Archive for category: Student Spotlight

Meet Blake Williams: a 4th year biochemistry major and biomedical research minor. During the Summer 2023 Sessions, Blake was a member of the California Alliance for Minority Participation (CAMP) program. CAMP is an NSF-funded program shared across nine UC campuses whose goal is to enhance diversity in the STEM fields at the PhD and faculty level by providing financial and professional development support to students from groups underrepresented in these fields. The summer prior, Blake conducted research supported by the UCLA Biomedical Research Minor Summer Scholarship. We had the opportunity to learn more about Blake’s research experience at UCLA:

1. How did you first get involved in your research project?

I started in the Spencer lab in spring quarter of my second year, which was my first year on campus due to COVID. The Spencer lab was one of at least 15 labs who I cold emailed when I was trying to get into research, and I was fortunate enough that they responded and had a spot open for me. Before joining the lab, I met with both Dr. Melissa Spencer and Robert, my graduate student mentor, and I talked to them about the lab’s research in gene therapies for muscular dystrophies as well as Robert’s project examining the immune response to systemic gene therapies for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. I began to assist Robert with this project for my first summer in the Spencer lab, and after some interesting findings at the end of the summer I developed my own project that I am now conducting independently. My project examines the mechanisms of how macrophages can internalize AAV, the viral vector for gene therapies, at greater rates due to antibody or complement opsonization and its effects on the downstream immune response.

2. How would you describe your research experience at UCLA?

My research experience at UCLA has been very exciting, to say the least. I’ve been able to present my research at the Biomedical Research Minor Summer Symposium last summer, Undergraduate Research Week this year, and at the American Society for Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT) Annual Meeting in 2023. I’ve learned a lot about the unique challenges of the scientific process and the patience and determination that it takes to do research. Our lab has a lot of collaborators both on and off campus, so I’ve also been exposed to a wide variety of research in the field of gene therapy. In addition to the amazing opportunities and personal growth that I’ve experienced in my lab, I am also extremely lucky to be a part of Dr. Spencer’s group. We have an amazing group of undergraduates, lab technicians, and graduate students and Dr. Spencer is very supportive of all of us. She invites us over to her house for holidays and definitely knows how to party!

3. What is one piece of advice you have for other students thinking about getting involved in research?

One piece of advice I have for other students who want to do research is that joining a lab is not a permanent commitment. The beauty of being an undergraduate in a lab is that this isn’t your main job. If the lab you’re in isn’t working for you or there’s another lab that’s more closely aligned with your interests, then it’s ok to switch or even stop research. The most valuable part of the undergraduate research experience isn’t the presentations or publications that you may get out of your time in a lab, it’s understanding how research is done and seeing if you genuinely enjoy it or not.

4. Have you attended a conference before? If so, can you describe your experience on preparation, presenting, etc.?

I attended the 26th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT) at the convention center in downtown LA earlier this year, where I presented my research with a poster that I collaborated on with my graduate student mentor. The process of preparing the poster mainly consisted of a few meetings with Dr. Spencer and the two of us talking about how we should organize our figures and then bringing back a few rounds of drafts. The poster session itself was a very open format where posters were hung up in a huge main room, and conference attendees could walk around and talk to us if our research interested them. We were at the poster for about 2 hours and we both gave and received a lot of advice! Outside of the poster session, the conference itself was amazing – I was able to hear from scientists from all over the United States and the world, both in industry and academia, who were doing amazing research and had really exciting results. Additionally, I received monetary support to attend this conference from the Department of Neurology, which is the department that our lab is a part of, so the conference cost me $0.

5. What are your future career goals?

My goal is to attend a medical scientist training program to earn an MD/PhD after a gap year continuing with my research in the Spencer lab. As a physician scientist, I hope to specialize in hematology/oncology and start my own lab where I will conduct clinical and/or translational research at the intersection of cancer treatment and gene therapy.

Congratulations to Lauren Tan for receiving the Graduate Research Fellowships Program (GRFP) Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF)!

