Chemistry & Biochemistry undergraduate researchers Katie Bogue (Quinlan group), Juliana Girdner (Li group), Amanda Nguyen (Schwartz group), Shivani Patel (Kruglya group), Srihari Prabu (Araujo group), Jordan Tatang (Radu group), Jeff Qu (Rodriguez group), Blake Williams (Spencer group) received the 2024 Dean’s Prize Medal of Excellence at the 2024 UCLA Undergraduate Research Creativity Showcase.
The Dean’s Prize for Excellence in Research Award for life science, physical science, and engineering students is awarded for outstanding livestreamed presentations of faculty-mentored research at the Undergraduate Research & Creativity Showcase.
Congratulations to the following Dean’s Prize Award recipients!
Katie Bogue, Biochemistry, “Simple Polymer Physics Used to Model Formin-Mediated Actin Polymerization upon N-Terminal Dimerization”, advisor: Prof. Margot Quinlan.
Juliana Girdner, Biochemistry, Investigating the Mechanism of Zinc Finger Antiviral Protein Antiviral Activity, advisor: Prof. Man Hing Li.
Amanda Nguyen, Chemistry-Material Science, “Isolating the Dopant Counterion Size Effect on the Carrier Mobility of Poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl Thin Films”, advisor: Prof. Benjamin Schwartz.
Shivani Patel, Biochemistry, “CRISPR/Cas9 System to Map Haplotype Effects in Hybrid Yeast Strains”, advisor Prof. Leonid Kruglya.
Srihari Prabu, Biochemistry, “Ultrafine Particle Inhalation and Chronic Inflammation in Interleukin-10 Deficient Mice”, advisor: Prof. Jesus Araujo.
Jordan Tatang, Biochemistry, Talk title withheld, advisor: Prof. Roxana Radu.
Blake Williams, Biochemistry, “The Effect of Anti-AAV9 Antibodies and Complement Split Products on AAV9 Uptake and Macrophage Activation”, advisor: Prof. Melissa J Spencer.
Jeff Qu, Biochemistry, “Computational Explorations on Amyloid Mining across Proteomes”, advisor: Prof. Jose Rodriguez.
From UCLA Newsroom (by Kayla McCormack):
Deans Prize Highlights Excellence at UCLA Undergraduate Research Creativity Showcase
The Undergraduate Research Centers for Sciences and for Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences hosted the 11th annual Undergraduate Research Week in May. More than 1,600 students presented their innovative and impactful work at UCLA’s largest undergraduate conference this week.
The Dean’s Prize for Excellence in Research and Creative Inquiry is awarded to students for outstanding presentations at the Undergraduate Research & Creativity Showcase. This award identifies students who exemplify excellence in presentation of their faculty-mentored research.
“Winning the Dean’s Prize for Excellence in Research and Creative Inquiry is a testament to the incredible dedication and hard work that UCLA student researchers put into their projects,” said Tama Hasson, assistant vice provost for undergraduate research and director of the Undergraduate Research Center – Sciences. “Their commitment and passion are truly inspiring and exemplify the best of what undergraduate research can achieve.”
Undergraduate research also requires commitment from faculty mentors who support undergraduates as they complete their research projects. The Faculty Mentor Award honors the considerable dedication of UCLA faculty who consistently and enthusiastically serve as effective mentors to undergraduate students involved in research or creative inquiry. Faculty are nominated by undergraduate students they supported in their research or creative practice and professional development.
For a full list of the Dean’s Prize and Faculty Mentor Award winners visit the Undergraduate Research Week website.
