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Students in Medical School

MD I Students

Alis Balayan



  • Email: abalayan@health.ucsd.edu
  • Undergraduate Institution: UCLA
  • Graduate Department: N/A
  • Research Interests: Stem Cell Research, Cancer Biology, Cardiovascular Research
  • Laboratory Rotation: 
  • Thesis Lab:

Oye Bosompra



  • Email: n1bosomp@health.ucsd.edu
  • Undergraduate Institution: UCLA
  • Graduate Department: N/A
  • Research Interests: Endocrinology/ Metabolism, Aging, Nutrient-Signaling Pathways/Molecular Nutrition
  • Laboratory Rotation: 
  • Thesis Lab:

Trever Carter



  • Email: tcarter@health.ucsd.edu
  • Undergraduate Institution: Notre Dame
  • Graduate Department: N/A
  • Research Interests: Pharmacology/Drug Discovery, Chem/Biochem, Neuroscience
  • Laboratory Rotation: 
  • Thesis Lab:

Jianna Cressy



  • Email: jcressy@health.ucsd.edu
  • Undergraduate Institution: Johns Hopkins
  • Graduate Department: N/A
  • Research Interests: Neuroscience, Genetics, Pharmacology
  • Laboratory Rotation: 
  • Thesis Lab:

Genevieve Curtin



  • Email: gcurtin@health.ucsd.edu
  • Undergraduate Institution: Tulane University
  • Graduate Department: N/A
  • Research Interests: Neuroscience, Immunology/Infection, Chemistry/ Biochemistry
  • Laboratory Rotation: 
  • Thesis Lab:

Matthew Donnelly



  • Email: mpdonnel@health.ucsd.edu
  • Undergraduate Institution: Cornell
  • Graduate Department: N/A
  • Research Interests: Cardiovascular Research, Cell Biology  and Developmental Biology
  • Laboratory Rotation: 
  • Thesis Lab:

Mary Kaye Duff



  • Email: mduff@health.ucsd.edu
  • Undergraduate Institution: Columbia University
  • Graduate Department: N/A
  • Research Interests: Neuroscience, Immunology/ Infection, Endocrinology/ Metabolism,  Pharmacology/ Drug Discovery
  • Laboratory Rotation:  Lisa Eyler and Paula Desplats (Su 20); Axel Nimmerjahn, Salk (Su 19, July 22)
  • Thesis Lab: 

Quetzal Flores-Ramirez



  • Email: qfloresramirez@health.ucsd.edu
  • Undergraduate Institution: UC Berkeley
  • Graduate Department: N/A
  • Research Interests: Stem Cell Research, Cancer Biology, Immunology/Infection
  • Laboratory Rotation: 
  • Thesis Lab:

Amin Mahmoodi



  • Email: amahmoodi@health.ucsd.edu
  • Undergraduate Institution: UCI
  • Graduate Department: N/A
  • Research Interests: Bioengineering; Bioinformatics; Neuroscience 
  • Laboratory Rotation: 
  • Thesis Lab: 

Lauren Ostrowski



  • Email: lostrows@health.ucsd.edu
  • Undergraduate Institution: Brown University
  • Graduate Department: N/A
  • Research Interests: Neuroscience; Bioengineering; Epidemiology/Public Health
  • Laboratory Rotation: 
  • Thesis Lab:

Alta Steward



  • Email: amsteward@health.ucsd.edu
  • Undergraduate Institution: University of Washington
  • Graduate Department: N/A
  • Research Interests: Bioengineering, Bioinformatics , Epidemiology/Public Health, Neuroscience
  • Laboratory Rotation: Albert Hsiao (Su 20); Albert Hsiao & Paula Desplats (Su 19; July 15)
  • Thesis Lab: N/A

Brett Taylor



  • Email: b5taylor@health.ucsd.edu
  • Undergraduate Institution: Fordham
  • Graduate Department: N/A
  • Research Interests: Cancer Biology, Pharmacology/Drug Discovery, Neuroscience
  • Laboratory Rotation: 
  • Thesis Lab: 