A former member of the Undergraduate Research Scholars Program (URSP), Lauren received the award for research titled: “Understanding the Growth Mechanisms of Mercury Chalcogenide Nanoplatelet-Quantum Dot Heterostructures”. Lauren plans to attend Caltech to pursue a PhD in Physical Chemistry.

Meet Jennifer Gonzalez; a 3rd year majoring in Neuroscience. It would be an understatement to say that Jennifer keeps herself busy while taking classes at UCLA. She was previously a member of the 2-year PEERS program offered by the URC-Sciences. During the summer, she also participated in the CARE SEM Summer Program, a 10-week opportunity for UCLA undergraduates to undertake research with a UCLA faculty and receive professional development through workshops and seminars, and the Richard Morgan Undergraduate Fellowship Program. Now as an upperclassmen, she is an active member of the Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC)U*STAR Program and the Louis Stokes California Alliance for Minority Participation (CAMP). CAMP is an NSF-funded program shared across nine UC campuses whose goal is to enhance diversity in the STEM fields at the PhD and faculty level by providing financial and professional development support to students from groups underrepresented in these fields. Jennifer was kind enough to answer a few questions about her research experience and offer a few tips for those interested in beginning their research journey:

1. How did you first get involved in your research project?
I joined the Dong Lab as a rising senior in high school through USCs STAR Program. This process involved reaching out to different PIs, expressing my interest in volunteering at their lab, and interviewing with a series of lab members. I later trained as a histology assistant in the wet lab and met wonderful individuals, including the PI, post-doctoral fellows, graduate students, and lab technicians. My experience learning about the Mouse Cortico-Basal Ganglia-Thalamic Network project, which involved tracing inputs from the striatum into different parts of the basal ganglia, helped consolidate my interest in neuroscience. This inspired me to further immerse myself in research on neuroanatomy. I continued my research in the Dong Lab by contributing to the creation of a mouse spinal cord atlas that can be applied to understand spinal cord injuries.

2. How would you describe your research experience at UCLA?
Overall, my research experience at UCLA has been extremely enjoyable and enriching. My involvement in PEERS throughout my freshman and sophomore years increased my exposure to different summer programs offered on campus. Hoping to continue my research project in the Dong Lab over the summer, I participated in the CARE SEM Summer Program. This program allowed me to dedicate a substantial amount of time to my project and learn new techniques in the lab. I also gained valuable perspectives from current graduate students and med school students. Additionally, I learned about the physician-scientist track through this program, which inspired me to apply to the Richard Morgan Undergraduate Fellowship (RMUF). Over the course of RMUF, I learned more about the MD/PhD pathway and attended a series of networking socials with current students. This experience helped me learn more about where
medicine and research intersect. I continued my involvement in research through MARC and the Louis Stokes California Alliance for Minority Participation (CAMP) program, which have provided an abundance of resources that have collectively allowed me to develop my research skills, learn about scientific writing, and present at different research conferences.

3. What is one piece of advice you have for other students thinking about getting involved in research?
One piece of advice I would give other students thinking about becoming involved in research is to attend as many seminars and research talks as possible to learn more about on-going research at UCLA. Attending seminars and research talks can help you learn about different research techniques, projects, and labs on campus. This can also help narrow down your interests and labs that you would like to learn more about. Overall, this is a great way to network and meet new people in the research community.

4. Have you attended a conference before? If so, can you describe your experience on preparation, presenting, etc.?
Through the Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC) U*STAR Program, I had the opportunity of attending the 2022 Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Scientists (ABRCMS). This was the first research conference I attended. I presented my progress on the “High-Resolution Mapping of Motor Neuron Groups in the Mouse Spinal Cord” project, which involves the creation of a continuous atlas of the mouse spinal cord. To prepare for my presentation, I created different versions of my poster and received constructive criticism to help produce an organized and concise presentation. This experience was extremely rewarding, because I learned about the different components of a poster and how to develop concise figures. Additionally, my experience at ABRCMS was extremely valuable as I met individuals from different backgrounds, learned about programs offered at various campuses, and attended research talks.

