Intern
(2023 - present)
Chip is a third-year Psychobiology major and Classical Civilization minor. Chip is passionate about advocacy to create social change and serving the under-resourced in medicine. They joined BSUS because they wanted to enhance representation of diverse surgeons to undergraduate populations. They hope to do whatever they can to help ensure a more diverse physician population in the future. Outside of BSUS, Chip does research in the UCLA DiSH Lab and volunteers at local animal shelters. They enjoy spending time with family, french toast, and a good book.
Ella Eslamian (she/her)
Intern
(2023 - present)
Ella is a third year Psychobiology major. As someone aspiring to become a doctor, she understands the significance of addressing systemic barriers that hinder equitable access to healthcare and opportunities for marginalized communities. She has a dedication to ensure representation and support in healthcare for underrepresented minority groups, differently-abled individuals, and those from disadvantaged backgrounds.. Outside of her role at BSUS, she serves as the Outreach Director for UAEM, a health equity club that advocates for affordability and accessibility in medical treatment. She is also involved in research at both the HEART lab and the Iwamoto lab. In the HEART lab, she contributes to evaluating factors related to self-harm and suicide. In the Iwamoto lab, she engages in research that utilizes physics to investigate radiation carcinogenesis. In her free time, she enjoys giving tours of the UCLA campus to low-income students!
Past Team Members!
Vincent Leong (he/him)
Secretary
(2021 - 2023)
Vincent graduated with a BS in Physiological Science. As part of BSUS, he learned more about the practice of general and orthopedic surgery as well as contributed towards the accessibility of this wonderful club to all pre-med or pre-health students. Outside of BSUS, Vincent s involved in two research labs focused on the treatment of Pancreatic cancer and the early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease. Besides research, Vincent loves staying physically active whether it’s by playing basketball, gyming in the morning, or dancing.
Justin Vayakone (he/him)
Director of Events
(2022-2023)
Justin graduated with a BS in Psychobiology. Within BSUS, he helped lead and manage various events like Grand Rounds and Robotics tours. He expanded the reach of the club to more undergraduates so that more people can be exposed to the field of surgery. Outside of BSUS, Justin has an EMT certification and tutors K-12 students. In his free time, he likes playing Tennis and playing video games. He thinks Minecraft is the best game.
Daniel Farzannekou (he/him)
Co-founder
(2021 - 2022)
Ariana Sardano (she/her)
Director of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
(2022 - 2022)