Amgen Scholars

Shereen is a rising senior at Dickinson College where she works under Dr. Anthony
Rauhut to examine the in;luence of various environmental and social factors on drug
sensitization using mice models. At UCLA, She’s working in the Novitch Lab to study the
effects of mutations in ADAR1, a RNA-editing enzyme, on cortical neurogenesis with the
use of 2D human stem cell cultures. In the body, double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) serves
as a regulatory tool for activation of the immune system. Upon infection, dsRNA
produced by viruses triggers an increase in in;lammation that drives an antiviral
response. The human genome also encodes endogenous, or self, RNA that can adopt a
double stranded structure. To prevent activation of the immune system through self
RNA, ADAR1 introduces mismatches through A-to-I editing which prevents recognition
by the immune system. Increased levels of neuroin;lammation and a failure to regulate
endogenous RNAs is associated with both the neurodevelopmental disability Autism
Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and the neurodegenerative disease Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
This raises the question of whether a loss of ADAR1 function that prevents self-dsRNA
regulation drives in;lammation and pathology of various neurological conditions. It’s
currently unclear how, and to what extent, loss of ADAR1 function alters the process of
neural development to produce these outcomes. She would like to thank the Novitch
Lab and the UCLA Amgen Program for their mentorship and support throughout this
valuable experience.

Victoria is a rising senior at the University of Toledo, Ohio, majoring in Biochemistry with a minor in Biology. There, she earned the Barry Goldwater Scholarship through her organometallic synthesis chemistry research, developing safer opioid and opioid reversal drug alternatives under the guidance of Dr. Michael Young. As an Amgen Scholar, Victoria has joined the Kurdistani Lab in the Department Biological Chemistry at David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA. The Kurdistani Lab studies how chromatin biology, histones, and their modifications play a role in human disease. Recently, the Kurdistani Lab unveiled that the H3-H4 tetramer exhibits copper reductase activity, the product of which is trafficked and sensed intracellularly, highlighting a key characteristic of copper homeostasis: copper must be maintained in the Cu 1+ oxidation state to be distributed properly. The active site, while crucial, has not yet been imaged directly. This structural challenge is compounded by the mass constraint posed by cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). Thus, this summer, Victoria is working on incorporating a PA14 (derived from human podoplanin) epitope into an exposed H4 loop that can be bound by a Fab antibody, increasing the apparent molecular weight of the copper-bound tetramer, and enabling structural characterization. Victoria would like to extend her sincerest gratitude to her faculty mentor Dr. Siavash Kurdistani and graduate student mentor Evan Clark for their exceptionally warm welcomes and helpful insights, and to the Amgen Foundation for connecting her to amazing individuals whose dedication to research and community have invigorated her own curiosity and passion for biochemistry.

Millie is a Neuroscience and Psychology double major at Wellesley College where she worked under Dr. Courtney Marshall studying the underlying pathological mechanisms of Alzheimer’s disease, with a focus on hyperphosphorylated tau.
As an Amgen Scholar, Millie is researching depressive-like states with Dr. Austin Coley. The project Millie is working on uses mice with induced learned helplessness to model depression. Generally about fifty percent of mice are susceptible to become helpless following the stress protocol, the other fifty are deemed resilient. Millie runs behavioral assays including novel object recognition, T-mazes measuring working memory and reward-motivation, and head-fixed pavlovian discrimination which measures learning. Millie uses deep learning animal tracking software SLEAP to establish facial expression analysis as a valid, quantifiable readout for behavioral and emotional states in mice.
The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) has previously been linked with various depressive phenotypes and is a particular region of interest in the Coley Lab. Once behavioral data is collected, the lab will use in vivo 2-photon calcium imaging in the mPFC to study neural substrates and neural population activity differences associated with learned helplessness. Increasing granular understanding of depressive-like states by comparing neural and behavioral activity of stressed-susceptible, stressed-resilient, and control mice, will allow development of more effective treatments for depressive disorders.
Millie would like to thank Dr. Coley, Project Scientist Dr. Safaryan, and the rest of the Coley Lab for their mentorship and unwavering support of her curiosity. She also thanks the Amgen Foundation and UCLA program for providing her this opportunity.

Xagros is a rising senior studying Biology through the College of Creative Studies at UC Santa Barbara. At UCSB, he conducts research in the Sepunaru Electrocatalysis Group, where he uses biophysical methods to study single-cell and single-molecule interactions. His research aims to elucidate the molecular interactions that drive intracellular states implicated in neurodegenerative and metabolic diseases from a physical chemistry perspective.  As an Amgen Scholar at UCLA, he is currently working in the Di Carlo Biomicrofluidics Group, developing nanovial-based platforms for single-cell antibody delivery. Nanovials are hydrogel microparticles capable of capturing single cells, enabling multiomic approaches that link transcriptional activity to secreted proteins—tools with powerful applications in immunotherapy and mapping cell–cell interaction networks. Xagros’s project focuses on engineering antibody-secreting cells inside capped nanovials to develop scalable, cell-based alternatives to gene therapy. He would like to thank Dr. Dino Di Carlo for the opportunity to pursue this work, as well as Dr. Yuta Nakagawa and PhD candidate Alyssa Arnheim for their unwavering support and mentorship. He is also deeply grateful to the Amgen Foundation for enabling this transformative experience, which has sharpened his passion for microfluidics and cell therapy and shaped his future path as an interdisciplinary researcher.

Shivani is a rising senior at the University of Washington Seattle, majoring in Bioengineering with a minor in Music. At UW, Shivani works in the DeForest Lab, where she develops novel protein-based hydrogels for targeted drug delivery.
As an Amgen Scholar at UCLA, Shivani is working in Dr. Nasim Annabi’s lab which researches advanced biomaterials and systems for therapeutic delivery and disease detection. Her project focuses on developing a new mucoadhesive hydrogel that can be used for ocular delivery of extracellular vesicles (EVs). Current ocular delivery methods, such as eye drops or ointments, suffer from poor bioavailability due to the corneal epithelium barrier and fast clearance from blinking. Existing hydrogel and nanoparticle ocular delivery systems struggle with adhesion and control over release kinetics. Shivani’s work aims to develop a new hydrogel that will have improved mucoadhesion to allow for sustained release of EVs on the ocular surface. She will be testing the hydrogel’s mucoadhesion through in vitro wound closure and burst pressure tests. She will also be testing the therapeutic release profile from the hydrogel with different crosslinking densities to determine how EV release varies with material properties.
Shivani would like to thank her graduate student mentor, Jim Liu, and her PI, Dr. Annabi, for their mentorship and guidance, as well as the Amgen Foundation for this incredible opportunity.

