Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program at UC Davis

Ross will conduct research on meiosis in Sean Burgess' lab.

In June 2025, Melissa earned a BS from UC Davis in Genetics and Genomics, with a minor in Neuroscience. As an undergraduate, she conducted neuroscience research in Alex Nord's lab. She has joined Donald Bers' lab as a PREP@UCD scholar and will study calcium signaling and excitation-contraction coupling in cardiac cells. She hopes to pursue a PhD in Neuroscience.

Christina holds a BS in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of California, Davis. She conducted undergraduate research in mouse behavior analysis, proteomics, and genotyping, focusing on the role of MECP2 in Rett syndrome and characterizing the function of the gene NHIP within Janine LaSalle's lab. She continues to pursue research in the LaSalle lab with the goal of understanding molecular mechanisms underlying neurological disorders. In addition, she serves as Chief Operating Officer of 2C Bioscience, where she works to advance innovative technologies in the in vitro fertilization (IVF) space.

Ahmad completed a degree in Biological Sciences from the University of California, Davis, in 2024. He will conduct research in the Gomes lab.

Daniela earned a degree in Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology from UC Davis in June 2025. As a PREP@UC Davis scholar, she will conduct research on something genetic in Megan Dennis' lab.

Clara graduated from the University of California, Davis, in June 2025 with a degree in Ecology, Evolution, and Biodiversity and minor in Quantitative Biology and Bioinformatics. As an undergraduate, she studied gland chemistry and morphology in orchid bees in the Ramirez lab as a part of the Research Scholars Program in Insect Biology, and community dynamics, specifically species coexistence, with Sebastian Schreiber. She will study optogenetic systems and do mathematical modeling in the Collins lab as a PREP scholar.

Brooke graduated with a B.S. in Biology from the University of Detroit Mercy. As an undergraduate, she was a ReBUILDetroit scholar, identifying mutations that alter the regulation of cell growth and division in developing flies under the guidance of Dr. Jacob D. Kagey. Additionally, she engaged in out-of-consortium research at the University of Arizona, investigating RNA stability in desiccated cells in the Carini Lab through the Undergraduate Biology Research Program. Following graduation, she continued her journey as a research laboratory technician at the University of Michigan, focusing on virus-host interactions of oncogenic and oncolytic viral infections, particularly nuclear entry, in the Spriggs Lab. As a PREP scholar at UC Davis, Brooke will explore virus-host interactions of mosquito-borne flaviviruses, such as Zika and dengue, in Dr. Priya Shah’s lab. Brooke aims to further her academic pursuits by obtaining a Ph.D. in Microbiology.

Zoe Upham graduated from San José State University (SJSU) with a bachelor's degree in Molecular Biology and a minor in Chemistry. At SJSU, she worked under Dr. Melissa Pickett to investigate the effects of PAR-1 on the establishment and maintenance of epithelial cell polarity using C. elegans intestines as a model. As a PREP scholar she will continue her work in C. elegans, using GEMs to measure differences in molecular crowding of the cytoplasm in different tissues, eventually looking into molecular crowding in disease and aging states. Zoe hopes to pursue a PhD in molecular cell or developmental biology.

Paloma Kai Velez graduated from Vassar College in 2024 with a B.A. in Biochemistry, where she researched the inner workings of eukaryotic initiation factor 3 (eIF3), a protein essential to the function of translation initiation. Paloma joined PREP@UCDavis to broaden her research experience within the supportive and collaborative environment that PREP has to offer. Within PREP, she hopes to tune her scientific communication skills and to widen her scope of research in preparation for graduate school. She is currently very interested in virology and is studying how viral outbreaks occur, or more specifically, the factors within the viral genome responsible for outbreak and transmission.

Marco Alarcon earned his bachelor’s degree in Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior at University of California, Davis. As an undergraduate, he conducted research in Dr. Karen Zito’s lab, where he performed mutagenesis experiments on the protein PSD-95 to investigate its role as a regulator of dendritic spine plasticity. Now a PREP@UCD scholar in Dr. Christina Kim’s lab, he will investigate the effects of psychedelics on the activity of neurons in the nucleus accumbens of mice, with the goal of paving the way for the development of new treatments for certain brain disorders. He hopes to eventually earn his PhD in neuroscience.