Posts classified under: Alumni

I was born and raised in Tamil Nadu, India, located at the southern tip of the subcontinent. I received a Master of Engineering (M.E.) degree in Biotechnology at the Birla Institute of Technology and Science – Pilani, India. During my final year, I was hired as a Genetic Researcher for Histogenetics, LLC, New York, a pioneer in Human Leukocyte Antigen research. Because of my passion to study neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), I then joined the laboratory of Dr. Theo Palmer at Stanford University where I investigated how gene-environment interactions contribute to autism. To continue my work on NDDs, I joined the UCLA Center for Autism Research and Treatment (CART) and earned a Ph.D. in Neuroscience. Under the guidance of Dr. Shafali Jeste, I studied electrophysiological biomarkers in Dup15q syndrome, a rare genetic disorder highly penetrant for NDDs. Funded by the Dup15q Alliance, my work led to the identification of abnormal sleep physiology in children with this condition that may have implications on their cognition and development. As a postdoctoral fellow, under the mentorship of Dr. Peyman Golshani, I will investigate the molecular and cellular underpinnings of abnormal brain oscillations during sleep in Dup15q syndrome and expand our investigation and understanding of sleep physiology in the clinical population. Using genetic mouse models and innovative neuroimaging tools developed in the Golshani lab including the E-scope (integrated miniaturized microscopy and electrophysiology), I will study changes in sleep physiology and oscillatory synchronization across brain regions during sleep in mice.

As a first-generation Indian, navigating my science journey has been challenging. Every stage of my career thus far has been educational and transformational in making me who I am today. I am grateful to have found extraordinary mentors that motivate me and create a supportive environment for me to grow. I hope to use these experiences and help create opportunities for others here and back home in India. I am passionate about increasing educational opportunities, especially for minority students. I serve as a neuroscience outreach coordinator for the UCLA Brain Research Institute (BRI) and work closely with the LAUSD schools in Los Angeles to bring neuroscience education and awareness to K-12 children in low-income/low-opportunity communities. In the long term, I hope to obtain an academic position where I could continue to conduct my research on sleep in NDDs and expand my teaching and advocacy efforts to promote equity and inclusivity in STEM. In my free time, I love to bake and explore new hiking trails.

I am a first-generation Mexican American, and I grew up in Indiana. I am in the first generation of my family to pursue higher education, and the first to obtain a PhD. With the mentorship from one of my science teachers, I started doing research with a professor at Purdue when I was a senior in high school studying the bacterial genetics of solute transporters implicated in osmolarity regulation. This experience piqued my interest in biological sciences, leading me to obtain my BS in Biochemistry from Purdue in 2015. I then did a year-long Postbaccalaureate research experience at the University of Iowa in the Englehardt lab working on a project  investigating the role of CFTR in lysosomal acidification using live cell imaging. I then matriculated into the Purdue Biological Sciences PhD Program, where I joined the Jiang Lab. During my PhD training, I studied the structure of a large bacterial virus, phage G, using single-particle cryo-EM and computational methods. Now in the Gonen lab at UCLA, I hope to expand my skill set in cryo-EM, and learn about crystallography and membrane protein biochemistry. Through IRACDA, I hope to learn about teaching in higher education and participate in scientific outreach activities that support underrepresented minorities in STEM. 

Dr. Breanne Sparta is a postdoctoral fellow at UCLA, in the lab of Professor Eric Deeds. Breanne’s research centers questions about the structure of gene expression variation in multicellular organisms. Breanne completed her B.S. in Biochemistry at Northeastern University and her Ph.D. at the University of California, Davis, where she studied the coordination of growth and metabolism in single, living cells.

I was born and raised in a small province in the Philippines and immigrated to the United States at the age of nine. I attended public school and community college before transferring to San Francisco State University to complete my bachelor’s degrees in Liberal Studies and Biology. I, then, completed my master’s degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology at SF State before starting my PhD at UC Irvine. At UCI, I worked in Dr. Todd Holmes’ lab to develop a bioluminescence imaging tool tracking circadian protein expression at the single-cell level in fly brains. Additionally, I found that changes to the timing of light exposure, when sleeping in and staying up late during weekends, disrupt the circadian clock, causing deficits in sleep, learning, and memory. Under the supervision of Dr. Jeff Donlea, my post-doctoral work aims to study how evolutionary adaptations to extreme environments shape the physiology, behavior, and neural architectures that govern sleep and circadian rhythms in flies. I aspire to uplift the next generation of scientists that follow my footsteps, and to utilize my platform to provide opportunities, and a safe, equitable space for all, especially to those in underrepresented and disadvantaged groups.