The YALE CITATIONS
MEET the Citations!
Uma Alappan
Soprano
Yale School of Medicine-MD program
Member since Fall 2026
(she/her)
Uma is a fifth-year medical student (MD) at Yale. She grew up in Columbus, GA but was born just down the road in Waterbury, CT. Singing has played a major role in her life, so she is very excited to have time to sing with a group again! In her free time, you can usually find her driving around & singing with the sunroof open, Venti ice water in hand, and golf clubs in the trunk — exploring aimlessly and looking out for new golf courses along the way. She also loves to play piano, dance (Kathak—Indian classical) and go to concerts!
Ainsley Baker
Soprano
Chemistry
Member since Fall 2025
(she/her)
Ainsley grew up in the New Haven area and is very happy to be singing here again! She is a first-year student in the Chemistry PhD program, and when she's not playing with magnets and lasers in SCL, she loves hanging out outside (hiking, skiing, and sailing) or inside (on her gaming PC or baking elaborate cakes). Ask her about New Haven pizza.
Danae Carlson
Alto
School of Nursing
Member since Fall 2025
(she/her)
Danae is in the psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner program (RN entry). When she's not picking up night shifts, you’ll find her in a ballet class or scouting out the best hiking trails or ski slopes with her husband and two wild boys.
Rushil Choudhary
Bass
Physics
Member since Fall 2025
(he/him)
Rushil is an Applied Physics PhD student from Kolkata, India. In his free time, apart from watching Man. Utd somehow get consistently worse at playing soccer, he's likes having thoughtful conversations with his friends, working out, and drinking (a lot of) coffee.
Ashley Cooper
Alto
History of Science and Medicine
Member since Fall 2024
(she/her)
Ashley is a PhD student studying the history of science and medicine. When she is not studying or singing with the Citaitons, she enjoys reading, theatre, and writing.
Sydney Edwards
Soprano
BQBS
Member since Fall 2025
(she/her)
Sydney is a first year student in the biological and biomedical sciences PhD at Yale. She is from Naples (Florida, not Italy), home of incredible beaches and amazing wildlife. Naturally, as a Florida native, her undergrad campus did have gators on it. When her experiments in lab aren't failing, she can be found crafting, baking gluten-free desserts, and making dumb puns.
Devon Finlay
Bass
Physics
Member since Fall 2023
(he/him)
Devon is a physics PhD student originally from Ithaca, NY. Outside of singing and debugging code, he enjoys spending time outdoors, at Gryphon's, or at home binging TV.
Jesse Friedson
Tenor
Yale Law School
Member since Fall 2024
(he/him)
Jesse is a law student, which means he has a lot of reading, writing, and studying ahead of him. Jesse is originally from Trumbull, CT but has spent a lot of time in the DC area. Jesse is happy to be back in CT for the next few years! Jesse also loves playing with his dog niece, Lila! She loves belly rubs, chewing bones, and going long walks with Jesse.
Sam Kaplan
Tenor
Physician Associate Program (within the School of Medicine)
Member since Fall 2026
(he/him)
Sam is a young rapscallion from the mean streets of Westchester, NY. He is a first year Physician Associate student with preliminary interest in orthopedics, who lived a previous life as a touring and studio instrumentalist and arranger based out of NYC. As a Jack of all trades Sam prides himself on his 22 handicap on the links, his enthusiastic (albeit spastic) dance moves, and his general winsomeness. He is extremely jacked (our words not his) and has saved us all from impending doom on various occasions.
Christopher Lee
Tenor/Vocal Percussionist
Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program (INP)
Member since Fall 2026
(he/him)
Chris is a PhD student in the Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program (INP) interested in studying the biological basis of vision. Chris is from Tallahassee, Florida. In his free time, Chris enjoys playing video games, playing tennis, and lifting weights at the gym.
John Lee
Tenor
Yale School of Medicine
Member since Fall 2025
(he/him)
John is a first-year MD student. He originally grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, but has spent most of the past several years in the Northeast. When he is not in the library, he enjoys going to concerts, watching theater (especially musicals), and folding origami.
