Saloni Agrawal

Saloni is a first-year student studying Physics with specialization in Astrophysics at UCSD. She hopes to move forward towards a PhD in Physics after her undergraduate degree and work in research after that. She joined the EXPAND program to get research experience. In her free time, Saloni likes to read and play the guitar.

Jermayne Le

Jermayne Le is a second year college student majoring in Cognitive Behavioral Neuroscience at UCSD. Jermayne is a first-generation student whose parents are immigrants from Vietnam. As a child, witnessing her parents’ work ethic and sacrifices in order to give her the best opportunities instilled in her the importance of being resilient, dependable, and faithful. Jermayne has a passion for all aspects of health including lifting at a local gym every day, volunteering at health centers, and focusing on her mind, body, and soul through daily meditation. Her long term goals are to pursue a career in pediatrics and increase the representation of empowered WOC in medicine. She joined the EXPAND Program to gain a better understanding of some of the world’s greatest health problems alongside knowledgeable researchers. Jermayne’s EXPAND project will investigate the regulatory protein-protein interactions in the type II fatty biosynthesis pathway of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the agent responsible for the disease, tuberculosis. Jermayne will use a combination of structural biology and computational analysis elucidate the interactions and apply them to drug discovery efforts.

Julian Soto

Julian is a third-year Mathematics major at UCSD. As the first member of his family to pursue higher education, Julian has faced many adversities. Despite the obstacles he has faced, he has persevered and maintained his passion for learning. It is because of his passion that Julian decided to join the EXPAND Program. Through the program, Julian hoped to gain experience with the command line, be able to perform rigorous data analysis, and make industry connections. In his free time, Julian loves to participate in triathlons, go on hikes, read, and participate in outdoor activities. He strives to get his Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics to one day become an astronaut. Julian's strive to become an astronaut comes from his drive to pursue physically and mentally challenging endeavors because it is such moments that have helped him overcome many adversities he has faced. Julian's project with EXPAND will use fatty acid biosynthesis pathway of the causative agent of tuberculosis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Results of this work will be used to improve rational drug design for treating tuberculosis infections. 

Jasmine Hwang

Jasmine is a first-year student at UCSD studying biochemistry and business economics. She is especially fascinated by this intersection because it encapsulates the process of innovation and its application into the real world. She joined the EXPAND program because she was interested in getting hands-on research experience as well as interacting with those already in STEM industries. While she is unsure of her future career path, she hopes this program will give her exposure and insight on what she may want to focus on. In her current EXPAND project, she will be working on synthesizing polymers and doing assays utilizing proteoglycans. Outside of the lab she enjoys traveling, reading, and playing basketball.

Sarah Griffith

Rachel Jiang

Rachel is a first-year student studying Material Physics at UCSD. She believes that studying physical science and doing research are all about the process of breaking barriers. Scientists are extending the barriers of human knowledge and always seeking for innovation. As a girl in STEM major, Rachel is passionate about breaking the gender barrier in the science field. Rachel joined the EXPAND Program, because she wants to explore different concepts in order to expand her horizon and get to know more about the beauty of physical science. During her free time, Rachel loves painting, traveling, and listening to her favorite playlist. 

Yukun (Tony) Bao

Yukun is a third-year student studying Applied Mathematics at UCSD. He is interested in the field of Operations Research which was sparked by the summer session at Cornell University. Operations Research is an interdisciplinary area that requires mathematics, computer science, and statistics. This is why Yukun joined the EXPAND program: he is curious how he can apply the mathematical skills he has learnt in class to different areas. He hopes he can both gain research experience and further narrow down his research interest. During his free time, he likes cooking, reading, listening to music and playing board games with friends.

Annie Wen

Annie is a first year student studying Mathematics and Economics at UCSD. She is still unsure of which field she would like to pursue and is actively exploring all her interests. She joined the EXPAND program because she wanted to participate in research that combines her interest in biology and computer science. Annie will be involved in analyzing RNA through computer programming as part of her project. Through the EXPAND program, she hopes to gain research experience and make discoveries of her own. Annie likes to sing, spend time with friends and watch dramas in her free time. She is excited for the future!

Shradha Balaji

Shradha Balaji is a first year student studying molecular synthesis. She is an international student from Lagos, Nigeria and enjoys painting, music, photography and playing basketball. Shradha is interested in the field of biotechnology and is fascinated by the synthesis of drug therapies and non-invasive surgeries. Shradha joined the EXPAND program to get real life experience doing research in academia. She has found the EXPAND program to be incredibly useful in deciding whether this type of research could be an option for her in the future.

Esther Nguyen

Esther is a first-year undergraduate student studying Biochemistry at UCSD. Growing up, she directed her focus towards medical school believing that it was the most suitable career pathway for a STEM major however her interests soon shifted as pharmacological sciences and research were introduced to her in high school. Her short yet impactful time in a cohort program played an integral part in her joining the School of Physical Sciences Cohort program and the EXPAND Program at UCSD. Esther greatly appreciates and is encouraged by a community of students who strive to support one another and are willing to grow in knowledge through collaboration and mentorship. Although there is more to learn about the diverse career options in her field, the EXPAND Program offers her the opportunity to explore her interests in biological and chemical sciences, academic research, and possibly academia, ultimately preparing her to become a mentor to students in the future. Apart from her studies at UCSD, Esther prioritizes physical and mental health through frequent activities in nature and dedicating time to enjoy her favorite hobbies such as baking, volleyball, crocheting, and playing board games. She hopes to find more opportunities and people that will inspire her to learn and challenge her to grow.

