Demetra Yianas

Deme Yianas was born and raised in Palatine, Illinois, where she attended William Fremd High School. In May 2025, she will graduate from Case Western Reserve University, where she will earn her Bachelor’s of Science degree in Biochemistry with a concentration in Cancer Biology, as well as a minor in Public Health with a concentration in Medical Anthropology. 

During high school, Deme took 7 AP classes, with her favorite being AP Biology, which inspired her to study Biochemistry in college. Along the way, Deme has spent three years working in a biochemistry research lab under the supervision of Dr. Boaz Tirosh and Dr. Praveen Bellam, research on different breast and lung cancer cells, learning how to trigger cancer cell death using different drugs. 

Beyond academics, Deme is also an athlete! Since age twelve, she has played volleyball, including in college, where she played four seasons on CWRU’s volleyball team. During her junior and senior years, her team made it to the NCAA tournament for the second and third time in program history! Deme is very involved in her school’s athletic community, working as a campus ambassador for Team Impact, an organization that matches children with chronic illnesses with collegiate athletic teams throughout the U.S. 

In two years, Deme hopes to attend medical school! With four years of volunteering, college academics, research, athletics, and clinical experience, Deme loves to offer advice to students interested in a career in healthcare, and to any students who want to study science in the future!