Gordon Lao is a rising senior at UC Davis, majoring in Cell Biology. He aspires to obtain a Ph.D. and conduct his own research on cancer immunotherapy treatments. Gordon, formerly a MARC scholar, is an undergraduate researcher in Dr. Su-Ju Lin’s lab, which studies NAD + metabolism and regulation in budding yeast. As an Amgen scholar at UCLA, Gordon is conducting research in Dr. Timothy O’ Sullivan’s lab which studies the innate immune system in the context of various diseases. NK cells are cytotoxic innate lymphoid cells that produce cytokines and chemokines that impact immune response. Their ability to recognize stressed cells and mediate the killing of cancer cells have led to an increased interest in utilizing NK cells for anti-cancer immunotherapy. However, exposure to tumor cells and the tumor microenvironment (TME) has been shown to impact NK cell phenotypes and impair their anti-cancer functions. Recent studies have shown ascorbic acid to be an emerging immunotherapeutic factor, as it has implications in immune cell functions like T cell maturation. Gordon aims to further elucidate the effects of ascorbic acid on NK cells and explore its potential to engineer a more effective NK cell treatment for cancer immunotherapy. Gordon would like to thank Katelynn Kazane, Dr. Timothy O’ Sullivan, and everybody else in the lab for their patience, mentorship, and for creating a welcoming environment. He would also like to give a special thanks to the Amgen program and the directors for giving him the opportunity to conduct extramural research.

At Cal Poly, Elizabeth Manis is a rising senior studying Microbiology and Bioinformatics. Over the past two and a half years at Cal Poly, she has been conducting research in both physical chemistry and immunology, studying the photochemistry of dithiocarboxylates under the guidance of Dr. David F. Zigler and investigating the antibacterial effects of small extracellular vesicles in the Greenlee-Wacker laboratory.
As an Amgen Scholar at UCLA, Elizabeth is working in Dr. Gal Bitan’s lab, developing methods for non-invasive isolation of neuronal extracellular vesicles from urine. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are carrier nanoparticles that can transport cell products such as nucleic acids, lipids, and proteins, and often function in intercellular communication. EVs released from central nervous system (CNS) cells can cross the blood-brain barrier, becoming detectable in peripheral fluids such as blood and urine. Within the context of neurodegenerative disease, these EVs can contain protein ‘biomarkers’: indicators of health. Her work aims to isolate CNS-originating EVs from urine for measurement of these neurodegenerative disease biomarkers. A urine-based diagnostic would eliminate patient barriers to disease identification due to its non-invasive modality, permitting the repeated collection of large volumes without the pain or materials required for blood sampling.
After completing her undergraduate degree, Elizabeth aims to pursue a PhD in Immunology/Molecular Biology, with a strong interest in the innate immune system. Elizabeth would like to thank Dr. Gal Bitan, Dr. Ibrar Siddique, all members of the Bitan lab, UCLA, and the Amgen Foundation for their support and guidance in her scientific endeavors.

Sofia is a rising senior at Fairfield University where she studies behavioral neuroscience. Using behavioral assays, she is investigating the intersection between stress and cocaine use disorder under Dr. Karl Schmidt.

As an Amgen Scholar at UCLA, Sofia is working under Dr. Carlos Portera-Cailliau (PI) and Dr. Anand Suresh (post-doc) on a project to identify novel treatments for Fragile X syndrome (FXS) – the most common inherited cause of intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder. There are no currently approved treatments for FXS that address its underlying biology. The Portera-Cailliau lab adopted a symptom-to-molecule approach, combining behavioral, circuit, and transcriptomic studies in a mouse model of FXS to uncover molecular signatures of circuit dysfunction that could be targeted for therapy. Their previous work has identified upregulation of EPAC2, a guanine nucleotide exchange factor which regulates synaptic turnover and stability, in Fmr1 knockout (KO) mice, the best studied animal model of FXS. Sofia’s project will evaluate whether systemic administration of an EPAC2 inhibitor, ESI-05, can ameliorate multiple behavioral deficits in Fmr1 KO. She will utilize machine learning approaches to evaluate animal behavior and evaluate the role of EPAC2 inhibition in FXS.

Sofia would like to thank Dr. Carlos Portera-Cailliau, Dr. Anand Suresh, the Portera-Cailliau Lab, and Dr. Karl Schmidt for their invaluable mentorship. She would also like to thank the Amgen Foundation and UCLA Amgen Scholars Program Staff for this opportunity to learn more within the vast field of neuroscience.

Alen is an incoming junior at the University of Washington in Seattle studying Biochemistry. At his home institution, Alen is an undergraduate researcher in Dr. Sean C. Murphy’s lab, where he studies malarial vaccine development and antigen discovery.

As a UCLA Amgen Scholar, Alen works in Dr. Lena Pernas’ lab studying host-pathogen and inter-pathogen interactions in dually infected cells. Coinfections are an understudied aspect of immunology but are clinically relevant on a global scale. By examining morphologies of the parasite Toxoplasma gondii and bacterium Chlamydia caviae in singly and dually infected mammalian cells, he hopes to shed light on the mechanisms behind these underlying interactions. The lab’s central aim is to understand the metabolism of infection, studying the relationship between pathogens and organelles by examining the interactions of Toxoplasma gondii and host mitochondria.

Alen would like to give thanks to the members of the Pernas lab for their flexibility and good nature throughout the program, especially to Dr. Lena Pernas for her invaluable guidance this summer as well as post-doctoral mentor Dr. Amy Prichard for her continued support and patience. He would also like to thank the members of the Murphy lab for their ongoing support of his research in addition to the Amgen Foundation and the UCLA administrative staff who make this program possible, especially Kimberly Mendez, Dr. Tama Hasson, and Dr. Beth Lazazzera.