5. What are your future career goals?
After completing my undergraduate career, I plan to pursue an MD/PhD degree in neuroscience and conduct research related to epilepsy.

Meet Karen Garcia, a 3rd year Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology student. Karen was kind enough to give us a little insight on her research endeavors and experience as an undergrad. As a member of the Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC) Program, she recently attended the 2022 Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS) conference where she presented her work on “ToxiOmics: Using Chemogenomics to Understand the Impact of Environmental Chemical Exposures on Genes and Diseases”. Her work with Dr. Yang was so impressive that she was awarded the Presentation Award in Computational & Systems Biology. When she’s not working on her research, Karen keeps herself busy as a member of SACNAS at UCLA and a board member for Hermanas Unidas de UCLA.  Keep up the great work!

1. How did you first get involved in your research project?

During my first year, I participated in the programs PEERS and BISEP which taught me about the various ways I could get involved in research. I looked into different labs that aligned with my interests and was fortunate enough to join the lab of Dr. Xia Yang. Since then, I have been working on our ToxiOmics project where we have been developing a tool that can be used to understand how environmental toxicants are linked to human diseases at the molecular level.

2. How would you describe your research experience at UCLA?

My research experience has been incredibly rewarding. I have received excellent mentorship from both my graduate student mentor and PI and have gotten to work with people with whom I share similar goals. Being exposed to new challenges has also helped me gain skills I never would have imagined I could achieve. I am really glad to be a part of such a great lab where there is always an opportunity to learn and grow.

3. What is one piece of advice you have for other students thinking about getting involved in research?

Take advantage of every opportunity you can! Whether it’s participating in different programs that can help you get started in research or learning a new skill once you’re already in a lab, don’t be afraid to take a chance. Always keep an open mind, you never know where these opportunities will lead you.

4. Can you describe your experience on preparation and presenting for a conference?

I was fortunate enough to attend the ABRCMS conference this past November. Since it was my first conference, I was quite nervous but also very excited. When preparing my poster I looked at different resources to get an idea of the key things I should include and then I ran it by my mentor and PI to make sure I was on the right track. During the poster session, I treated my presentation to the judges as more of a conversation which helped me answer every question they had more comfortably and with enthusiasm.

5. What are your future career goals?

I plan on pursuing a career in translational research as I have always been fascinated by how science can be used to benefit human health.

Say hello to Abigail: a fourth-year Neuroscience major. As a member of the De Biase lab, Abigail studies Microglia: dynamic, macrophage-like cells within the CNS. They remove cellular debris and pathogens from surrounding tissue and exert powerful neuroprotective and/or neurotoxic effects during disease and injury. She also participates in the Louis Stokes California Alliance for Minority Participation (CAMP),  whose goal is to enhance diversity in STEM fields at the PhD and faculty level by providing financial and professional development support to students from groups underrepresented in these fields. Abigail was kind enough to answer a few questions regarding her research experience:

1.) How did you first get involved in your research project?

I was first involved in health disparities research my sophomore year. That experience made me realize I love the process of research, however I wanted to do something that enriched my passion and major, Neuroscience. Being placed in the wonderful MD/PHD Richard Morgan MSTP program, led me to be placed in Dr. De Biases lab. This is where I have been researching Microglial-Extracellular matrix interactions related to memory and neuronal function in aged mice!

2.) How would you describe your research experience at UCLA?

My research experience at UCLA has been extremely enriching and
insightful. Research has definitely shown me the need for scientists, there is a lot more we don’t know in science. Since joining I feel that I have developed strong critical thinking skills and a love for research. There is nothing quite like creating your own ideas and creating a plan on how to evaluate those ideas. Being with a group of like minded people has given me extreme confidence to pursue my goals:)

3.)What is one piece of advice you have for other students thinking about getting involved in research?

My one piece of advice is to remember your background before you compare yourself to other undergraduates in the lab. Some people might have had lab experience in high school while you may have had none. Just remember you can get on any level with hard work.

4.) What are your future career goals?

My future career goal is to get an MD/PHD in neuroscience!

You’re doing an awesome job, Abigail! Keep up the great work!