2008 Graduates

Rosa Maria Alvarez, MIT, Biological Engineering
Research Mentor: Dr. Kirk Knowlton
Project: Elucidating ZO-1 Function in the Adult Heart

Janet Choi, UCSD, Bioengineering
Research Mentor: Dr. Antonio DeMaio
Project: Export of Interleukin-11?: Unraveling an Unconventional Pathway of Protein Secretion

Michael Choi, Williams College, Biology
Research Mentor: Dr. Ju Chen
Project: The Role of FHL1 in the Development of X-linked Muscular Dystrophy

Jeremy Ezell, UCSD, Biology
Research Mentor: Dr. Jeffery Omens
Project: Structural Remodeling of Myolaminar Sheets During the Progression of Dilated Cardiomyopathy and Heart Failure

Anabel Flores, California Baptist University, Biology/Spanish
Research Mentor: Dr. Nicole Purcell
Project: Cardiac Characterization of PHLPP in Knockout Mouse

Nabeil Hazu, USD, Biology
Research Mentor: Dr. Timothy Bigby
Project: Interferon Beta Modulates the Immune Response to Ovalbumin in a Mouse Model

Matthew Kolar, Univeristy of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chemistry (Biochemistry)
Research Mentor: Dr. Fred Levine
Project: Down Regulation of Foxo-1 Induces Human Primary Pancreatic Cell Proliferation

Yimo Lin, Brown University, Biochemistry
Research Mentor: Dr. Paul Insel
Project: Cyclic Nucleotide Phosphodiesterases in Cardiac Fibroblasts

Alan Paul Lombard, UCSD, Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics
Research Mentor: Dr. Christopher Glass
Project: Role of PRMTS in LXR- and PPAR-specific Gene Regulation in Macrophages

Peter Lopresti, The University of Chicago, Biological Chemistry
Research Mentor: Dr. Andrew McCulloch
Project: Establishing the Effect of Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH) Expression on Recovery from Hypoxia and Anaerobic ATP Synthesis in the Fruit Fly Drosophila Melanogaster

Uchechi Ndoh, Norfolk State University, Biology Pre-Professional
Research Mentor: Dr. Francisco Villarreal
Project: Effects of Epicatechin on Myocardial Ischemia Reperfusion (I/R) in the Rat Heart

Audrey Ondrade, San Francisco State University, Physiology
Research Mentor: Dr. Rolf Bodmer
Project: Drosophila as a Genetic Model Organism to Understand the Molecular Mechanisms of Human Diseases

Michelle Saldana, UCSD, Biochemistry/Chemistry
Research Mentor: Dr. Hemal Patel
Project: Caveolae and Mitochondrial Cardiac Protection

Anita Santiago, UCLA, Biology
Research Mentor: Dr. Judith Varner
Project: Impact of CD11B/GR1 Myeloid Suppressor Cells on Dendritic Cell Function During Tumor Progression: Role of Integrin Alpha-4

Albert Shih, UC Merced, Bioengineering
Research Mentor: Dr. Jason Yuan
Project: Analysis of Smooth Muscle-like Cells in Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension (CTEPH) Patients to Elucidate Possible Disease Mechanisms

Valerie Soued, UCSD, Biology
Research Mentor: Dr. David Roth
Project: Effects of Hyperglycemia in Cardiac Myocyte Expression and Localization of Caveolin-3, Glucose Transporter 4 and O-linked N-acetyl-glucosamine

John Vu, Williams College, Biology/Biochemistry
Research Mentor: Dr. Robert Ross
Project: Predisposition to Heart Muscle Disease: Elucidating the Function of the Membrane-associated Protein Metavinculin in Striated Muscle

Pung Yuan, UC Berkeley, Psychology
Research Mentor: Dr. Vivian Hook
Project: Accessibility of the Prohormone Pro-neuropeptide Dibasic Cleavage Site to the Aqueous Environment Revealed by Deuterium-exchange Mass Spectrometry

WIlliam Zambrano, UCSD, Biology
Research Mentor: Dr. Eduardo Fricovsky
Project: Characterization of Mitochondrial Protein O-glcnacylation in Type 2 Diabetic Hearts