MD II Students

Erin Coonahan


  • Email: ecoonaha@health.ucsd.edu
  • Undergraduate Institution: Tufts University 
  • Graduate Department: NIH Partners Program (OxCam)
  • Thesis Title: An aptamer-based sensor for the detection of antimalarial drugs
  • Thesis Lab: Dr. Carole Long (NIAD, NIH), Professor Maarten DeVos (Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Oxford University), Professor Joel Tarning (Mahidol Oxford Research Unit)

Althea Hansel



  • Email: ahansel@health.ucsd.edu
  • Undergraduate Institution: Harvey Mudd College
  • Graduate Department: N/A
  • Research Interests: Pharmacology/Drug Discovery, Chemistry/Biochemistry, and Cancer Biology
  • Laboratory Rotation: Andrew Ward June 22-July 17; Stefano Forli July 27-August 21 (Su 20); Rommie Amaro (Su 19, July 1)
  • Thesis Lab: N/A

Chase Morgan



  • Email: c1morgan@health.ucsd.edu
  • Undergraduate Institution: Columbia University 
  • Graduate Department: N/A
  • Research Interests: Biochemistry
  • Laboratory Rotation: Kevin Corbett (June-July), Joe Pogliano (August) (Su 20); Liz Villa (Su 19, July 15)
  • Thesis Lab: N/A

Celina Nguyen



  • Email: ctn004@health.ucsd.edu
  • Undergraduate Institution: University of Arizona
  • Graduate Department: N/A
  • Research Interests: Bioinformatics, Chemistry/ Biochemistry, Immunology/ Infection
  • Laboratory Rotation: Nicole Coufal & Chris Glass (Su 20); Bing Ren (Su 19, July 8)
  • Thesis Lab: N/A

Jack Olmstead



  • Email: jolmstead@health.ucsd.edu
  • Undergraduate Institution: Baylor University 
  • Graduate Department: N/A
  • Research Interests: Neurosciences and Bioengineering
  • Laboratory Rotation: Brenda Bloodgood (Su 20); Sung Han (Su 19, July 1)
  • Thesis Lab: N/A

Diana Smith



  • Email: d9smith@health.ucsd.edu
  • Undergraduate Institution: Harvard University
  • Graduate Department: N/A
  • Research Interests: Neuroscience and Epidemiology/Public Health
  • Laboratory Rotation: Murray Stein and Terry Jernigan (Su 20); MJ Meloy (Su 19, July 22)
  • Thesis Lab: N/A

Victoria Smith



  • Email: vismith@health.ucsd.edu
  • Undergraduate Institution: Drexel University
  • Graduate Department: N/A
  • Research Interests: Chemistry/Biochemistry and Pharmacology/Drug Discovery
  • Laboratory Rotation: Aaron Carlin and Erica Ollmann Saphire (LJI) (Su 20);
    Rommie Amaro (Su 19, July 1)
  • Thesis Lab: N/A

Alexandra Stream



  • Email: astream@health.ucsd.edu
  • Undergraduate Institution: UCLA
  • Graduate Department: N/A
  • Research Interests: Immunology/Infection, Microbiome, and Cancer Biology
  • Laboratory Rotation: Victor Nizet and Cressida Madigan (Su 20); Bruce Torbett (Su 19, July 8)
  • Thesis Lab: N/A

Ilya Verzhbinsky



  • Email: iverzhbinsky@health.ucsd.edu
  • Undergraduate Institution: UCLA
  • Graduate Department: N/A
  • Research Interests: Bioengineering, Bioinformatics, Cardiovascular Research and Neuroscience
  • Laboratory Rotation: Eran Mukamel and Eric Halgren (Su 20); Terrence Sejnowski (Su 19, July 8)
  • Thesis Lab: N/A