PREP@UC Davis alumni continue to make substantial contributions to improving access to STEM.

Brayan Vilanova formalized an initiative for scientists who want to bring the excitement to science to classrooms of students who primarily speak Spanish. This program, Latino Educators Advancing Research and Knowledge (LEARN) Crew, started with Brayan's informal efforts at his alma mater to explain his research and promote being bilingual, and now has expanded to include additional speakers and five schools in the Caribbean. You can get the details on this program, with links to participate as a member of the LEARN Crew Speakers or request a visit from a scientist, on Brayan's social media page or via his email at byv3@cornell.edu.

Maribel Anguiano, who has led and supported multiple outreach programs in biology and neuroscience, created a template for graduate students who want to craft a workshop to introduce undergraduate students from historically marginalized communities to different careers in STEM. By sharing this information, Maribel hopes to prevent future generations of UC Davis graduate students from multiple independent re-inventions of an effective format. This project was supported by the College of Biological Sciences Graduate Student DEIJ Leader Fellowship. Maribel and the other CBS DEIJ Leader Fellows will present their work at a public open house on Monday, 13 May 2024.

Alyssa Paparella published an article in Nature Reviews Materials describing her work in fostering community among disabled scientists. Alyssa initiated and continues to coordinate the DisabledInSTEM initiative, which provides mentorship, resources, and resources for scientists with disabilities or chronic illness. Now in its fourth year, the program has grown to 80 active participants and continues to empower disabled scientists.

We send our deepest thanks to Brayan, Maribel, and Alyssa for their efforts and the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program for supporting the careers of these promising researchers.