Biochemistry senior Chloe Cheng is among three undergraduates recognized nationally by the Alpha Chi Sigma Scholar Award honorable mention.
The award committee chose Cheng for the honor because her nomination “deemed deserving of special recognition”.
Cheng is currently a fourth-year UCLA undergraduate Biochemistry major and works as an undergraduate research associate in Professor Caius Radu’s laboratory in the UCLA Department of Molecular & Medical Pharmacology with a concentration in cancer metabolism. As a research associate for the past two and a half years, she has trained multiple undergraduates, presented five research posters and assisted in the writing, submission and publication of a manuscript to Nature Communications.
Cheng was recently invited to speak on a panel of undergraduate researchers for the UCLA College of Physical Sciences by Professor Albert Courey to give advice to first year and transfer students about getting started in research (she is pictured right at the event) and she recently received recognition for outstanding research by winning a 2018 Dean’s Prize Science Award.
Additionally, Cheng is one of the co-vice presidents for the Beta Gamma chapter of the Alpha Chi Sigma Fraternity and has previously held a co-Rush Chair position. She has been a learning assistant (LA) for Chem 153B, an upper division biochemistry course with an emphasis in nucleic acids and has been a tutor for the Beta Gamma chapter tutoring program for two years. In 2016, Cheng received the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry’s Gold Family Foundation Award.
Cheng will be the first in her family to receive a bachelor of science degree in biochemistry from UCLA in June 2018 and plans to apply for Ph.D. programs in Pharmacology in the coming fall. She is passionate about teaching, exploring drug mechanisms with therapeutic potential and humanizing the patient perspective in drug discovery research. Cheng’s research experiences have inspired her to pursue research in the discovery, development, and evaluation of therapeutic drugs. Following graduation, Cheng plans to continue her independent project with the Radu laboratory investigating the relationship between nucleotide metabolism in prostate cancer and radioligand therapy (RLT) during the graduate school application process. Upon completion for the Ph.D., she plans to work in the pharmaceutical industry as a scientist whose research can make a significant impact in curing disease.
