Alumni Board Members

Uzonna Mkparu
- IHN Alumni Association Co-Director (IHN ‘14)
Uzonna was born and raised in Nigeria and moved to the US to attend university. After graduating from the IHN, he co-founded and managed a metabolic disease outpatient clinic before founding Sun Group Energy, a sustainability driven venture. In his spare time, he supports the IHN in recruitment efforts, in facilitating the food cooperative, and as the Director of the Alumni Association.
Anca Dogaroiu
- IHN Alumni Association Co-Director (IHN '19)
Anca graduated with a Bachelor of Science from Cornell University in 2015. After graduation, she worked as an implementation manager and graduated from the IHN in 2019. Anca now lives in Dallas, TX, and is completing a research year in Plastic Surgery at UTSW Medical Center. She currently serves the IHNAA as Co-Director and has previously held the position of Events Chair and Marketing Chair.
Ao (Alicia) Liu
- Director of Experience (IHN '18)
Alicia was born and raised in China, and came to the US for college. With an interest in the connections between dentistry and nutrition, Alicia graduated from the IHN in 2018 and had two publications in 2018 and 2020 related to her thesis on the topic of culinary education in nutrition. Alicia graduated from Midwestern University College of Dentistry in 2022, and relocated to the Dallas area. She is currently practicing general dentistry and applies her nutrition knowledge to her daily practice.
Perri Nelson
- Alumni Relations Chair (IHN '22)
Perri is originally from Chesapeake, VA. She graduated from the College of William & Mary in 2019, where she studied public health and art history. After graduating from the IHN with her MS in 2022, she continued working as an education assistant whilst applying to medical school. She is now a first-year medical student at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA. She remains grateful to have found a wonderful community during her time at the IHN, and is excited to serve on the board of the IHNAA this term!
Yanni Liu
- Event Planning Co-Chair (IHN '21)
Yanni is originally from Beijing. She completed her undergraduate studies at UT Austin before attending the IHN. She wanted to be a dietitian and that is what she is doing now! She currently works as an acute care dietitian in a hospital in New York. Yanni is using this time to expand her expertise in dietetics, and hopes to move on to something related to healthcare tech or public health in the future. In her free time, Yanni likes to read, take dance classes, walk aimlessly in Central Park, and of course, organize hangouts for her and her friends.
Kunheng Cai
- Event Planning Co-Chair (IHN '17)
Kunheng Cai graduated from the IHN in 2017. He is currently a fifth year PhD student studying metabolism and nutrition at Columbia University Medical Center. He loves cooking and is crazy about any outdoor shenanigans.
Noemie Hallford
- Publications Chair (IHN '23)
Noemie's international background has allowed her to gain global experiences before moving to New York City to pursue her master's at the IHN. Having established a passion for nutrition science whilst undertaking her undergraduate studies in Nutrition at McGill University, she remains dedicated to intertwining her knowledge in this area of science with a future career in medicine. As Publications Chair, she looks forward to providing the IHN alumni community with fun and engaging written content!
Eric Wang
- Marketing Chair (IHN ‘22)
Eric is originally from Westchester County, NY. He graduated and received his BA in Biochemistry from New York University in 2021, after which he completed his MS in Human Nutrition from the IHN in 2022. He is currently a first-year medical student at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College, where he will be training for the next four years to become a practicing physician. Outside of academics, his hobbies include dance, food/cooking, skincare, and fashion!
Grace Shadid
- Social Justice Chair
Grace Shadid graduated from the IHN in 2018 and worked with the faculty and staff for almost three years as the MS Program Assistant before attending medical school. She is now an MS4 at SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn applying for internal medicine residency. She is a peer interviewer and also works as the student manager of the Patient Navigator Program in the rheumatology and dermatology departments. She has conducted research on food insecurity among patients in the rheumatology clinic, racial disparities in venous thromboembolism, and surgical education.
Sarah Bergren
- IHN Liaison (IHN ‘18)
Sarah Bergren is a U.S. native, born and raised in Michigan. Sarah studied molecular biology at the University of Michigan and worked in basic science research for 15 years before completing the IHN MS program part-time while working at Columbia. As the Manager of Education Initiatives at the IHN, Sarah works closely with the MS Program director, faculty, and staff, to continue to improve the program. She also works on the development of other educational programming at the IHN.