Aby is a 5th year PhD student in the Neurobiology and Behavior Department at UCI. She investigates how stress negatively impacts cognitive functions, such as working memory. She hopes that her research in rodents can be translated to help patients who have experienced traumatic, adolescent stress. Aby enjoys tutoring STEM subjects and promoting STEM careers to elementary through high school students. She believes that science should be accessible to everyone, and that diversity in the science community is the key to a bright future. When not conducting research or volunteering with ROTO, Aby likes to manage her stress levels by taking long walks with her dog and going indoor rock climbing.
Annie is a 5th year PhD student in the Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics. Raised in Little Saigon (Westminster, California), Annie is a Vietnamese American first-generation college and doctoral student. She earned her B.S. in Genetics from the University of California, Irvine, where she investigated the genetics governing bacterial motility in Dr. Albert Siryaporn’s lab. As a Ph.D. Candidate in Dr. Timothy Downing’s lab, Annie’s research interests include epigenetics, stem cells, and tissue engineering. Her project examines the epigenetic mechanisms underlying cell fate transitions. Annie is thrilled to combine her passions for STEM education and youth outreach as Co-President of ReachOut TeachOut. She has been an active ROTO volunteer since 2019. Annie’s favorite ROTO programs are Lab Tour Day and the OCSEF Mentorship Program. In her free time, she enjoys cooking authentic Vietnamese recipes while FaceTiming her mom.
Jhay is a 4th year PhD student in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior within the School of Biological Sciences at UCI. She studies the intersection of m6A RNA methylation, Stress granules and autophagy and their possible implications in Huntington’s Disease. As an underrepresented minority (URM) in STEM, Jharrayne has dedicated herself to providing mentoring to other URM students interested in pursuing opportunities in STEM. She is very thrilled to begin her time earning her PhD at an institution with organizations like ReachOut TeachOut (ROTO) and honored to serve as the Vice President. Jharrayne is especially eager to provide clarity about the challenges and rewards of pursuing a career within the STEM fields as an underrepresented minority. She is most passionate about tutoring students through challenges faced within STEM courses and making those courses fun. Ultimately, she hopes to debunk the stigmas surrounding STEM courses and careers as “too difficult” for URMs. When she is not enveloped in her research or coming up with fun ROTO activities, Jharrayne spends her time learning new languages, doing mixed martial arts and bringing scientific curiosity to the world of gourmet cooking.
Alisa received her B.Sc. in Molecular Biology from Brigham Young University and then worked in a laboratory performing gene expression screenings for cancer patients. Now, she is happy to be a PhD student at UCI studying Biological Chemistry. Her current research focuses on how circadian clock disruption and genomic instability can drive cancer progression. Outside of the lab, she likes doing yoga, playing the harp, and bringing her dog to the park. She has volunteered with ROTO since she joined UCI in 2021.
Gabe is a 2nd year MS student in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. He studies in Dr. Greg Brewer’s lab, investigating metabolism effects on Alzheimer’s disease, by contributing to a phase 2 clinical study in conjunction with the UCI MIND Institute, developing automatic machine learning platforms for biomarker investigation, and fluorescent neuronal imaging. Gabe enjoys advising on statistics and data science, as well as giving back to the community to empower the next generation of researchers. Gabe is thrilled to connect the broader OC community to underserved schools and foster new professional mentorships. In his free time, Gabe sculpts with plaster, builds websites and lifts weights.
Science Fair Committee: Bridget Fortin, Ellie Andrews, Zachary Wagoner, Gautam Narayan, Alina Tu, Bryan Ivan Ruis, Amy Song, Kyle Christian Arceo
Bridget is a 4th year PhD student in the Department of Biological Chemistry at UCI. She studies how circadian clock disruption influences tumor progression and anti-tumor immunity. Bridget is passionate about science communication and simplifying complex topics to be easily understood by all. Through her outreach, she hopes to increase the representation of women and disadvantaged groups in STEM. When she is not in the lab, Bridget enjoys hiking and hanging out with her dachshund Jackson.
Ellie is a 3rd year PhD student in the Experimental Pathology department. Born and raised in San Diego, CA, she moved a few miles north to start her undergraduate studies at UCI in 2016 where she discovered a love of neuroscience. During her time at UCI, she also kindled a love of writing through her job as a writing peer tutor. She got her first experience working in an Alzheimer’s disease research lab and quickly became fascinated with its complexity. The vastness of the brain excited her and led her down the path to graduate school. Her current project is focused on characterizing sex differences in Alzheimer’s disease progression in people with Down syndrome to hopefully develop more targeted therapeutics. In her free time, she enjoys reading, rock climbing, ballet, and muay Thai.
