Truman Natividad

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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.

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.