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YooKyung Lee
Alto
Master of Public Policy
Member since Fall 2026
(she/her)
Yoo Kyung is a first-year Master of Public Policy student at the Jackson School of Global Affairs. If you’re Korean, you may have seen her on TV as she worked as a journalist at a Korean TV broadcast MBC (Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation)! She joined the Yale Citations hoping to discover her hidden potential as a K-pop star—or, more specifically, a K-a cappella star. She loves to walk around campus, looking for handsome Dan.
Tavian Jones
Tenor
Applied Physics Postgraduate
Member since Fall 2026
(he/him)
My name is Tavian, and I am a postgraduate researcher in the Applied Physics Department. I grew up in McLean, Virginia. When I’m not in the lab or singing, you can find me playing tennis, video games, and the piano. I’m always looking for a new place to travel, so let me know if you have any recommendations!
Daniel King
Bass/Vocal Percussionist
Department of Chemistry
Member since Fall 2026
(he/him)
Daniel is a postdoctoral associate in the Yale Chemistry department from Chicago, IL and the tallest member of the group. He enjoys singing, dancing, ice cream, and having fun!
Nia Lloyd
Soprano
BBS TMMPP
Member since Fall 2024
(she/her)
Nia is a BBS student in the TMMPP track interested in studying cancer biology. Nia is originally from Syracuse, NY. In her free time, Nia enjoys oil painting, reading, running in East Rock Park, and getting drinks with friends!
Rina Nagatani
Alto
Health Informatics
Member since Fall 2026
(she/her)
I’m Rina from Nagoya, Japan, currently a first year in the Health Informatics program. Outside of school so far, I'm enjoying live music, hiking around East Rock, and trying unusual pizza flavors!
Jordan Polster
Soprano
Microbiology
Member since Fall 2023
(she/her)
Jordan is a microbiology PhD student. She’s originally from Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, although she has lived in 6 different states and four different countries between high school and starting at Yale. When she’s not in lab or singing, she enjoys doing yoga, making arts and crafts, going on long walks, spending time with her friends, and traveling and exploring the world whenever she’s able to!
Adeline Riya Richard
Alto
Personalized Medicine & Applied Engineering
Member since Fall 2026
(she/her)
Adeline is an MS student in Personalized Medicine and Applied Engineering and grew up in Avon, CT. When she isn't sitting the basement pouring over imaging data sets (that she still doesn't really understand), she can be found trying new foods, exploring cool museum exhibits, enjoying very good cups of coffee and making music with her friends
Becca Schelling
Soprano
BBS
Member since Fall 2023
(she/her)
Becca is a pharmacology PhD from New York, which is to say, she has strong opinions on bagels. When she’s not in lab pretending to be a wizard at Hogwarts, she can be found drinking too much coffee, reading, or practicing martial arts. Not necessarily in that order (except the coffee).
Sam Shipman
Bass
Earth and Planetary Sciences
Member since Fall 2021
(he/him)
Sam is a PhD student in earth and planetary sciences studying geochemistry. Originally from northern California, Sam still does not understand the meaning of the word “turnpike” and is thoroughly confused by the extra cold rain that falls during winter. When he’s not in the lab, Sam enjoys hiking/camping, both good and bad movies, and drinking coffee at all hours of the day. He should probably get more sleep.
Emma Weller
Alto
Astronomy PhD
Member since Fall 2026
(she/her)
Emma is an astronomy PhD student studying massive black holes. She grew up in the Pacific Northwest (next to Olympic National Park!) raising lots of animals. Here at Yale she sadly has fewer animals, but loves spending time with her two cats.
David Wingate
Bass
MBA
Member since Fall 2026
(he/him)
David is a bass from North Haven, CT, creatively named for being, well, north of New Haven. David is pursuing his MBA at the Yale School of Management, with a focus on clean energy innovation and finance. When he's not singing, David can be found playing ultimate frisbee, trying to understand accounting, or visiting his cats, Fig and Coco, who live in Brooklyn.
Jerry Xu
Bass
Chemistry
Member since Fall 2024
(he/him)
Jerry is a chemistry PhD student who is originally from Cary, NC. His grad school life is composed of three essential elements: (1) studying chemistry, (2) singing with the Citations, and (3) going to as many concerts as time (and money) allows. Jerry's goal in grad school is to finally understand what "Boola Boola" means.