Zach is a SoCal native born and raised. He graduated from California State University Long Beach (CSULB) with a bachelors in general biology. Following graduation, he was accepted to the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) Bridges to Stem Cell Research & Therapy Program, which brought him here to UCI. In 2020, Zach was admitted to the CMB Graduate Program where he is
now pursuing his PhD in the Wagar lab. His interests lie in utilizing human tonsil organoids to better understand how vaccines elicit protective responses and using this information to guide new and innovative vaccine design. Outside of the lab, Zach enjoys gaming with friends, trying out new food, and hiking and camping in the great outdoors. Zach first joined ROTO as a science fair mentor 2021 and is excited to continue helping build the next generation of scientists as a member of the science fair committee!
High School Liaison Committee: Jharrayne McKnight, Jeanette Sullivan, Erica Ramirez, Kevin Sanchez, Claire Freimark, Jacqueline Villalobos, David Bojorquez, Sarai Santos
Erica earned her B.S. in Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology from UCLA while also working as a co-lab manager in the lab of Dr. Alcino Silva. After graduating, she continued work as a technician focused on hippocampal learning and memory circuits and drug repurposing efforts. She is now a 2nd year PhD student in the Mahler lab, where she is exploring social reward mechanisms to see how they interact and overlap with other reward systems, including drug addiction circuitry. Outside of the lab she enjoys comic books, listening to reggaeton, and eating salads with her two guinea pigs.
Kevin is a 1 st year PhD student in the Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program. He previously worked as a research technician in the lab of Dr. Oswald Steward, where he investigated current approaches to reverse paralysis. Kevin is now exploring research topics such as studying why the immune system sometimes attack its own cells and drug discovery for neurological diseases in his rotations. Kevin hopes to improve equity in higher education by sharing his passion for science to diverse communities. In his spare time, he enjoys trying new foods, getting lost while traveling, and weightlifting.
Claire earned her BS in biology and mathematics from the University of Michigan. In 2020, she started as a PhD student in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology department at UCI. Claire studies the effect of temperature and disease on marine ecosystem functioning, specifically seagrass volatile organic compound emissions. She is passionate about supporting the accessibility and diversity of science through science communication and outreach. When she’s not working, Claire enjoys going to concerts, hiking, and hanging out with her cats.
Jackie is a 1st year Electrical Engineering Master student at UCI studying circuits and devices and the development of biomedical devices. She is currently working at Johnson & Johnson as a Research and Development Intern. Her work focuses on the development of equipment used for cataract surgeries and the improvement of a vitrectomy module for emergency procedures. Jackie enjoys spending her free time supporting STEM outreach events. She is passionate about getting more women and underrepresented minorities involved in STEM and has been a part of various outreach programs to introduce students to opportunities in these fields. She also enjoys spending time outdoors, cooking new recipes, and traveling.
David is from Oceanside, California. He earned his B.S. in Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics from UCLA while also volunteering in Dr. Zack’s Lab studying HIV. After graduating, he worked as a Lab technician in a clinical diagnostics lab in San Diego. After two years David was admitted to UC Irvine’s Cellular and Molecular Biosciences PhD program. His main fields of interest are in immunology and virology. He has been apart of organizations like citylab at UCLA where he devised lesson plans to teach high school kids. Outside of lab, he enjoys distance running and playing video games with friends.
Social Media Committee: Vi Dang, Sydney Prange, Roshae Roberts
Vi completed her both her B.S. in Physiology & Neuroscience with a minor in Psychology and her M.S. in Biology at UC San Diego. She is now a 3rd year PhD student at UC Irvine in Dr. Lisa Flanagan’s lab where she studies the chemotherapeutic resistance of glioblastoma stem cells in order to develop novel therapies and treatments. She looks forward to opportunities to mentor young students in their STEM career paths, especially those who are first-generation college students, as she resonates with the struggle of navigating academic- and career-related journeys early in life. Aside from research and outreach, she enjoys going to concerts/music festivals, tending to her plant babies, and weightlifting.
Sydney graduated from the University of Southern California in 2020 with a B.S. in
Biochemistry. She joined the UCI community through the Cellular and Molecular Biosciences Gateway Program and is currently a PhD student in the Thompson-Peer lab studying neuronal dendrite injury and regeneration in the context of neurodegenerative diseases. Sydney’s favorite thing about being involved in ROTO is connecting with students from different backgrounds and encouraging their interest in science.
ROTO Founder & Former President
Autumn Holmes graduated from the Microbiology and Molecular Genetics department at UCI. She studied how the picornaviruses – those that cause polio and the common cold – hijack the systems that repair and maintain our genetic information. In addition, Autumn is committed to ensuring that knowledge and opportunities to pursue higher education in STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) are accessible to all communities, especially those that are marginalized. It is this passion that inspired her found Reach Out Teach Out. Autumn’s future goals include establishing a career in academia as a research professor and directing her own laboratory. As a professor, she also plans to advocate for continued innovation in higher education in addition to collaborating with policy officials to develop initiatives that strengthen the communication – and trust – between practicing scientists and the general public.
ROTO Former E-Board Members