Bridget is a rising senior at UCLA and is majoring in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology. She has conducted research in the lab of Dr. Caius Radu at UCLA since her sophomore year.
Bridget focuses on studying innate immune activation mechanisms in response to an immunotherapy platform consisting of RNA complexed in lipid nanoparticles (RNA-LNP). Immunotherapy utilizes the body’s own immune system to treat cancer and other immune system-related diseases. As a result, immunotherapy serves as a promising cancer treatment because it harnesses the host immune cells to recognize and target cancer cells. The Radu Lab has developed strategies for using RNA-LNP as a cancer vaccine strategy for targeting solid tumors that are often refractory to current standard-of-care treatments. Additionally, the Radu Lab also investigates the use of the RNA-LNP platform for combating the barrier of the hostile tumor microenvironment that suppresses innate immune activation in the setting of cancer.
Bridget contributes to the ongoing research direction by investigating pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) involved in sensing of the RNA-LNP platform. Her project is centered on measuring signals of RNA-LNP-induced immune activation in particular innate immune cell subsets to inform immunotherapy strategies in preclinical mouse models.
Bridget would like to thank the Radu Lab, especially Dr. Caius Radu, project scientist Dr. Khalid Rashid, and her graduate student mentor Hailey Lee, for their wonderful mentorship, patience, and constant support. She would also like to thank the Amgen Foundation for this unique opportunity to expand her skills in research and pursue her passion for research.

Rista White is an undergraduate student at UCLA majoring in Cognitive Science and minoring in Biomedical Research. In the Bhaduri Lab within the Department of Biological Chemistry, Rista studies early brain development. More broadly, the Bhaduri Lab examines how neural stem cells both build the cerebral cortex during early development and drive the progression of fatal brain cancers later in life. In the lab, Rista primarily studies mechanisms of early brain development by growing stem cells into cortical organoids, 3D models of the embryonic brain.
As an Amgen Scholar, Rista is investigating the influence of thalamic neurons on cortical fate specification with graduate student mentor Claudia Nguyen. The cortex, the topmost layer of the brain, is divided into functional regions that enable high-level cognitive functions such as memory, logical reasoning, and language comprehension. How stem cells organize into these anatomical specializations is not well understood. The thalamus, a brain structure responsible for receiving sensory information from the peripheral nervous system, grows in parallel with the cortex. The Bhaduri lab is interested in how the thalamus influences the regional fate decisions of cortical progenitors. To explore this relationship, Rista is growing cortical and thalamic organoids for fusion experiments. Through immunostaining, confocal imaging, and analysis of single-cell data, Rista is hoping to better characterize how thalamocortical connectivity drives healthy neurogenesis and may serve as a mechanism for neurodevelopmental disorders when awry.
Rista would like to thank Dr. Bhaduri, Claudia Nguyen, the Bhaduri lab, and the Amgen Foundation for their generous support and amazing science mentorship.

Cindy Avila is an incoming senior at Albion College studying Biochemistry. This summer
She is conducting research at Dr. Jose Rodriguez’s lab where she will be
comparing the functionality of PCMTD1 and PCMTD2 enhancing our
understanding of their roles in protein maintenance and ubiquitylation.

Her research focuses on characterizing PCMTD2, a homolog of the well-studied
enzyme PCMTD1, to determine its role in repairing isoaspartyl damaged
proteins as well as its possible role as an E3 ubiquitin ligase activity. she is
looking forward to expanding her laboratory skillset as a student and a
professional, aiming for a career as an MD/PhD.

Caroline Ceravolo is in her senior year at Western Washington University (WWU) in Bellingham, Washington. At WWU, she researches SH3 and PDZ protein domains and their binding interactions in Dr. Jeanine Amacher’s research lab.

As an Amgen Scholar at UCLA, Caroline is working in Dr. Ajit Divakaruni’s lab in the Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology. For the summer she is researching the metabolism of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). The RPE is a monolayer of pigmented cells located between the retina and the choroid. It plays many critical roles in eye health, including phagocytosis of photoreceptor outer segments (POSs). POSs are located within photoreceptor cells, found in the outermost layer of the retina. To maintain the health and functionality of the photoreceptor cells, these segments undergo a constant renewal, with discs grown near to the base while distal POSs are phagocytosed by adjacent RPE cells in a process called outer segment phagocytosis (OSP). The RPE utilizes alternative substrates for its own metabolism, sparing glucose for the metabolism needs of photoreceptor cells. One of the hypothesized forms of alternative substrates are the POSs themselves. To determine if metabolites in the POSs are being used by the RPE, Caroline is using carbon tracing experiments.

Caroline would like to thank Dr. Jeanine Amacher for her encouragement to go for this opportunity, Dr. Ajit Divakaruni and the entire Divakaruni Lab for their incredible mentorship and support, and the Amgen Foundation for giving her the opportunity to continue to grow as a scientist.

Camryn is a rising senior at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, majoring in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. At UMass, Camryn is an undergraduate researcher in Dr. Jennifer Rauch’s lab, which studies the molecular mechanisms that regulate the spread and aggregation of the protein tau and its association with neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.

As an Amgen Scholar at UCLA, Camryn works in Dr. David Nathanson’s lab to investigate the molecular biology of malignant brain tumors, specifically glioblastoma, the most lethal type of glioma. Understanding the functional biology and the altered cellular functional processes of glioma cells is essential in discovering therapeutics for this disease. Camryn’s project focuses on two novel drugs and how they modulate lipid-mediated cell death of gliomaspheres. She is investigating different neuronally derived glioma cell lines and culturing them in serum and serum-free conditions to explore how differentiation of stem-like glioma cells and their microenvironment affects their sensitivity to these two drugs. This includes monitoring the status of stem-like and differential gene markers in these two cell lines over the course of their differentiation, and quantifying cell sensitivity to the drugs through cell death assays.

Camryn would like to thank Dr. Nathanson, Jenny Salinas, the Nathanson lab, and the Amgen Foundation for their support during this incredible opportunity to further foster a love and a passion for science.

