Shinya is a rising senior at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) majoring in NanoEngineering and minoring in Chemistry. At UCSD, he works in Dr. Nisarg Shah’s lab. The lab is interested in synthesizing biomaterials for immunomodulation and cellular engineering. At the Shah lab, Shinya is working on testing the effects of specific proteins on T cells and using the in vitro experimental results to synthesize protein conjugated biopolymers for alleviating and possibly curing autoimmune arthritis. As a UCLA Amgen Scholar, Shinya is working in Dr. Andrea Kasko’s lab in the Department of Bioengineering where he works on the synthesis of polymeric tobacco tar mimics for testing the role of the innate immune system in tobacco related diseases. Recent findings have shown that receptors in the innate immune system can recognize complexes formed between DNA and cationic molecules. The innate immune response varies based on inter-ligand spacing and the number of repeating ligands. Furthermore, there is extensive correlational evidence that suggest that cigarette smoke can cause the dysregulation of the immune system. Preliminary studies have revealed several alkaloids in cigarette smoke that, if polymerized, can theoretically complex with DNA and interact with receptors in the innate immune system. Shinya’s work is based on the hypothesis that tobacco tar can form pro-inflammatory complexes with DNA to exacerbate certain autoimmune diseases. Shinya would like to thank the Amgen Foundation, Professor Kasko, Brooke Jackson, and Shouzheng Yue for their guidance and support.