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Andrea Garcia Angulo 2021-2022 Home University: Class: sophomore Major: Biology Faculty Mentor: Dr. Kathrin Plath Andrea is a third year undergraduate biology major at UCLA. She is a first generation college student, a member of PEERS, and aspires to become a physician scientist in the future. She recently joined Dr. Kathrin Plath’s lab which studies the mechanisms by which epigenetic changes affect the pluripotency of stem cells. To this end, Andrea is working on better understanding how long-noncoding RNA’s Xist and Tsix as well as higher-order reconfiguration of chromatin structure mediate X chromosome inactivation in mouse embryonic stem cells in order to present a clearer understanding of the dynamic mechanisms of reprogramming and differentiation. |
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Ava Bignell 2021-2022 Home University: Class: sophomore Major: Biology Faculty Mentor: Dr. Elissa Hallem Ava Bignell is a second-year student from Ontario, California. She is involved in the campus |
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Bezawit Danna 2021-2022 Home University: Class: sophomore Major: Biochemistry Faculty Mentor: Dr. Ajit Divakaruni My name is Bezawit Danna. I am a sophomore Biochemistry major. I joined the |
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Cindy Ly 2021-2022 Home University: Class: sophomore Major: Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Mentor: Dr. Elissa Hallem Cindy is a second year Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics major who recently joined the Hallem lab where she studies the host-seeking behaviors of Strongyloides. In particular, she studies how mechanosensation, a host-emitted sensory cue, may affect how they find and locate hosts. Cindy uses the infective larvae of the rat-parasitic nematode Strongyloides ratti as a model system to measure and compare the nictation rate of S. ratti infective larvae in the presence and absence of 50 Hz vibrations. The lab hopes that these results could help develop novel preventative and therapeutic measures against infections by Strongyloides stercoralis, which poses a significant disease burden in underdeveloped countries. |
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Daniel Meza 2021-2022 Home University: Class: sophomore Major: Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology Faculty Mentor: Dr. Pavak Shah Daniel Meza is a second year Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology major at UCLA. The Shah lab uses C. elegans as a model organism to study the mechanisms that drive the neural circuits that form during development. Daniel is currently investigating the efficacy of various iterations of GCaMP, a genetically encoded calcium indicator, for use in embryonic C. elegans. With newer versions of GCaMP being recently developed, their time to protein maturation in C. elegans is unknown. Because the development of C. elegans is on the scale of hours, slight improvements in the time needed to have a functional GCaMP can be very significant. Through microinjections, Daniel produces transgenic C. elegans containing the desired GCaMP for testing. |
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Derick Diaz 2021-2022 Home University: Class: sophomore Major: Biology Faculty Mentor: Dr. Daniel Cohn I am a first generation rising second-year with a future career goal in research. Currently, I am enrolled in the Cohn lab studying skeletal disorders. My role will be to learn how to isolate DNA from mutant mouse tissues. Next, I will then determine their genotypes using PCR amplification, gel electrophoresis and DNA sequence analysis. These studies will then form the basis for evaluating the effects of a Trpv4 mutation on skeletal development, the main goal of the study. |
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Jasmine Gonzalez 2021-2022 Home University: Class: sophomore Major: Pre-Human Biology and Society Faculty Mentor: Dr. Yalda Afshar Jasmine is a sophomore working under the guidance of Dr. Yalda Afshar’s translational lab at the UCLA Health, Divison of Maternal and Fetal Medicine. Her research primarily focuses on high-risk pregnancies, such as fetal congenital heart disease and placenta accreta spectrum disorders. As a CARE Fellow, Jasmine investigates the signaling alterations in endothelial mechano-transduction within placental vascular endothelial cells by studying abnormal flow patterns observed in fetal congenital heart disease (CHD). These vascular cells were found to respond to different types of environmental conditions such as the flow direction of blood. Individuals who have CHD exhibit a halt in cellular growth, and are unable to mature in comparison to those who do not carry CHD. Jasmine collects data to understand this abnormal vascular phenotype by isolating human umbilical endothelial cells, running flow experiments, and conducting immunofluorescence staining and imaging to understand downstream complications in vascular cellular growth. Jasmine would like to thank the CARE Fellows program for this research opportunity, as well as Afshar lab group for their invaluable guidence and mentorship. |
