Name: Greta Kcomt Del RioHometown: San Diego, CAHobbies: Reading, Watching Formula 1 What do you study?I have a bachelor’s in general biological sciences and a master’s in biotechnology. I received both my degrees from Cal State San Marcos. After undergrad, I joined a biotechnology company that works on DNA Vaccines. There I worked in the […]

Name: Sasha (Alexandra) Fowler Hometown: Redding, CA   Hobbies: walking/running with my dog, taking care of my succulents, reading, and swimming   Lab: Engle Lab   Lab website: https://engle.salk.edu/    What do you study?As a research assistant, I help with a wide variety of projects that have to do with pancreatitis or pancreatic cancer. We […]

Name: Meenakshi Asokan Hometown: Chennai, India Hobbies: Rock climbing, hiking, skiing Lab: Kay Tye Lab website: tyelab.org  What do you study? Neural underpinnings of empathy. Why do we care so much about the suffering of those we love and identify with, and yet feel indifferent towards some strangers in distress? How do our brains orchestrate […]

Name: Lisa Mitchell Hometown: Lone Tree, Colorado Hobbies: Hiking, yoga, movies, ceramics Lab: Gage Lab Lab website: https://gage.salk.edu What do you study? I study brain development using organoids models. I differentiate stem cells into neurons and pattern them to form an in vitro human forebrain. With this model, we study the impact of specific cell […]

Name: Jonathan Choy Hometown: Burlingame, California Hobbies: Photography, Hiking, Basketball, Table tennis, Rubik’s cube Lab: Su Lab Lab website: https://sites.google.com/view/su-lab-ucsd/home  What do you study? My research focuses on determining the structures of neurons responsible for fruit flies’ sense of smell. I analyze images acquired via serial block-face electron microscopy (SBEM) which captures cellular structures with […]

Name: Mike Rieger Hometown: Stamford, CT, USA Hobbies: Star Trek, ancient languages, hiking, reading, video/audio editing, live entertainment Lab: Sreekanth Chalasani Lab website: https://chalasani.salk.edu/ What do you study? I study how animals seem to make different decisions despite growing up in otherwise identical environments and being genetically very similar. I also study how this decision […]

Name: Selin Kocalar Hometown: Los Gatos, California Hobbies: Playing the bassoon, reading historical fiction literature, practicing pilates Affiliation: Leigh High School graduate, incoming freshman at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology   What do you study? Safeguarding astronaut health is of utmost importance as humans prepare to explore more distant reaches of the solar system. Biosensors, […]

Name:  Monika Ramos Hometown: San Diego, CA Hobbies: Hiking, going to the beach, reading, and trying new food! Lab: NOMIS Center for Immunobiology and Microbial Pathogenesis under the direction of Daniel Holleran Lab website: https://hollern.salk.edu/ What do you do/study? Currently, I study the B cell response in a subtype of Breast Cancer that is notably […]

Name:  Michael Trogdon Hometown: Omaha, NE Hobbies: Biking, Camping, Reading Lab: Integrative Biology Laboratory under the direction of Ed Stites Lab website: https://www.salk.edu/scientist/edward-stites/ What do you do/study? My research is focused on using mathematical models of protein signaling networks to better understand cancer. These mathematical models can help predict how patients may respond to different […]

                                                         Name: Mariel Burquez Hometown: Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico Hobbies: Horseback riding, hiking, baking Lab: Evans Lab                                                                           What do you study?I currently study pancreatic cancer, the immune responses it has within the body and potential treatments that could be used in the future. My other research interests include infectious diseases, specifically those that […]