Emily is a rising senior at St. Mary’s College of Maryland majoring in biology and biochemistry. At St. Mary’s she works in the Emerson lab, where she uses computational methods to research how the environment influences developmental and physiological processes of the genome.

As a UCLA Amgen Scholar, Emily is conducting research in the Luis de la Torre-Ubieta (LTU) lab in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences. The LTU lab uses single-cell multiomics to study the genetic processes of the developing human neocortex. Down Syndrome (DS) presents with cognitive deficits, reduced brain weight, and neural hypocellularity. It is hypothesized that this pathology is conferred by the increased dosage of gene regulators encoded on chromosome 21, causing global gene dysregulation. For her project, Emily will be analyzing single-cell gene expression and chromatin accessibility of DS-derived neural progenitor cells (phNPCs) to identify the effects of T21 on cell type-specific gene expression and regulation in phNPCs. This in vitro single-cell resolution map will provide insight to be used in the development of therapeutics for DS.

Emily would like to thank the Amgen Foundation, Dr. Luis de la Torre-Ubieta, Alexis Weber, and the entire LTU Lab for their support and guidance in her scientific endeavors.

Emily is a rising senior at Western Washington University majoring in Biology. At WWU, Emily works in the lab of Dr. Nick Galati studying cell signaling mechanisms of mammalian primary cilia. She utilizes immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy to capture fluorescent images of human and mouse cells to develop an understanding of cell signaling relative to cellular geometry.

As an Amgen Scholar at UCLA, Emily is investigating human embryonic stem cell development in the lab of Dr. Hanna Mikkola. The goals of the Mikkola lab include illuminating the fetal microenvironments where progenitor stem cells differentiate into mature blood cells essential for cardiovascular homeostasis. By studying the niches where hematopoietic stem cells proliferate and differentiate, we are able to understand more about the conditions which give rise to blood system pathologies such as leukemias, and use this to develop better therapeutics for treatment of these disorders. Emily’s work this summer includes describing the physiological differences which give rise to hematopoietic stem cell development in addition to identifying cell subtypes and signaling pathways which are important for hematopoiesis.

Emily would like to thank Dr. Hanna Mikkola and Dr. Yue Wang for their mentorship, and the entire Mikkola Lab for being so supportive, kind, and helpful. She also would like to say thank you to her family for always encouraging her to pursue her dreams. Lastly, Emily would like to thank UCLA and the Amgen Foundation for giving her this opportunity to explore and grow as a scientist and have an unforgettable summer.

Gabe is a rising senior at Haverford College majoring in Chemistry and minoring in Physics. He aspires to create breakthrough tools for organic synthesis, increasing the accessibility of bioactive molecules relevant to developing new drugs, agrochemicals, and materials. At Haverford, he works in the Malachowski lab at near-by Bryn Mawr College, where his research is focused on the development of novel enantioselective cyclizations for the synthesis of interesting heterocycles with quaternary centers.

As an Amgen Scholar at UCLA, Gabe is researching metallaphotoredox catalysis in the Doyle lab. The Doyle lab seeks to advance chemical synthesis and catalysis by drawing upon photocatalysis, Nickel chemistry, and machine learning and data science. As he looks towards graduate school, Gabe is highly interested in the development of synthesis methods that leverage photochemical and electrochemical redox reactions, and to achieve such transformations enantioselectively, often through pairing with organocatalysis or transition metal catalysis. As a result, he is thrilled to be in the Doyle lab for the summer.
Gabe would like to thank his postdoc mentor in the Doyle lab, Dr. Rajat Maji, all members of the Doyle lab, and the Amgen Foundation for funding this incredible opportunity

Angela is a rising senior majoring in Physiological Science at UCLA. She has conducted
research at the Hsiao Lab at UCLA since her sophomore year. At the Hsiao Lab, Angela studies the effects of the ketogenic diet on Autism Spectrum Disorder using mouse models.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is an idiopathic neurodevelopmental disorder largely
characterized by behavioral symptoms, including deficits in social communication and
interaction and the presence of repetitive behaviors. While there is currently no curative
treatment for ASD, recent studies have shown that the ketogenic diet (KD) is promising in
alleviating the behavioral symptoms of ASD. However, the exact mechanisms are not well
characterized. Working with her postdoctoral mentor Dr. Gulistan Agirman, Angela aims to
uncover the mechanisms underlying KD improvement of ASD core behavioral symptoms.
Angela’s project with the UCLA Amgen Scholars Program seeks to better characterize the
effects of KD on different mouse models of ASD and to better understand the specific cell types that could potentially be involved in the mechanism by which KD improves ASD behavioral symptoms.

Angela would like to thank Dr. Gulistan Agirman, Michael Quicho, and Dr. Elaine Hsiao for
their exceptional mentorship, guidance, and encouragement. She would also like to thank the members of the Hsiao Lab for their support. Last but not least, she would like to thank the Amgen Foundation for this wonderful opportunity and Dr. Tama Hasson, Dr. Beth Lazazzera, and Kimberly Mendez for their guidance this summer.

Neha is a rising senior at UC Davis majoring in Cell Biology. There she conducts research in Dr. Changil Hwang’s lab in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, studying the epigenetic regulation of pancreatic cancer metastasis. As part of the Amgen Scholars Program at UCLA, Neha works in Dr. Timothy O’Sullivan’s lab, which studies the innate immune system in the context of various diseases. Neha’s project is focused on natural killer (NK cells) and their role in tumor cell killing. NK cells are cytotoxic innate lymphocytes that play an important role in defense against viral infections and tumor
metastasis. Tumor cells have developed a number of evasive mechanisms to avoid immune cell killing, and one example of this is overexpression of HLA class I molecule (HLA-E), which binds to the NKG2A receptor on NK cells to inhibit NK cell proliferation. However, during human cytomegalovirus infection there is an expansion of NK cells expressing the activating NKG2C receptor complex, which also binds to HLA-E. Neha aims to study how overexpression of this activating receptor complex could provide a method of enhancing tumor cell killing by NK cells and ultimately provide insight into how NK cells can be more effectively utilized in cancer therapeutics. Neha would like to thank the O’Sullivan Lab, especially Dr. Timothy O’Sullivan and her graduate student mentor Joey Li, for their mentorship and support throughout the summer, as well as the Amgen Foundation for providing her with this opportunity to further her skills as a researcher.

