2012 Graduates

Aaron Briggs

• Undergraduate Institution & Major: Dartmouth College, Biology with Biochemistry Emphasis and Chemistry
• Research Mentor: Dr. Antonio De Maio
• Project Title: Scavenger Receptor A1 Role in the TLR4 Receptor Complex

Hannes Buck

• Undergraduate Institution & Major: Amherst College, Biophysics
• Research Mentor: Dr. JoAnn Trejo
• Project Title: Sorting of Protease Activated Receptor 1 (PAR1) in Early to Late Endosomes 

Taiwo Dodo-Williams

• Undergraduate Institution & Major: Mount San Antonio Community College, Psychobiology
• Research Mentor: Dr. Hemal Patel
• Project Title: Role of caveolin and adaptation of C. elegans to hyperoxia

Beruk Kiros

• Undergraduate Institution & Major: University of Massachusetts Amherst, Biology
• Research Mentor: Dr. David Roth
• Project Title: Cardiac-specific over expression of caveolin-3 protects from diabetic cardiomyopathy 

Riley McMurtrie

• Undergraduate Institution & Major: UC San Diego, Human Biology
• Research Mentor: Dr. Neil Chi
• Project Title: Efficient Generation of Cardiomyocytes as a Novel Human in Vitro model of Danon Disease

Afomia Mesfin

• Undergraduate Institution & Major: UC San Diego, Cognitive Science with a Specialization in Neuroscience
• Research Mentor: Dr. Farah Sheikh
• Project Title: A Novel Desmoplakin-SNAP29 Interaction: Possible Role In Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathy

Nicholas Meyers

• Undergraduate Institution & Major: Central Washington University, Cell and Molecular Biology
• Research Mentor: Dr. Rolf Bodmer
• Project Title: Elucidating the relationship between Mmp1 and Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

Caroline Opene

• Undergraduate Institution & Major: California State University, Long Beach, Cell and Molecular Biology
• Research Mentor: Dr. Robert Ross
• Project Title: The Role of Beta-1D Integrin Cytoplasmic Domain in Cardiac Myocyte Mechanotransduction 

Ayodeji Sotimehin

• Undergraduate Institution & Major: Emory University, Chemistry
• Research Mentor: Dr. Barry Greenberg
• Project Title: The Role of Prolyl-4-hydroxylase in the Synthesis and Regulation of Triple Helical Collagen

Brian Tran

• Undergraduate Institution & Major: UC Irvine, Biological Sciences 
• Research Mentor: Dr. Nicole Purcell
• Project Title: Effect of Small Molecule Activators of Akt in Primary Cardiomyocytes 

Alejandro Vargas

• Undergraduate Institution & Major: University of Notre Dame, Biological Sciences  
• Research Mentor: Dr. Francisco Villarreal
• Project Title: The Protective Role of Epicatechin in Statin Induced Muscle Toxicity in C2C12 Myoblasts