Sean Shukman

Sean is a third year transfer student studying Biochemistry at UCSD. He is a first-generation college student in America (both his parents received their college degrees in Russia) and enjoys both playing and watching sports. His favorite sport to play is tennis, but he also loves to watch and play basketball. He is interested in the field of Biochemistry because new biological and medicinal (drug-based) discoveries are made every day and these rising advancements play at the epicenter of saving people’s lives. There are millions of questions still left unanswered today; he wants to have a meaningful impact on understanding what obstacles are presented through these questions and how these challenges can be limited medically to beneficially help the world. He joined the EXPAND program because he was really interested in the opportunity of having a mentor guide him through the start of my journey in the research field. During his free time, he likes to stay active and hang out with friends.

Omkaar Kulkarni

Shreya Gupta

Taiqoor Ahmad

Raghav Kansal

Raghav is a PhD candidate at the University of California, San Diego, part of the CMS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, and a 2021 Fermilab LPC Artificial Intelligence Fellow. His focus is on developing machine learning models for particle physics. He is particularly interested in generative models for simulating particle collisions, as well as more generally using deep learning for improving data collection, reconstruction, and analysis - and ultimately for finding new physics!

Desirae Mellor

Ph.D. student in the Chemistry & Biochemistry department at UCSD. Her research focuses on the protein-protein interactions in the fatty acid biosynthesis pathway of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of the disease tuberculosis. As a first-generation college student, a military spouse, and a mother to two small children, Desirae has faced countless barriers while pursuing higher education. Her experiences have taught her how invaluable mentorship and support is for the success of underrepresented students. It is also these experiences that made her eager to participate in the EXPAND program. She frequently participates in STEM outreach and led the development of an extracurricular STEM program at her children’s elementary school on base. Desirae enjoys activities like hiking, baking, and making additions to her vast collection of unicorns. Her favorite quote is “You have to be odd to be number 1,” and she hopes to inspire future scientists to change the world, one oddity at a time.

Julianna Follmar

Samantha Kruse

Sam is a fifth year graduate student focused on understanding the transformations of bisphenol-A through biochemical, photochemical, and oxidative pathways in sea spray aerosol. The ultimate goal of her work is to gain a greater understanding of the impacts that bisphenol-A has had on both environmental and public health. Sam was born in Arizona, and is the first member of her family to pursue higher education. She has a passion for increasing accessibility in STEM due to her experiences with chronic illness as an undergraduate. In her free time, she likes playing board games, reading, and cooking. She hopes that through the EXPAND program, she is able to encourage a new generation of students to explore opportunities within STEM.

Siavash Moghadami

Siavash is a first-year graduate student in UCSD's Chemistry and Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Medicine departments. His research focuses on developing and using new technologies and methodologies to understand biological processes better. Siavash is originally from Iran and immigrated to the United States in 2015. As an immigrant, Siavash faced many hardships and barriers. However, he did not let any of those barriers stop him from achieving his goals. Since he wants to become a faculty member one day and establish his lab, he participated in the EXPAND program as a mentor. He is eager to teach students critical industry-level skills with which they could get a job. He had learned these techniques on his own, and it was pure joy. Now he wants to pass that pleasure to his mentees. He enjoys exploring nature, reading books, hiking, learning physics and computer science in his free time. After all, his favorite quote from his favorite person, Richard Feynman, is, "I was born not knowing and have had only a little time to change that here and there.”

Hoang Nguyen

Hoang is a fourth-year Ph.D. student in the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department at UCSD. Hoang’s project focuses on using structural techniques to elucidate the mechanism of mitochondrial protein biogenesis. Hoang is originally from Vietnam, immigrated to the U.S. with her family in 2012 and was the first member of the family to pursue higher education. Overcoming many challenges to get to where she is today, Hoang understands and wants to help those facing life obstacles succeed. That motivation leads to Hoang joining EXPAND program and taking part in many outreach activities. In Hoang’s free time, she loves to travel, play volleyball, go hiking and participate in outdoor activities. Hoang hopes to inspire many young scientists to not only be fascinated by the advanced level of research laboratory but also always be curious about the world around them.

Etienne Palos

Etienne is a second year Ph.D. student in the Chemistry and Biochemistry department at UC San Diego. His research focuses on the development application of theoretical models for computer simulations of chemical processes. Specifically, his research interests lie at the interface of electronic structure theory, statistical mechanics and hybrid quantum/classical simulations, with the objective of achieving a unified molecular-level understanding of complex many-body systems, such as liquid water and other aqueous systems. More than a theoretical chemist, Etienne is a Chicano, first-generation college student, father to a toddler, husband, and a member of an often overlooked sector of the population that experiences life on both sides of the US-Mexico border. Having carried out his undergraduate studies in Mexico, Etienne knows the challenges that underrepresented students face even accessing higher education. Therefore, he is committed to working diligently to help knock down the academic borders that systemically hinder the futures of many students. This purpose led Etienne to join EXPAND.

Saavidra Perera

Saavidra is a postdoctoral researcher working in astronomical instrumentation and explanatory science at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), USA. She was born and brought up in North West Greater London, UK, and since then, due to the nature of my work, she has had the opportunity to travel and live in different countries. Her research work focuses primarily on characterising the limitations of ground based visible/infra-red telescopes and finding ways to correct for them.