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Jose Munoz 2021-2022 Home University: Class: sophomore Major: Biochemistry Faculty Mentor: Dr. Ryan Howe Jose is a second-year Biochemistry major at UCLA and has been working in Dr. Koehler’s lab for the past year. The Kohler lab studies the mechanism of protein import into mitochondria and how defects in mitochondrial protein translocation can lead to disease. Ultimately the lab wants to determine the molecular basis of the Mohr-Tranebjaerg syndrome. As of August 2021, Jose has been working on the project of identifying if DNA samples from zebrafish carry the recessive mitochondrial mutation. Mohr-Tranebjaerg syndrome causes deafness, blindness, and dystonia, which are the result of DDP1, the homolog to Tim8 which is a Mitochondrial import inner membrane translocase subunit. He is currently running Polymerase-Chain Reactions(PCR) to investigate the DNA of the zebrafish. He creates specific master mixes using Taq-polymerase that help in obtaining optimal results in each PCR. He also performs gel electrophoresis in order to identify which specimens have the recessive mutation. His work, under the guidance of Ryan Howe, is then used to further analyze the mutation of the zebrafish in order to determine the molecular basis of the disease. Jose would like to thank the Koehler Lab for providing him with this opportunity, as well as the CARE Fellows for funding his research this academic year. |
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Karen Navarro 2021-2022 Home University: Class: sophomore Major: Biology Faculty Mentor: Dr. Karen Sears I am a rising sophomore majoring in Biology and also part of the Solid Gold Sound, |
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Kelechi Onwuzurike 2021-2022 Home University: Class: sophomore Major: Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology Faculty Mentor: Dr. Douglas Black Kelechi Onwuzurike is a second year Molecular, Cell & Developmental Biology major at UCLA that started working in Dr. Black’s RNA splicing lab in the fall quarter of the 2021-2022 academic school year. The Black Lab extensively studies the pre-mRNA splicing reaction mechanism. The errors in this mechanism can found to contribute to human diseases including cancer, neurodegeneration, and inherited genetic disorders. Kelechi and his mentor Xinyuan Chen study the role of splicing regulators and their cis elements in the splicing of Myc-dependent cassette exons in prostate cancer. Through cloning techniques, DNA & RNA extractions, cell culture, and RT-PCR, Kelechi hopes to study splicing change of these exons when cis-elements that bind to splicing regulators are manipulated to understand how they can promote exon inclusion. With this mind, the long-term goal is to gain a mechanistic understanding of splicing regulation in Myc-driven cancers. After his undergraduate degree, Kelechi would like to pursue an MD-Ph.D to become a Physician-Scientist. Kelechi would like to thank the Black Lab, specifically his mentor, Xinyuan Chen, and Principal Investigator, Dr. Black, for their pristine guidance, patience, and support in his research endeavors. He would also like to thank the Care Fellows Program and staff, and his donor, Dr. Koretz for funding his research experience. |
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Kimberly Vasquez 2021-2022 Home University: Class: sophomore Major: Chemistry Faculty Mentor: Dr. Paula Diaconescu Kimberly is a sophomore chemistry major at the University of California, Los Angeles. She |
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Savannah Lopez 2021-2022 Home University: Class: sophomore Major: Neuroscience Faculty Mentor: Dr. Adriana Galvan Savannah is a current sophomore majoring in Neuroscience and minoring in Disability Studies at UCLA. She is currently working within Dr. Galván’s laboratory on the DAYS project (Development of Anxiety in Youth Study). The research focuses on studying how brain development is linked to anxiety in early adolescence. The research aims to model neural activity during risky decision-making simulations in youth. Participants will perform decisive tasks while undergoing fMRI, and completing self-report, behavioral, and psychophysiological measures. In the lab setting, under the DAYS project, Savannah aids in running MRI scans, coding to create brain videos out of structural scans, and collecting data that assess behavioral patterns. As anxiety disorders are most common among adolescents, it is important to examine brain maturation and its connection with levels of anxiety. The study uses a dimensional approach in understanding the persistence of anxiety symptoms during the “key development window” where symptoms and functionality worsen. Savannah would like to thank Care Fellows, Dr. Galván, and her fellow lab members for their guidance and support in aiding her growth as a scientist. |
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Sugey Garcia Galvan 2021-2022 Home University: Class: sophomore Major: Biology Faculty Mentor: Dr. Paul Barber Sugey is a rising third-year Biology major and has recently joined Dr. Paul Barber’s lab this |
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Tony Luu 2021-2022 Home University: Class: sophomore Major: Neuroscience Faculty Mentor: Dr. Caius Radu I am a first-generation student at UCLA. I am from San Bernardino and become interested in the medical field after exploring different career options at Pomona College. I wanted to explore the pharmaceutical aspect of medicine and applied to the Radu lab where I assist the lab with experiments, publications, and maintaining lab cleanliness. What I am currently working on is the manipulation of certain pathways in the body’s innate immune system to increase the immune response in a person’s body to target tumor cells. |
2021-2022