University: University of California, Los Angeles
Hometown: Yorba Linda, CA
NIH Research Project:
The Effects of Mood Stabilizers on Mitochondrial Function
Mentor: Husseini Manji, M.D.
Laboratory of Molecular Pathophysiology
National Institute of Mental Health
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This spring I graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, with highest honors in psychobiology. Upon matriculation to UCLA, I knew my passion resided with the biological sciences, though I was unsure about which area I wanted to pursue.
Working in the Laboratory of Computational Neural Systems at the California Institute of Technology, I studied audiovisual localization in human infants. We researched cortical and subcortical processing mechanisms in the brain and were interested in studying the communication between the superior and inferior colliculi. From this point on, I knew my career would focus on neuroscience.
As my undergraduate career progressed, I gained exposure to the clinical components of neuroscience and biology. I interned in the Behavioral Endocrinology Branch of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) at NIH for two consecutive summers. My research evaluated perimenopausal women with depressive symptoms and searched for a correlation between past histories of premenstrual syndrome and present mood cyclicity. This research permitted both clinical and lab exposure, solidifying my choice to pursue an M.D./Ph.D. in the future.
As a UGSP Scholar I am training in the Molecular Pathophysiology Laboratory of the NIMH under the supervision of Dr. Husseini Manji. My project investigates mood stabilizers and genetically programmed cell death. Specifically, I am evaluating the protective effects of certain medications and their relation to BCL-2, a gene that delays cell death. |
