LASER ‘22
Letters and Science Summer of Excellence in Research
Summer 2022 Participants, Projects Descriptions and Program Highlights
ON SCREEN: Sherrie Wu, Alicia Tee
STANDING: Hannah Wallace, Quynh-Anh Le, Diana Morales-Mijares, Alina Grimaldo
FRONT: Vincent Lu
The LETTERS & SCIENCE SUMMER OF EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH (LASER) is a competitive, 8-week, residential summer research opportunity program sponsored by the College of Letters and Science and administered by the Center for Academic Excellence and the Undergraduate Research Scholars program. Seven L&S raising sophomore scholars participated in formal research mentoring experiences, attended a weekly seminar, and met several academic and industry professionals. The following L&S students and researchers participated in the 2022 LASER experience working in the projects listed below:
Alina Grimaldo
Understanding Recovery and Development in Children with Early Brain Injury and Cerebral Palsy
Research Mentor: Bernadette Gillick
DEVELOPMENTAL PEDIATRICS AND REHAB MEDICINE
Quynh-Anh Le
The Evolution of Galactic Disks
Research Mentors: Elena D’Onghia, Ellen Zweibel, Teddy Pena
ASTRONOMY
Vincent Lu
Understanding Chemical and Dynamics data on Moving Groups in the Solar Neighborhood
Research Mentors: Elena D’Onghia, Ellen Zweibel, Scott Lucchini
ASTRONOMY
Diana A Morales-Mijares
The Synthesis of Inhibitors in the Quorum Sensing Receptors:
CepR B. multivorans & RhlR in P. aeruginosa
Research Mentors: Helen Blackwell, Guadalupe Aguirre
CHEMISTRY
Alicia Tee
Data visualization for single-cell RNA sequencing
Bioinformatics analysis of cancer immunotherapy data
Research Mentor: Huy Dinh
ONCOLOGY
Hannah Wallace
Understanding the Host Galaxy of an Extremely Red Quasar
Research Mentors: Christy Tremonti, Greg Mosby
ASTRONOMY
Sherrie Wu
Cracking Skin Microbiome Competition: Finding New Drugs in the Human Skin
Research Mentors: Lindsay Kalan, Thy Nguyen
MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGY & IMMUNOLOGY
LASER was co-coordinated by Hannah E Bailey (Assistant Dean, URS Director) and José J Madera (Assistant Dean, L&S STEM Scholars Initiative). Scholars enrolled in the 1cr course, INTER-L&S 250, led and facilitated by LASER Fellows Cassidy Martin (Sociology) and Lekha Pillarisetti (Biology), and supported by Mae Edwards (URS Program Coordinator).
LASER plays a significant role supporting an essential opportunity for participants to experience preliminary exposure to research and engagement at a very early STEM-focused academic/career development stage. Even more importantly, LASER also capacitate students to develop a stronger mindset and preparation for the more substantial research and internships after sophomore year and beyond, that may determine their post-graduate academic or career paths.
LASER Scholars were recently highlighted in the College of Letters and Science Instagram page.
www.instagram.com/p/ChLC-KGJLpq/