Ashlyn Sloane is a rising senior at UCLA majoring in Neuroscience. She joined the Wells Lab in the summer of 2023, where she studies mTOR signaling defects and the potential rescue of cellular phenotypes by rapamycin of Jordan’s syndrome patient cell lines.

Jordan’s syndrome (JS) is caused by a mutation in the gene PPP2R5D, which potentially causes an upregulation of the mTOR pathway that is responsible for cell proliferation and growth. JS is characterized by Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), macrocephaly, and hypotonia. Rapamycin is an antibiotic that is a known modulator of the mTOR pathway. During the school year, Ashlyn studied the gene expression changes with rapamycin treatment in control neural progenitor cells (NPCs). As an Amgen Scholar, Ashlyn will continue her work to identify a dose-dependent effect on the protein expression and phosphorylation of rapamycin on two proteins downstream of the mTOR Complex. Her goal is to determine the ideal duration and concentration of rapamycin treatment for future use in JS NPCs. She will then identify any quantifiable differences between control and JS NPC cell lines in baseline protein expression and phosphorylation of her two proteins of interest. Through this summer research, Ashlyn will apply rapamycin to JS NPCs in the fall to potentially rescue the cellular phenotypes of JS patient lines.

Ashlyn would like to thank her graduate student mentor, Laila Sathe, and her PI, Dr. Michael Wells, for their invaluable mentorship, kindness, and support, as well as the Amgen Foundation for this incredible opportunity!

At Northwestern, Cooper is a rising junior majoring in Biological Sciences, with a concentration in Cell and Developmental Biology. Since the summer of 2023, he has been studying the epigenetic regulation of progenitor skin cell differentiation in Professor Xiaomin Bao’s lab. He has worked on projects relating to the cell-state specific interactions of chromatin remodeling complexes, and the roles of ligand-activated transcription factors in xenobiotic metabolism and differentiation. 

At UCLA, Cooper is working in the Goldstein lab, which investigates stem cells, metabolism, and cancer initiation in the prostate. This summer, he is studying how germline variations of the HOXB13 gene reprogram lipid metabolism in prostate cancer. Some ancestry-specific variants of certain genes, like the transcription factor HOXB13, have been linked to an increased risk of earlier and more aggressive prostate cancer. Using techniques like western blots, drug treatments, and metabolite tracing, Cooper seeks to uncover how these variant cancer cells build or utilize lipids differently than their wildtype counterparts. He hopes this project will help reveal how more aggressive cancer phenotypes reprogram cells’ metabolism, and inform more targeted, ancestry-specific therapeutic options for advanced prostate cancer in the future

Cooper would like to thank Shirley Zhang, Dr. Andrew Goldstein, and the whole Goldstein lab for their kindness, patience, and support. He’d also like to thank the Amgen Foundation for this opportunity to learn new skills and refine his interests as a scientist.

Justin is a rising senior at UCLA majoring in Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology. Justin started in the Spencer Lab in the summer of 2022. There, Justin studies the influence of macrophage-specific Spp1 on the dystrophic phenotype and cell-cell interactions in the dystrophic muscle niche. This is all with the aim of better understanding Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) and the mechanisms that increase its severity.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is an inherited degenerative muscular disorder caused by mutations in the DMD gene. Mutations in the DMD gene cause a loss of function of dystrophin, a protein essential for muscle cell membrane integrity via the dystrophin-glycoprotein complex (DGC). As a result, muscle cells are prone to chronic injury, dysregulated inflammation, and fibrosis. As an Amgen scholar, Justin will study DMD using muscular dystrophy X-linked mice (mdx mice), which are mice with a dystrophic background because of a point mutation in the DMD gene that causes them to express non-function dystrophin. This model will be used alongside the macrophage conditional knockout mouse line (MϕcKO) created by the Spencer Lab. The ablation of macrophage osteopontin has led to the disappearance of two stromal cell subclusters. The two subclusters were transcriptionally characterized and found to be novel stromal cell populations, which the Spencer lab refers to as ApoD(+) and Cxcl13(+) stromal cells. Using immunofluorescence techniques, Justin will find out if macrophage osteopontin is responsible for the viability of these cells and through which mechanism this happens. Justin will also characterize the phenotypic effects of missing ApoD(+) and Cxcl13(+) stromal cells on the mdx mice muscles. The preliminary characterization will involve using intracellular fat staining to uncover any difference in the amount of intracellular fat in MϕcKO compared to the control mice.

Justin is exceptionally grateful to everyone at the Spencer Lab for their kindness, patience, and helpfulness. This is especially so for Justin’s graduate student mentor, Raquel Aragón, and his PI, Dr. Melissa Spencer. Justin would also like to thank the Amgen Foundation for this opportunity and their support in his journey to become a physician-scientist.

Zachary Caterer, an undergraduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (UWEC), is focused on the development and integration of novel imaging techniques, machine learning, and artificial intelligence to enhance diagnostic accuracy and improve point-of-care practices. At UWEC, he contributed to a project in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Materials Science and Department of Computer Science, where he assisted in developing deep learning algorithms for automated and precise detection and classification of laser-based spectroscopic images. This advancement has the potential to revolutionize diagnostic processes, aiming to enhance patient treatment and outcomes.

As an Amgen Scholar, Zachary is currently working on integrating machine learning and fluorescence microscopy techniques to create an automated system for the accurate detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) in patient smears. By utilizing environment-sensitive probes and the low-cost fluorescence microscope Octopi, his objective is to streamline the diagnostic process and improve the efficiency and reliability of TB detection. The project involves investigating optimal parameters for probe detection, distinguishing between live and dead cells, assessing drug resistance, and detecting Mtb cells in human samples. Through this research, Zachary aims to contribute to global efforts in combating tuberculosis and ultimately enhance patient care.

Zachary extends his sincere gratitude to the Amgen Foundation and The Kamariza Lab for the invaluable opportunity to develop and execute his project, further refining his skills as a researcher.

