Greg is a California native, who spent much of his undergraduate studies split between several institutions. From Pasadena, to Fullerton, to San Diego and eventually settling into Los Angeles, one factor has remained constant in his educational career: a deep interest in the biological sciences. While finishing his undergraduate degree at California State University-Los Angeles, Greg pursued undergraduate research in the lab of Dr. Robert Nissen. The Nissen lab studies the regulatory roles of the scaffolding protein WDR68. This protein has been implicated in several metabolic pathways involved in biological development; one such pathway being craniofacial development. Greg spent his time with the lab characterizing the protein’s function with respect to Zebrafish craniofacial development. During his graduate program, Greg will continue to do research in the Nissen lab, striving to further characterize the role of WDR68 in zebrafish craniofacial development. Greg’s interest in science started early on, during his high school education at Don Bosco Technical Institute. His teacher’s emphasized the importance and excitement of the sciences, and created a setting in which science was fun. Now as an Impact LA fellow, Greg hopes to recreate some of that excitement and fun for younger students. Having grown up with a mother who is an educator herself, Greg knows the impact an educator can have on students. Greg hopes to leave a lasting impression on students; dissolving any false misconceptions they may have about the sciences. In this way, he hopes to inspire young minds to embrace the sciences as lifelong interests.

Sevak Ghazaryan received his B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from C.S.U. LA in June 2012. Parallel to earning B.S. degree he has also participated in research project in which he assisted in design and manufacturing of cooling modulus of invisible heat wave detector device. Sevak is currently enrolled in Master's program in Mechanical Engineering at California State University, Los Angeles with emphasis on heat transfer and thermodynamics. He is currently cooperating with Dr. Sharif as his mentor, for his Master's thesis involving study of Carbon Nanotube Based Composite Materials. He chose to study Carbon Nanotube base composite materials because they could have positive effect on our environment. In this research project he tends to find possible composite based material candidate to substitute metal alloy chassis of transport cars in order to reduce the weight of the car and hence decrease full consumption by the engine.

Andrea emigrated from Colombia after completing high school and her first year of medical school. She started her career in Bakersfield community college and graduated from the University of California, Irvine. Her curiosity and ambition for knowledge led her to pursue a master’s degree in Biological Sciences at the California State University, Los Angeles. Her enthusiasm to understand the physiology of the human body was accentuated once she met Dr. Katrina Yamazaki, a recently hired professor in the Biology department and began to work in the area of cardiovascular metabolism. As a pioneer graduate student of the new Yamazaki Lab, Andrea applied her dedication to her project involving the protection of mitochondrial structure and function during a heart attack using the compound epicatechin.  Her motivation for completing this project stems from her childhood of consuming a daily cup of pure hot chocolate. Epicatechin is a constituent of chocolate that is produced from the cacao seed. It has been shown to exert a broad display of metabolic effects of potential clinical importance. Andrea is now using different approaches and techniques to study how epicatechin is conferring protection at the cellular and molecular level in the setting of a heart attack.

 As an IMPACT-LA fellow, Andrea hopes to share with the classroom her experience as an underrepresented minority student who pursued a college degree. She hopes to be an example of one who overcame her language and culture barriers to achieve her dream of higher education. As the program’s name suggests, master’s students are provided with the opportunity to make an impact in a generation that will be leading the future of the world, and Andrea wants to leave the legacy of making an impact through the gift of knowledge and education, specifically in the growing area of science.

Nichole Lee is passionate about obtaining knowledge and understanding of how the human body functions on the molecular level. This “Highlander” graduated with a B.A. degree in Psychology from the University of California, Riverside, and Medical Scholars Program with an emphasis in Biological Science. Nichole’s education has brought her away from her comfortable native Northern California territory to sunny Southern California.  Nichole is currently studying toward her M.S. degree in the Department of Biological Sciences at California State University of Los Angeles, and works in the laboratory of Dr.Russo-Neustadt, where she applies her resilience and hard-work ethic to a research project in exercise neuroscience. The study of exercise neuroscience is an excellent fit for this athlete and enthusiastic knowledge seeker.

From her early mission to gain an understanding of the brain and human behavior, Nichole has now been led to explore another passion: the investigation of health-promoting interventions such as voluntary physical exercise and a “naturalistic” whole food diet, gathering evidence that may contribute to a new understanding of health, and the development of more efficacious therapies to protect against stress and disease. The natural enthusiasm, athletic inclinations and inquisitiveness that Nichole has possessed from early childhood have led her to follow the path of her mentors to join the clinicians and neuroscientists that are working toward a greater understanding of treatment mechanisms.

The IMPACT-LA program will allow this budding researcher to make the most of what she naturally does best, and to teach those that come after her in the new generation because the generation before her has paved the way via the light of education. Knowledge is power and good health is a good life.  Nichole has been seen working and researching in the community of those in need of a better understanding so that they may be empowered by the beauty of science and education. Nichole is honored to work under the National Science Foundation and the team of passionate educators here in Los Angeles, California; a new place that this graduate fellow now calls home.

Maria received her B.A. in Molecular Cell Biology with an emphasis in Genetics from UC Berkeley. She is currently working on completing her M.S. degree with the Chemistry and Biochemistry department at California State University, Los Angeles.  Her current research with her advisor Dr. Frank A. Gomez focuses on the development of new techniques for microfluidic devices. She is working on developing microfluidic chips to analyze binding interactions between molecules by obtaining their binding constants and exploring the use of new material for the building of microfluidic chips.  

As an IMPACT LA fellow, Maria plans to demonstrate chemistry’s diversity and versatility through hands on activities. Through activities focused on the properties of chemistry in materials and biology, she plans to pique an interest for science in students while teaching fundamental science concepts. 

 Janel received her B.S. in Animal Science with specializations in Companion and Captive Animals and Animal Behavior from the University of California, Davis in 2009. She will begin her M.S. program in the fall of 2012 in the Department of Biological Sciences at California State University, Los Angeles. Under the supervision of Dr. Alan Muchlinski, Janel will study the behavioral ecology of the native Western Gray Squirrel whose population health has not been deeply studied in urban Los Angeles. She hopes to learn how the introduced Eastern Fox Squirrel is impacting the native Gray Squirrel in their behavior and reproduction. Through this research, Dr. Muchlinski and Janel hope to develop management plans that will assist in reintroducing Gray Squirrel populations into suitable habitats where they can thrive and alter the existing habitats of Gray Squirrel populations to make them more supportive of the species.

Through IMPACT LA, Janel hopes to stimulate an interest in the field of science among minority students by providing exciting and interesting ecological activities. In addition, Janel will introduce students to the concepts of animal behavior studies and ecology as ways to interact with and learn from their surrounding environment.

Patricia Sanchez received her B.A. degree in Psychology from UC Berkeley, worked in education for a few years and then decided to peruse a career in biomedical engineering. She is currently enrolled in the Master’s program at California State University, Los Angeles in the electrical engineering department with an emphasis in biomedical engineering.

She is currently working in Dr. Won’s NetLab studying the benefits of Robotic Treadmill Training and Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation on spinal cord injuries. The ultimate goal of the research is to develop rehabilitative protocols that will improve walking ability in spinal cord injured patients. As an IMPACT LA Fellow she hopes to combine her passions for education and engineering to enhance the classroom experience and encourage students to pursue careers in math and science.