Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program at UC Davis

Brayan Vilanova-Cuevas earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Microbiology, Summa Cum Laude, from the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico, in 2020. He also completed a professional certificate in Data Science from the University of Puerto Rico and used his knowledge of both biology and data science throughout his undergraduate research at Dr. Filipa Godoy's lab. As a PREP scholar at UC Davis, he is working with Dr. Melanie Gareau to explore the gut-brain axis in a mouse model by studying the microbial and metabolic environment of the gut, and characterizing gene expression and physiology.

Natasha Mariano received her BS in Genetics and Genomics from the University of California, Davis. Her interest in genomics and previous experiences as an undergraduate researcher in the Whitehead lab, library prep technician for a sequencing core, and bioinformatics intern at the Korf lab solidified her interest in genomic research. As part of PREP, Natasha will be joining the Dennis lab at UCD to study human-specific genes and other genetic variants that may contribute to neurological traits and diseases.