Arden is a rising senior chemistry major at Carleton College. He greatly values the time he spends with his peers exploring scientific understanding, and is particularly interested in physical and analytical chemistry and biochemistry and their applications in advancing society.

As part of the Amgen Scholars Program at UCLA, Arden is conducting research in the lab of Dr. José Rodríguez in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. The Rodríguez lab studies structural biology with computational, biochemical, and biophysical approaches using imaging methods such as electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, and electron diffraction. Arden is using these diffraction methods to explore structural aspects of binding in enzyme inhibition. Papain is a cysteine protease used as a model system for numerous analogous enzymes including the particularly relevant PLpro domain of Nsp3 from SARS-CoV-2, which is vital for viral replication. Inhibition of papain is possible with small molecules such as E64 that irreversibly bind the thiol group at the active site characteristic of these enzymes. Examining binding of E64 derivatives is of interest for selective inhibition of cysteine proteases, which has potential as a therapeutic tool in targeting viral and neurodegenerative disease pathways.

Arden would like to thank his mentors Professor Rodríguez and Niko Vlahakis for their invaluable guidance, as well as UCLA and the Amgen Scholars Program for providing him with this opportunity to grow as a scientist.

Christina is a rising senior at UCLA majoring in Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology. She has worked in Dr. Crosbie’s lab since December 2021, where she studies how the mechanotransduction protein YAP can alter inflammatory macrophage behavior in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), enhancing overall disease pathology.

DMD is a rare, X-linked disorder that currently has no cure and is ultimately fatal. Patients experience progressive muscle weakness and muscle degeneration, as well as chronic inflammation and muscle fibrosis due to elevated macrophage activity. Muscle fibrosis results in elevated extracellular matrix (ECM) stiffness, activating mechanosensing proteins such as YAP, which normally regulates cell proliferation, but also has a potential role in polarizing macrophages towards an inflammatory phenotype in stiffer environments. Christina’s project with the UCLA Amgen Scholars Program seeks to better understand how macrophage cytotoxic behavior is altered when YAP is activated in macrophages by the stiffer, fibrotic environment of DMD muscle. Using cytotoxicity assays and immunofluorescence techniques, Christina hopes to better understand mechanisms of immunomodulation and macrophage behavior in DMD.

Christina would like to thank her graduate student mentors, Pranav Kannan and Daniel Helzer, and Dr. Rachelle Crosbie for their incredible mentorship and support, as well as the Amgen Foundation for this amazing opportunity to continue her growth as a scientist.

Charlotte is a rising senior at Wesleyan University double majoring in Molecular Biology and
Biochemistry, and Neuroscience and Behavior. At Wesleyan, she works in Dr. MacQueen’s lab, using
budding yeast as a model organism for studying the dynamics of meiotic proteins involved in the structure
and function of the synaptonemal complex.
As a UCLA Amgen Scholar, Charlotte works in Dr. Askary’s lab in the Molecular, Cell and
Developmental Biology Department, and this lab focuses on creating and utilizing new or modified
molecular tools to understand embryonic development of the mammalian retina with the goal of using this
understanding to develop better therapeutic strategies and molecular diagnostics for neurodegenerative
disorders of the eye. Charlotte is using a modified single molecule fluorescent in situ hybridization
(smFISH) procedure developed by a member of the Askary Lab to visualize the presence and localization
of the expression of 33 different genes of RPCs in embryonic mouse tissue with the hopes to use this
combined spatial and transcriptional information to characterize subtypes of RPCs that could inform on
what biases an RPC to assume a certain cell fate. This would provide further insight into the development
of the retina, as well as a means of generating a reliable source of different retinal cell types to use for
studying treatment of retinal damage.
Charlotte would like to thank Dr. Askary, her mentor Pratiti Dasgupta, lab manager Yuka McGrath, and
the other members of the Askary Lab for their guidance, support, and encouragement, as well as the
Amgen Foundation for this amazing opportunity!

Miriam Lepiz is a rising senior at UC Irvine conducting research in the Rodriguez Verdugo lab in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Her project is focused on increasing the realism and diversity of a three-strain synthetic microbial community representative of the Loma Ridge site in Irvine Ca.

As a UCLA Amgen scholar, Miriam is conducting research in Dr. Hong Zhou’s lab in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics and the Electron Imaging Center for Nanomachines. The Zhou lab focuses on 3D structural studies of biological complexes using Cryo-EM and Cryo-ET.

For the summer, she has focused on constructing an atomic model of the Mammalian Reovirus (MRV) using a cryo-em map. MRV is a segmented dsRNA virus with two capsid layers, belonging to the Reovirdae family. It is known to be a gastrointestinal virus capable of infecting all mammals but has low pathogenicity towards humans. This virus is studied due to its oncolytic function and to be used as a model for more pathogenic viruses that belong to the Reovirdae family. An atomic model of MRV will provide a high enough resolution to study the interactions within the intermediate particles of the virus during viral replication and assembly.

Miriam would like to thank Dr. Hong Zhou and Dr. Xiaoyu Liu for their incredible mentorship and extensive support. She would also like to thank the Amgen Foundation for providing her with the opportunity to grow as a researcher.

Marcos Moliné is a rising third-year neurobiology student at UCSD, working in the Molina Lab at UCSD Health, where they study mitochondrial dysfunction and its relation to healthy aging.

As part of the UCLA Amgen Scholars program, Marcos is working in Dr. Richard Staba’s Lab. His project focuses on analyzing the effects of the potential drug treatments, deferiprone and levetiracetam, in preventing epileptogenesis after traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Because the onset of epilepsy can take months to years to occur in humans after TBI, Marcos’ project uses rats as an animal model. TBI is induced, and high frequency oscillations, interictal spikes, and seizures are monitored as biomarkers during the acute period (14 days) following TBI.  Currently, anti-seizure medications such as levetiracetam are prescribed to epileptic patients to treat their seizures. However, this drug only prevents symptoms. Therefore, there is a need for a treatment to prevent epileptogenesis after TBI, especially considering that 15-50% of patients who experience TBI develop epilepsy. Deferiprone has been identified as a possible anti-epileptogenic treatment because it is an iron chelator and will metabolize potentially harmful iron released in the brain due to bleeding. The lab hypothesizes that a combination of deferiprone and levetiracetam will reduce the observed biomarkers, indicating increased potential as an anti-epileptogenic treatment, which can be further studied in clinical trials.

