Thesis Thursday

Kerry Chou is an undergraduate pursuing a Bachelor’s in Nursing with a minor in Psychology at the University of Arizona.

He is fascinated with philosophy, music composition, and looks forward to many wonderful years in the lab, and pursuing a career in pain management.

Hello my name is Hillary Schiff, and I will be a junior at the University of Arizona this year majoring in Biochemistry and French. I currently work in the Boitano Lab as an undergraduate researcher where I investigate PAR2 (a specific receptor found in airway epithelial cells) and its involvement in allergic asthma. My current project involves screening potential drug candidates that target the PAR2 signaling pathway and could ultimately aid in allergic asthma treatment. Outside of lab, I enjoy reading, writing, and swimming to beat that Arizona heat! After graduation, I hope to go to medical school to pursue an MD or MD PhD.

Sam is a honors junior majoring in Environmental Science with an emphasis in Leadership, Sustainability, and Communication. He is very interested in renewable energy and electric vehicles, and the benefits they can have for our environment. After he graduates next Spring, he will be going to law school to pursue a law degree.

Chelsea Mendoza is an undergraduate student pursuing a Bachelor’s in Environmental Science at the University of Arizona. She is originally from California and enjoys sunny days on the beach. Her grandfather inspired her work in environmental justice and she hopes to pursue a career in environmental policy.

Sebastian (Sebo) Diaz is a rising junior at the UofA studying Biomedical Engineering. He currently works in Dr. Barton’s Tissue Optics Lab examining novel detection methods for early ovarian cancer. He has participated in various biomedical imaging projects under the supervision of Dr. Gmitro. On campus, he serves as the Vice-President of Zeta Beta Tau and President of the American Indian & Indigenous Health Alliance (AIIHA). He recently was awarded the 2021 Udall Scholarship in the category of Native Health Care. This summer he will be going to MIT to work with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) under Dr. Elfar Adalsteinsson. In the future, he plans to apply to M.D./Ph.D. programs with the hopes of becoming a physician-scientist.

Hello! My name is Morgan Sexauer, and I am a senior (wooohooo) studying neuroscience with minors in philosophy and public policy. Since my freshman year at the U of A, I have been working in Dr. Torsten Falk’s lab. We study novel treatment methods for Parkinson’s disease, and I have a particular interest in our work regarding how sub-anesthetic doses of ketamine can treat levodopa-induced dyskinesia. Due to my work in the lab, I have realized a career in research can be very rewarding, and I plan to take a gap year after graduation to explore different avenues that research can take me. This summer, I worked very closely on a project where we tested if a string-pulling task can model parkinsonian deficits in our animal models. However, my thesis is a literature review on a broader topic inspired by my work in the lab. I am completing a literature review where I plan to tie together what we know about the mechanisms and therapeutic potential of ketamine, LSD, psilocybin, and DMT. I am passionate about increasing our understanding of these drugs because they seem to hold a lot of promise in bettering how we treat depression, cancer, addiction, anxiety, and Parkinson’s.

I am a graduating Senior at the University of Arizona with a degree in Plant Science. I intend on continuing my education here with a master’s in Entomology and Insect Science. I am currently working in Dr. Patricia Stock’s laboratory studying the infectivity (virulence) and reproductive fitness of two species of insect pathogenic nematodes after treating them with secondary metabolites produced from an insect pathogenic bacterium. The future applications of our study are to have these secondary metabolites function as environmentally safe alternatives for the control of agricultural pests.

In my free time, I enjoy cooking, going on evening walks around campus, and watching TV. During the summer I hope to pick up reading again and experimenting with cooking that more.

rebroadcast from 03-27-20

My name is Gerardo Figueroa, I am a junior in the Biomedical Engineering

department at the University of Arizona. I am currently working with Dr. John A.

Szivek from the Orthopedic Surgery Department developing a multi-sensory

device for continuous bone monitoring in space. After graduating I hope to

pursue a PhD in Biomedical Engineering focusing mostly on bone biomechanics

and tissue engineering. I hope in the future to encourage the importance of

STEM by mentoring the youth and being part of organizations such as the

Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers.

rebroadcast from 03-27-20

My name is Gerardo Figueroa, I am a junior in the Biomedical Engineering

department at the University of Arizona. I am currently working with Dr. John A.

Szivek from the Orthopedic Surgery Department developing a multi-sensory

device for continuous bone monitoring in space. After graduating I hope to

pursue a PhD in Biomedical Engineering focusing mostly on bone biomechanics

and tissue engineering. I hope in the future to encourage the importance of

STEM by mentoring the youth and being part of organizations such as the

Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers.