Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program at UC Davis

Lynda Flores-Graham received a BS in Biochemistry from California State University, Sacramento, in May 2017. As a PREP@UCD scholar, she has worked in Dr. Elva Diaz’s lab at the Department of Pharmacology and in Dr. Philipp Zerbe’s lab in Plant Biology. Lynda is interested in both molecular and cell biology, and organic chemistry.

Tianna Grant obtained a BS in Biology with Honors from St. Francis College in May 2017. She is currently with the LaSalle Lab studying the role of gut microbiota in brain development using mouse models of Rett Syndrome. Tianna also has previous experience in cancer and biological defense research. With PREP@UCD she plans to integrate technology and science using animated models of her research, and will use these methods to communicate science throughout her career.

Iván Olaya graduated with a BS in Genetics and Genomics from UC Davis on June 2017. He currently works in the Burgess lab, which studies homologous chromosome pairing and segregation during meiosis using yeast and zebrafish. Ivan is investigating whether homologous chromosomes in zebrafish can still pair without formation of the synaptonemal complex.

Jonathan Amezquita graduated in May 2018 from Macalester College with a Biology major and English minor. He currently works with JoAnne Engebrecht to study sex-dependent security checkpoints in meiosis via investigating the spindle-assembly checkpoint in C. elegans. Inhibition of this checkpoint may lead to mutagenesis, cell death, or defects in gametogenesis. Jonathan will characterize the spindle-assembly checkpoint response to erroneous kinetochore attachment in C. elegans male meiosis. He will use CRISPR/Cas9 to generate gene knockouts involved with the spindle assembly checkpoint and will analyze their effects to meiosis through live-cell imaging.

Anna (Georgieva) Andronicos graduated from UC Riverside with a BS in Biology. As a PREP@UCD scholar, Anna works in Aldrin Gomes’ lab to investigate the effects of NSAIDs on the cardiovascular system. Specifically, she will examine changes in the proteasome activity caused by calcium and the mechanism behind those changes. Anna is primarily interested in molecular biology and biochemistry.

Elijah Blank earned a BS in Biology with great distinction from the University of Maryland Baltimore County in May 2018. He is currently working in molecular neurobiology with the Trimmer lab to study ion channel complexes, which are known to organize junctions between the plasma membrane and endoplasmic reticulum in the brain. Mutations in these channels are also associated with devastating neurological disorders. Elijah will use proteomic analysis of these ion channel complexes to identify novel ion channel associated proteins in both mouse tissue and established cell lines.

Yesica Mercado-Ayon completed a BS in Cell Molecular and Developmental Biology at the University of California, Riverside, in March 2018. Prior to joining PREP@UCD, she worked as a lab technician at UCR and studied the biogenesis of small RNAs in C. elegans.  At UC Davis, she works in Anna La Torre’s lab, where she studies the retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) that connect the retina to the brain. In diseases like glaucoma, these cells die and partial loss of vision or blindness can occur. The La Torre lab seeks better ways to culture RGCs with a higher yield and longevity for use as replacement in therapy. Yesica’s research interests include cellular and  molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration and genetic basis of disease.

Joseph Rosas graduated with a BS in Molecular Biology with a minor in Human Development from UC San Diego in March 2018. He now works in Megan Dennis’ lab, which studies the effects of human-specific duplicated genes and how they play a role in development of neurocognitive disorders. Joseph examines how chromatin structure is differentially organized across fetal development for neural tissue of Rhesus macaques. Prior to PREP, he conducted research as an IMSD Scholar at UC San Diego, investigating conditional cytokine expression using a mouse model of sepsis.

Colton Baumler graduated magna cum laude with a BS in Biology, BA in Chemistry, minor in Mathematics, and honors in research from Concordia University, St. Paul, in December 2018. In the Arsuaga-Vazquez lab at UC Davis, he studied the roles of symmetry and topology on DNA and examined the knotting of dsDNA as it is packaged in a P4 bacteriophage’s capsid to answer questions of how DNA organization, placement, and interactions take place within confined spaces. Colton also is working in Rachael Bay’s evolutionary genomics lab to study genomic differences in thermal tolerance in corals.

Carlos Estrada graduated from California State University, Chico, in May 2018, with a degree in Biological Sciences with the option in Cellular and Molecular Biology. He is currently working in Bruce Draper’s lab studying the sex determination and maintenance of the adult sexual phenotype in zebrafish. Members of the Draper lab have identified two zebrafish genes that are likely linked to estrogen biosynthesis, normal female sexual development, and maintenance of the female differentiated state. Carlos will use CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing to create new transgenic zebrafish lines and produce gene knock-out/knock-in lines to determine the role of a gap-junction protein in the exchanging of these signals and, ultimately, in the sex determination of zebrafish.