Rett syndrome, a common neurodevelopmental disorder in girls, alters motor skills and cognition, with disruptions in digestion and metabolism frequently occurring in affected individuals. The Janine LaSalle lab, including Tianna Grant -- PREP@UCD alumna and current UCSF grad student -- have identified new pathways of the progression of Rett Syndrome, with changes in the gut microbiome and metabolism emerging prior to the onset of neurological symptoms. Further, they observed sexual dimorphism in disease progression within mouse models.

Coming soon to a Zoom screen near you: the 2021 MCB 112 Poster Session, featuring scholars in PREP@UCD and three undergraduates who've been engaging in communications training with our PREP cohort.

Tuesday, 23 November, 12pm-2pm

Poster Session 1, https://ucdavis.zoom.us/j/99137829036?pwd=WUU2TDljQ1lvKzEwdlpLT29pelV1Zz09

PREP@UCD alumna Alyssa Papapella spoke to ASBMB Today, the magazine for members of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, about her experiences as a scientist with invisible disabilities. Alyssa joined PREP and Dan Starr's lab after graduating from Sarah Lawrence College. She's now is a PhD student and NSF GRFP fellow at the Baylor College of Medicine.

Hey look, it's our alumni!

Thanks to Greg Watry from the UC Davis College of Biological Sciences for writing a nice profile.

Congratulations to PREP@UC Davis scholar Brayan, whose undergraduate work on the gut microbiome just appeared. Brayan and his colleagues studied the relationship between the consumption of soy and dairy products, and gut microflora in healthy equol (a bacterial metabolite implicated in increased incidence of breast cancer) and non-equol producing Puerto Rican women. Women in their study who consume soy and high amounts of dairy products had a less diverse microbiome, leading to increased production of equol.

Congratulations to Yana, Sean, Ivan, and other coauthors for a nice paper!

Blokhina, Y. et al, 2021. Rad21l1 cohesin subunit is dispensable for spermatogenesis but not oogenesis in zebrafish, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1009127

PREP alumnus Joseph Rosas contributed to a publication from Megan Dennis' lab on expression patterns of gene duplications in humans compared with chimpanzees. By examining the trajectory of recent human-duplicated genes, they suggest that evolutionary divergence of how these genes are regulated drives their differential expression. 

Congratulations to PREP 2020-2021 cohort members Maribel Anguiano and Arthur Flores, recipients of the NSF GRFP Fellowship! Their independent reaction: "OMG."

And congratulations to Kaitlynn Gov, who received an Honorable Mention!

We are thrilled beyond belief, proud of them, and grateful to the mentors (Joanna Chiu, Jamal Lewis, and Jodi Nunnari, respectively) who helped nurture them

The 2020-2021 Cohort of PREP@UCD scholars all have grad school admissions offers! They have worked hard and their mentors have provided tremendous support in a challenging year.

We are SO excited and proud and happy.

During a time of pandemic, using Zoom for social functions has become routine.

To wit, this reunion of the 2018 PREP@UCD cohort (i.e., the one that includes the guys of shower curtain fame). We learned that...

Brandy Weathers, a 2020-2021 PREP@UCD scholar in the lab of Gerardo MacKenzie, gave an oral presentation at the annual research symposium of the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Ivan Olaya just passed his QE! He's now a doctoral candidate in the UC Davis Integrative Genomics and Genetics grad group. Woo hoo!

If you need to know how to dissect zebrafish testes, look no further! PREP@UCD alumnus Ivan Olaya and his grad student mentor Yaka Blokhina show you how in this video.

Watch the video: only 8 minutes of your life and you'll see some cool microscopy too.

Congratulations to 2019 cohort members Colton Baumler, Celena Lozano, and Alyssa Paparella, three of NSF's newest Graduate Research Fellows! Carlos Estrada and Amy Leslie got honorable mentions too, as did 2017 cohort member Ivan Olaya! Woooooooo hoooooooo!!!!!

From our first NSF-GRFP writing seminar, to the day the application was due, I can wholeheartedly say that the most significant part of the experience was the constant support from Dan, Carole, my PI -- Dr. Anna La Torre, the two graduate student volunteers -- Sharon Lee and George Bell, and the other PREP scholars. I know undoubtedly that without their helpful comments and feedback, I would have not submitted a competitive application and I would not have the privilege to say I am an NSF GRFP Fellow. THANK YOU!