Thanks to our generous donors, 35 undergraduate students will conduct research in our faculty labs this year as summer research fellows.
The summer research experience can be one of the most meaningful parts of an undergraduate education. It enables students to pursue science research rather than having to accept a summer job in an unrelated field and, for many students, their lab research experience is a real game-changer – many who thought they were headed to pharmacy, medical, or dental school, realize how exciting research is, and begin to consider research as a career.
The importance of undergraduate research mentorship was the topic of a recent UCLA College video featuring three generations of UCLA Chemistry & Biochemistry researchers: Professor Emeritus Richard Weiss, Professor Jose Rodriguez, and alumna Evelyn Hernandez (’18). Rodriguez was an undergraduate researcher in Weiss’ group, and Hernandez, now a graduate student in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (TETRAD) Ph.D. Program at the University of California, San Francisco, was an undergraduate researcher in Rodriguez’s group. View the “Mentorship Matters: Undergraduate Research at UCLA” video here.
In the video produced by the UCLA College video, three generations of UCLA Chemistry & Biochemistry researchers — Professor Jose Rodriguez (left), Professor Emeritus Richard Weiss (center) and alumna Evelyn Hernandez (right) discuss the importance of undergraduate research mentorship.
Congratulations to the following summer fellowship recipients:
ALUMNI UNDERGRADUATE SUMMER RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS
These fellowships were established in 1997 by a pledge from the late Prof. Henry Bruman (’35 Chemistry), who was a professor emeritus of geography at UCLA, followed by donations from other alumni, including a major donation from alumnus Dr. Robert Boschan and his wife Bobbie Boschan.
Miles Savage – faculty mentor, Prof. Alexander Spokoyny
Bryan Yang – faculty mentor, Prof. Ohyun Kwon
Roland Yu – faculty mentor, Prof. Ken Houk
THE DR. RAVI AND APARNA BIKKINA SCHOLARSHIP
This scholarship was established in 2017 by Ravi ’94 and Aparna Bikkina to support scholarships to students in the UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry.
Oanh Huynh – faculty mentor, Prof. Roy Wollman
PAUL BOYER AND RICH CROSS SUMMER UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS
These fellowships were established in 2018 by Prof. Richard Cross, a distinguished professor emeritus of biochemistry and molecular biology at Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York, in honor of his former postdoctoral mentor Nobel Laureate Professor Paul D. Boyer.
Wenzhe Chen – faculty advisor, Prof. Joseph Loo
Clarissa Anne Pham – faculty advisor, Prof. Robert Clubb
Xinran (Michelle) Tang – faculty advisor, Prof. Roy Wollman
Melton Zheng – faculty advisor, Prof. Roy Wollman
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY (DOE) SUMMER RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS
These fellowships were established in 2019 with funds provided by the UCLA-DOE Institute for Genomics and Proteomics to support undergraduate students conducting summer research at UCLA within the broad science missions of the U.S. Department of Energy and its Biological and Environmental Research (BER) program.
Madeline Evans – faculty advisor, Prof. Jose Rodriguez
Rachel McAllister – faculty advisor, Prof. Robert Clubb
Julius Yevdash – faculty advisor, Prof. James Bowie
DONORS SUMMER RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS
These fellowships are made possible by the friends and alumni of the department whose donations were pooled to provide support for undergraduate students to conduct summer research in one of our Biochemistry, Molecular and Structural Biology (BMSB) laboratories.
Mohammad Jamal
–
faculty mentor, Prof. Albert Courey
Krista Yang – faculty mentor, Prof. Catherine Clarke
DANIEL KIVELSON UNDERGRADUATE SUMMER RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS
The family of UCLA Chemistry & Biochemistry professor Dr. Daniel Kivelson (1929-2003) established these fellowships in his honor so that his legacy would live on and help educate young scientists.
Matthew Hennefarth – faculty mentor, Prof. Anastassia Alexandrova
Greg Schuette – faculty mentor, Prof. Louis Bouchard
HOWARD REISS MEMORIAL FUND SUMMER RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP
The family and friends of UCLA Chemistry & Biochemistry professor Dr. Howard Reiss (1922 – 2015) established the fellowship in his honor.
Zackary Ferrin – faculty mentor, Prof. Justin Caram
GENERAL CHEMISTRY INSTRUCTIONAL LABORATORY FACULTY FELLOWSHIPS
These 2019 summer research fellowships are designated for UCLA Chemistry & Biochemistry undergraduates who demonstrated outstanding talent in Chemistry 30AL.
Hannah Eckvahl – faculty mentor, Prof. Ken Houk
Scarlett Huang – faculty mentor, Prof. Chong Liu
Si Ning (Cindy) Wang – Faculty mentor, Prof. Ken Houk
Isabelle Winardi – faculty mentor, Prof. Yves Rubin
LORRAINE H. AND MASUO TOJI SUMMER RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS
These fellowships were established thanks to a generous donation from the Toji estate.
Arthur Huang – faculty mentor, Prof. Yi Tang
Junho Kwon – faculty mentor, Prof. Ellen Sletten
Caroyn Wu – faculty mentor, Prof. Patrick Harran
RAYMOND & DOROTHY WILSON RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS
These fellowships were established by alumnus Raymond A. Wilson (’43) and his wife Dorothy as a tribute to the UCLA chemistry professors who, more than seventy years ago, had such a profound impact on Raymond when he was a bright young chemistry student.
Paul Ajodha – faculty mentor, Prof. Hosea Nelson
Fadi Al Sarhan – faculty mentor, Prof. Alexander Spokoyny
John Chapman – faculty mentor, Prof. Ellen Sletten
Anabel Cho Lopez – faculty mentor, Prof. Alexander Spokoyny
Stella Fors – faculty mentor, Prof. Hosea Nelson
Tanin Hooshmand – faculty mentor, Prof. Hosea Nelson
Morgan Hopp – faculty mentor, Prof. Alexander Spokoyny
Carolyn Hu – faculty mentor, Prof. David Eisenberg
Sheng Qu – faculty mentor, Prof. Richard Kaner
Alexander Umanzor – faculty mentor, Prof. Alexander Spokoyny
WHITCOME SUMMER UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS
These fellowships honor the late Dr. Philip Whitcome who received his Ph.D. in 1974 from UCLA and went on to a stellar career in the biotechnology industry. Andrew Gilmour – faculty mentor, Prof. James Bowie
Miranda Kelly – faculty mentor, Prof. Catherine Clarke
We have many more talented students who would benefit from an Undergraduate Summer Research Fellowship! If you are interested in making a difference in the lives of our students, please contact Joy Kruger at JKruger@support.ucla.edu or 310-206-8023 to contribute.
Penny Jennings, Communications Manager, UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, penny@chem.ucla.edu.