Marcos is very grateful to Dr. Richard Staba and Dr. Cesar Santana-Gomez for their mentorship this summer, as well as to the Amgen Foundation and UCLA for giving him this opportunity.

Truman is a rising senior at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) who studies Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental (MCD) Biology. Since June 2022, he has been conducting undergraduate research in the Chamorro-Garcia lab of the Department of Microbiology and Environmental Toxicology at UCSC, where he has been studying the obesogenic effects that microfiber microplastics have on mesenchymal stem cells as they differentiate into adipocytes.

This summer, through the Amgen Scholars Program, Truman is working with the Farmer lab of the Department of MCD Biology at the University of California, Los Angeles, which studies the inter- and intracellular mechanisms that drive and disrupt craniofacial development. Truman is attempting to visualize the periosteal dura, a layer of the meningeal tissues that sits just below the calvaria of the skull. While it is understood that the meninges are integral to proper calvaria bone growth and function, it is unclear if the periosteal dura has a supporting role in this interaction. Truman and the Farmer lab hope that visualizing the periosteal dura throughout the stages of zebrafish development will elucidate the relationship the periosteal dura has between the calvaria and the rest of the meningeal tissues.

Truman would like to thank Dr. Farmer, Benny Mosquera, Katie Wilhem, and the Amgen Foundation for investing their time, energy, and resources in him and his summer research project. Their support has made for an unforgettable summer of scientific and self-discovery.

Alyssa is a rising senior at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo studying Biochemistry. At Cal Poly, Alyssa works in Dr. Andres Martinez’s research laboratory and has been testing enzyme stabilizers on paper for applications on point-of-care (POC) microfluidic paper-based devices.

At UCLA, Alyssa is conducting research under Dr. Daniel T. Kamei in the Department of Bioengineering. The Kamei Laboratory focuses on the development of novel POC diagnostics and was the first to apply aqueous two-phase systems (ATPS) to lateral-flow immunoassays (LFAs). ATPSs can be used to pre-concentrate a target biomarker into a smaller volume to improve the sensitivity of LFAs. Previous studies done by the Kamei Laboratory have shown that polymer-salt ATPSs can decrease the LFA limit of detection by 10-fold. However, because polymer-polymer ATPSs are more temperature resistant than polymer-salt ATPSs, they are more applicable at the POC. Alyssa’s current project is to optimize the use of a polymer-polymer ATPS composed of polyethylene glycol and dextran for use with LFAs. Since dextran is too viscous to efficiently flow across a LFA, the enzyme dextranase will be used to cleave dextran into smaller subunits. This should improve the flow of dextran by decreasing viscosity and consequently, increase the sensitivity of the LFA.

Alyssa would like to thank Dr. Daniel Kamei, Frances Nicklen, and all of the members of the Kamei Laboratory for being so welcoming and helping her grow as a scientist. She would also like to thank the Amgen Foundation for funding this amazing summer research opportunity.

Originally from Tucson, AZ, Sean is a rising senior at Northwestern University studying biology with minors in Data Science and French. At Northwestern, Sean works in the lab of Dr. Thomas Hope, where he has highlighted trends in PET/CT and vaccine trial data to better understand the dynamics of HIV infection. He is passionate about science education, as well as finding ways to integrate computational biology work with the discovery of niche coffee shops in Chicago.

At UCLA, Sean is working in the Meyer lab to decipher complex immune cell relationships within and between patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) is used to profile heterogeneity in biological systems, but current analysis strategies lack the ability to robustly differentiate patient-to-patient variation when comparing samples across many different individuals. To profile multi-experiment scRNA-seq data, the Meyer lab has adapted PARAFAC2, a multidimensional variance decomposition method, to first align data between experiments and subsequently perform dimensionality reduction. PARAFAC2 enables a 3-dimensional approach to linear decompositions of scRNA-seq data, and is thus better able to model natural variation. This summer, Sean is applying this method to 1.2 million cells derived from 260 patients, with the goal of using PARAFAC2 to strengthen understanding of the cell-level changes that contribute to the SLE disease state.

Sean would like to thank Andrew Ramirez, Dr. Meyer, and the rest of the Meyer lab for their invaluable support throughout the summer, as well as the Amgen Scholars program at UCLA for this opportunity.

Aishini is a rising senior at UC Davis. There, she conducts research in the Ori-McKenney Lab on the phosphorylation of microtubule-associated protein tau following traumatic brain injury and has investigated the underlying dopaminergic and serotonergic neuronal activity in the development of tau pathology.

At UCLA, Aishini works under Dr. Anthony Covarrubias in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics to conduct research on cell cycle regulators p21 and p16 in senescent macrophages. Cellular senescence, a cell fate characterized by irreversible cell-cycle arrest in response to various stressors, is an emerging driver of aging and aging-associated diseases. The Covarrubias lab has identified macrophages as a new cell type that can undergo senescence. Subsequent tests performed by the lab indicate an increase in senescent marker p21 in senescent macrophages, but a decrease in senescent marker p16. Aishini’s project in the Covarrubias lab thus entails determining the role of p21 and p16 in the senescent programming of macrophages. She is using CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing to generate p16 and p21 knock-outs in primary macrophages. Then, following treatment with irradiation, which is known to induce senescence through DNA damage, she will conduct various assays on these cells to test the effects on senescent programming. She hypothesizes that p21, but not p16, is important for macrophage senescent programming, and overall aims to identify markers of cellular senescence in resident macrophages.

Aishini would like to thank the entire Covarrubias lab, especially Dr. Anthony Covarrubias and graduate student Grasiela Torres, and the Amgen Foundation for this opportunity to enhance her skills as a researcher.

Elise is a rising senior at Western Washington University, where she conducts undergraduate research in Dr. Jeanine Amacher’s structural biology and protein biochemistry lab. While in the Amacher lab, Elise has studied protein-peptide interactions in a variety of proteins/domains – including Sortase A enzymes, SH3 domains, and PDZ domains – and recently published a first-author journal article.

