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Undergraduate Research Student Profiles

Students


Get inspired! Read about UC San Diego students who are participating (or have participated) in undergraduate research and are doing amazing things.

Iyanna Brooklyn Kennedy

Iyanna Brooklyn Kennedy is a student at Spelman College who participated in the STARS Program over the Summer of 2024! During the Summer, she researched the development of a cognitive mechanism, specifically, whether children exhibit the same bias as adults.

Click below to learn about Iyanna’s experience!

Meet Iyanna

Grisha Tamazyan

Passionate about solving real-world challenges in medicine and life sciences, Grisha joined the Summer TRELS Program in 2024. During his time in the program he gained invaluable hands-on experience and is now interning at a collaboration project between NASA, SpaceX, and Sanford Stem Cell Institute!

Click below to learn about Grisha’s experience!

Meet Grisha

Bianca Lopez

Over the summer, during her time with the Eureka! Scholarship, Bianca designed genetically encoded tools for local cytoskeleton disruption, specifically in plant cells. She used her research to understand how the cytoskeleton is involved in the formation of the pores in plant leaves.

Meet Bianca

Liana Melikian Profile

Liana Melikian

As part of the Dr. Maryam Ahmadian Summer Research Fellowship Program, Liana Melikian got the opportunity to spend her summer gaining valuable lab experience researching the molecular mechanisms underlying metabolic diseases.

Click below to learn more about Liana’s research!

Meet Liana

Cindy Zhong

Cindy Zhong is an oncology researcher who utilized priceless opportunities through the TRELS Program! With the TRELS Program, Cindy has stepped up as a teacher, shared her research, and connected with the research community!

Click below to learn about Cindy’s experience!

Meet Cindy

Cindy Zhong profile

Mikaela Kjenaas

Mikaela Kjenaas is a researcher at the UCSD Smith Lab who participated in STARTneuro this summer! She used her time in the program to explore empathetic behaviors in rodents to understand unique neural mechanisms!

Click below to learn more about Mikaela’s research experiences!

Meet Mikaela

Stephanie Ugochukwu

Stephanie Ugochukwu is a STARTneuro scholar who dedicated her summer conducting amazing research on the brain and its effect on cardiovascular disease during her time with the 2024 Genentech Summer Program!

Click below to learn more about Stephanie’s research experiences!

Meet Stephanie

Ryan Yin Profiles

Ray Yin

Ray Yin received the URS Chancellor's Research Scholarship for Social Sciences this summer! He used his scholarship to research the effects of digital devices on children. Ryan gained priceless experience that will help him as he pursues further education!

 Click below to learn more about Ray's research experiences!

Meet Ray

Past Spotlights

Learn about students featured students conducting undergraduate research at UC San Diego.

Read Past Profiles

UC San Diego students at commencement - wearing caps and gowns and celebrating while sitting in the first row of a crowd of attendees