At UCLA, Elise works for Dr. Lily Wu in the Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology; her focus for the summer is to investigate the inhibitory effect of statins on triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell lines. Statins are commonly used to lower blood cholesterol by inhibiting HMG CoA reductase but have been seen to pleiotropically inhibit a variety of aggressive cancer types, including TNBC. TNBC does not exhibit overexpression of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) and does not express estrogen or progesterone receptors (ER and PR). Two of the most common therapies for breast cancer are anti-HER2 and endocrine-based and are therefore not effective against TNBC. Statins present a possible therapeutic method for treating this type of cancer, but not much is currently known about the mechanism/pathways at play. This project aims to gain insight into the inhibitory action of statins in this context, particularly as it relates to epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, metastasis, and hypoxia.

Elise is very thankful for this wonderful opportunity to work with everyone in the Wu lab and for the support of both the Amgen Foundation and UCLA.

Mark is a rising senior at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, where he conducts organic synthesis research in Dr. Scott Eagon’s medicinal chemistry lab. In the “E-Lab,” he attempts to synthesize small molecule benzoxazole inhibitors of casein kinase 2 (CK2), an understudied kinase that phosphorylates over 700 different residues and is known to be upregulated in numerous types of cancers.

This summer at UCLA, Mark works for Dr. Peter Clark in the Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology where his focus is on expressing Hexokinase 2 (HK2) and both identifying and characterizing potential small molecule inhibitors of it. Elevated glucose consumption via aerobic glycolysis—known as the Warburg Effect—is fundamental to nearly all cancers and hexokinase catalyzes the first rate-limiting step of glycolysis. Given this and the fact that HK1 and HK2 provide redundant protection from loss of function for either of these isoforms of hexokinase, the Clark Lab aims to selectively inhibit HK1^– HK2⁺ cancers (40 percent of hepatocellular carcinoma cases) by identifying small molecule inhibitors of HK2. Using enzymatic and thermal shift curve assays, Mark looks to better understand the mechanisms behind which small molecules identified from high-throughput screening inhibit HK2.

Mark would like to thank Dr. Clark and his mentor, Stefani Perez, as well as Ph.D. candidate K.M. Ryan and undergraduate Rachel Jiang for their wonderful mentorship and support. He would also like to thank UCLA and the Amgen Foundation for the opportunity to explore a different field of research this summer.

Matthew is a rising senior majoring in microbiology at Oregon State University. There, he works in Dr. Hannah Rowe’s lab where he studies interactions between the microbiome and influenza A virus that contribute to the stabilization and propagation of viral infections.

As an Amgen scholar at UCLA Matthew works in Dr. Lili Yang’s lab in the department of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics. The Yang lab focuses on developing novel cancer immunotherapies by studying the mechanisms behind antitumor immunity. Matthew’s project specifically focuses on the effects of creatine supplementation on the cellular activation of dendritic cells within the energy-poor tumor microenvironment (TME). Previous research has shown that creatine is important for preventing an “exhausted state” in T-cells within the TME and that creatine supplementation results in decreased tumor growth in mouse melanoma models. However, the effects of creatine on other members of the tumor microenvironment is largely understudied. The goal of Matthew’s work in the Yang lab is to look for activation markers in non-treated, creatine supplemented and ATP supplemented dendritic cells in order to gain a better understanding of how creatine affects the cellular activation of dendritic cells and how it may play a role in disease detection and immune activation.

Alex is a rising senior at UCLA majoring in Neuroscience and Design | Media Arts. Since his sophomore year, he has been performing research with Dr. Sotiris Masmanidis’s Lab at UCLA to study the neural mechanisms involved in reward learning and movement.

During the UCLA Amgen Scholars Program, Alex is investigating the behavioral and electrophysiological characteristics of gait and locomotion in healthy and Parkinson-like model mice. Gait impairments are characteristic of cognitive decline and some neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s Disease (PD). PD pathology includes symptoms such as dopaminergic neuron death in neural circuits involving the basal ganglia and implicated in proper movement modulation. Preliminary data from the Masmanidis Lab has demonstrated basal ganglia neural encoding for limb gait parameters in healthy mice and disruption of such neural firing in neurotoxin Parkinson-like mice models. However, such neurotoxin models, such as induced dopaminergic neuron death with 6-hydroxydopamine, do not fully characterize PD pathology, such as development of misfolded α-synuclein aggregates including Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites. Using computational ethology for behavioral gait tracking and electrophysiological recordings of the basal ganglia, Alex is exploring gait in healthy mice and mice injected with pathological α-synuclein in the basal ganglia to quantify the behavioral and neurological deficits associated with PD.

Alex would like to thank the UCLA Amgen Scholars Program, the Amgen Foundation, and the Masmanidis Lab for the opportunity and their support in his growth as a researcher and scientist.

Jerry is a junior at Amherst College pursuing majors in Biochemistry and Economics. While at Amherst College, he conducted research with Professor Lara Halaoui, studying the effects of dopant rare-earth metals on the electrocatalysis of the oxygen evolution reaction for water splitting.

As an Amgen Scholar at UCLA, Jerry is working in Dr. Neil Harris’ lab in the department of neurosurgery. His project in the Harris lab involves a collaboration with the Dr. Ina Wanner lab to investigate neurodegeneration in brain cells following repetitive minor traumatic brain injuries (TBI) using immunofluorescence. There are many studies showing that moderate and severe TBI leads to changes in the brain’s pathology and cognition in both the short and long-term. However, recent findings suggest that repetitive minor TBI also has short and long-term effects. In the Harris lab, Jerry will undergo an explorative study to determine where and to quantify how much neurodegeneration is occurring in the brain following repeated minor TBI in the acute phase. He will do this by staining mouse brains with antibodies that detect neurodegeneration and imaging them. This study has great relevance to contact athletes who often encounter multiple mild brain traumas throughout a season of play. Furthermore, it will further research on the early detection of and cures for Alzheimer’s Disease.

Jerry would like to thank the Amgen Foundation, the Harris Lab, and the Wanner Lab for their extensive mentorship and generous support in his exploration into the world of science.